I Bit Into a Little Spicy Wiener

 I'm not sure what I expected from this little spicy wiener, but I can tell you that sometimes the title of these videos (Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!!) is very accurate.

Those Beasts Will Eat Treats

 

If you're looking for a fun way to celebrate your favourite treats, beasts or even the alphabet, may I suggest my fun book called Treats and Beasts.

Pick up your very own copy right now at bewarethecheese.com/treatsnbeasts/ or on Amazon.

Are We Running Out of Candy Ideas

This week's featured review was a little confusing. It's called a Kinder Card, but I'm not really sure what kind of card it's supposed to be. My first guess is a credit card, but it could also be a business card. Honestly, it really doesn't matter what kind of card it's supposed to be because I'm thinking that any kind of card is a silly shape for a candy. Candy and treats are supposed to be fun, but I'm not sure how much fun credit cards or business cards are. You can pretty much make treats into any shape, but someone thought that a card was the shape that kids would love.

Check out my review for this very oddly shaped treat.

A Little Insulting?

 The fact that they hired a slightly chubby kid for a commercial for a candy bar called Chubby might be a little offensive in some places.

The Most British Dessert

 

National dishes are a really hard thing to nail down in many countries. As a Canadian it seems that one of our national pastimes/arguments is to try and figure out what our national dish might be. Then you can get into the details of food when it comes to nationalities and try to figure out what a countries national dinner, breakfast, lunch or even dessert might be. I assure you that there are countries that look into it with that much detail, and people who are strong and proud of their national lunch.

Since this is a site dedicated to sweets and treats, I always try and figure out what a particular countries national candy or national dessert might be. Maybe I should be a little more politically correct and say that it’s their most (insert the name of a country) dessert or candy. On a recent trip to the UK, I think I might have figured out what is the most British dessert. I’ll be honest, I didn’t look into the history of this dessert, I simply thought about all of the times I’ve visited this part of the world and what I’ve found that is unique, always around, and who’s flavours really seem to represent the types of desserts they have at most places. This dessert has the added bonus of having a name that seems to suit the British English. I’m talking about sticky toffee pudding.

In all my travels I don’t think I’ve travelled anywhere else in the world that really celebrates sticky toffee pudding like the Brits. It’s not a special dessert by any stretch of the imagination, it’s an everywhere dessert. One could picture British royalty enjoying this dessert, but you can also find it in all of the pubs all over the country. From fine dinning restaurants to people’s kitchens, this is truly a dish that’s all over the UK.

The flavours of the dessert are also very in tune with the flavours of the UK as well. First of all it’s very sweet, and I’ll go on record to say that I find the British palette to be sweeter, rather than savoury. There’s also often raisins or dried fruit found in sticky toffee pudding. While dried fruit is not exclusively a British thing, it is very common in many of the cakes and desserts. The fact that there’s a cream added to this dessert is also a very British thing. It can be a warm cream or an ice cream, often vanilla, and a great accompaniment to this dessert.

Finally the name “sticky toffee pudding”, just sounds so English. More specifically it sounds like the English one speaks if you’re from the UK. While we might all use any or all of these words in other English speaking countries, the combination sounds very British.

Probably the most important reason that this could be the UK’s national dish is that no one on earth does it better. I’ve probably had dozens of sticky toffee puddings in my life, from finest to the restaurants to the local pubs and even from the grocery stores, and all of them taste great. There are some that are better than others, but I’ve had a hard time finding one I didn’t like in the UK.

I Learned Some Snack Facts

The most fun way to learn some facts about some of your favourite snacks, is to pick up my collection of mini comics filled with fun information about all the treats you love.

Pick up Snack facts at candycritic.org/snackfacts/buy.htm or on Amazon.

What's In A Name

When I first started candycritic.org I used to try and live by the idea of not reviewing the package, only the candy inside. Then as I got more and more deep into the candy world, I realized that it's not fair to the candy companies or the candy eater if I totally ignore the package as well. Today when I review a treat I do think a bit about the package when I write my review, but maybe not how you might think. First and foremost I never look at the fanciness of a package most of the time. More importantly I don't rank a candy down for having a cheaper package. The only exception is if this package affects the quality of the treat inside. I will take note of a candy company that gives a great deal of thought to their packaging, particularly when the package directly affects the candy. This can backfire as I've tasted several treats that have had amazing packages, only to fail with the candy. This latest review highlights another thing I look for when I look at candy packages, descriptions and claims. It's not uncommon for a candy company the give hints or even totally explain what this treat might be. Honestly if the description is very close or spot on, I probably won't mention it, but if it's off, I almost feel like the company is misleading me and that's not good.

Check out my latest review with a candy that seems like it's offering something that it's not.

Nips Are Magical... But It's Not What You Think

 I've tasted Nips (check out my review), and while the name is kind of inappropriate in English, the commercial's kind of cool.

Quick List - The Best Candies For Each Letter of the Alphabet - G-K

 A quick list of the best candies from each letter of the alphabet. This time we're going to be checking out A through F.

Check out all my review for every letter of the alphabet right now at www.candycritic.org/alphareview.htm

That Blue Orchid is Amazing

  Have you picked up the latest and greatest Blue Orchid comics (and merch)?

Make sure to check out all the cool stuff at bewarethecheese.com/blueorchid/ or on Amazon.

Simple Can Be Fantastic

The number of times I've been told that it's "just milk chocolate" and nothing spectacular is enormous. I feel like people truly believe that to have a "good" candy bar, you have to have a lot of ingredients. After years of taste testing candy, I can tell you that a simple treat done well can rival any fancy treat out there. If you've ever tasted a high quality vanilla ice cream, a hand made marshmallow, or a milk chocolate bar like the one I just reviewed, you too would understand how simple can be really great.

Check out my latest review featuring a bar that's simply milk chocolate.

Cool Or Be Cool

 I don't know what I'd prefer, a candy that can cool you down on a hot day, or a candy that can make a brightly coloured entourage that follows you around.

I Both Love and Hate the M&M's Stores

 

On a recent trip to London, Allison and I decided to visit the M&M’s store near Piccadilly Circus. I’ve visited a few M&M’s stores in the past, but for some reason this visit made me think a little bit more about these stores. Who came up with the idea of building a store dedicated to one particular candy? Why do they sell more merchandise than candy itself? Are these stores even run by the candy company?

I’ve personally had love/hate relationship with these stores. I’ll be honest, I like M&M’s, but they’re nowhere near my favourite candy. One of the issues is I feel like there’s a great potential to offer a bunch of different versions of this simple treat. While they have a few different varieties, there are many other candies out in the world with many more varieties, like Kit Kat or Pocky. There was a short period where M&M’s did go a little crazy with alternate varieties, but they really only have a handful of standard flavours out there. All of this can also be considered unimportant since when you visit an M&M’s store you’re sure to notice that they don’t actually sell much candy.

This is where things get a little odd for me. I’m a little turned off by the lack of candy at most M&M’s stores. While they do offer some treats for sale, it’s not the main focus of the store. The main focus is candy themed merchandise. Strangely, I would argue that there’s a good percentage of merchandise at these stores that isn’t even really themed to the candy itself. At almost all of the M&M’s stores I’ve visited, I’ve found a lot of merchandise that’s themed to the store itself and its geographic location. I know that places like Hard Rock Cafe have built a brand based on shirts featuring the various locations of their stores, but I feel like there’s something more to them. Most of the tourist themed merchandise at the M&M’s stores just feels really disconnected from the namesake candy.

The part that’s odd for me is the fact that while I don’t like the fact that the M&M’s store sells more merchandise than candy, I personally own several pieces of merchandise. I’ve even been known to purchase some of the more tourist heavy stuff. While I wish there was more candy at these stores, I really like some of the merchandise that they sell. The great thing about M&M’s over other candy companies for merchandise is the fact that one of the key features of the candy is the colours. They’ve managed even to transfer the colours into characters. So this allows for some really fun merchandise.  I’ll also say that all (or at least most) of the merchandise I’ve ever purchased at an M&M’s store has lasted me a pretty long time.

I also don’t mind the decorations at many M&M’s stores. I think it follows the same rules as the merchandise in that the candy offers many colours, so it allows the store designers to be colourful as well. The pallet of colours and design of the candy are simple and kind of beautiful (just look at a bowl of M&M’s and tell me you’re not impressed).  The M&M’s mascots also give the store some appeal, creating fun little scenarios as well as photo opportunities.

I guess what I’m saying is, I don’t mind the M&M’s stores at all, but I wish they sold more candy. It would be great if the stores offered some limited or exclusive flavours of M&M’s. As it stands, many of the stores offer a variety of colours, but very limited flavours.

I also haven’t answered the question about who might actually be running these stores. I assume that it’s Mars (the manufacturers of M&M’s), but I also imagine that this is something that could be licensed to outside retailers. I could dig deeper, but honestly I don’t know if it’s that big a deal. I don’t feel like the people who run these stores are doing a particularly bad job, I just wish they could include a little more room for candy, and maybe work with the candy makers for exclusive products.

Not Everyone Can See Candy Critic

 Today I talk about the two places I've discovered that candycritic.org is banned.

Jump into Treats and Beasts

If you need the perfect gift for someone who loves candy, sweets, animals or the alphabet, then I have the perfect idea. Pick them up a copy of Treats and Beasts!

You can order a copy at bewarethecheese.com/treatsnbeasts/ or on Amazon.

Halloween Candy, But Not For Trick Or Treaters

I've been thinking a lot about this lately, but there are really two categories of Halloween candy. There are those candies that are themed for Halloween, and those candies that you're likely to receive on Halloween.  There are a few candies that cross both lines, but there are many that don't. These gummies (my latest Halloween candy review) for example are very Halloween themed, but I don't think I've ever seen or received a gummy like this for Halloween ever. I'll be honest, if it was between these and a peanut butter cup, I'd probably prefer to get the peanut butter cup, even though it's not Halloween themed at all.

Check out my latest Halloween review, that you probably won't get trick or treating.

Glow In the Dark

 It's funny, I never understood why a candy company would choose to make glow in the dark candy packages, since they don't really improve the candy. Yet, I would love to see more of them.

Fact Those Snacks

 If you've wanted to learn a few fun facts about the snacks you love, make sure to check out my fun book called Snack Facts.

Pick up your very own copy at candycritic.org/snackfacts/buy.htm or on Amazon.

Gummy Shape Problem

I've always believed that you can make a gummy into any shape or size. I've never before thought about whether or not you should. Today's new review features a gummy in a shape that felt really weird to eat, mentally. The problem is they pulled it off very well. Eating a soft animal paw in gummy form is weird, not hating it is even weirder.

Check out the full review of this cute little paw treat.

Creepy Cat Lady

 This Kit Kat commercial is so many levels of creepy.

The Stories I Don't Understand

 One of the interesting things about how candy is marketed involves stories. Candy is a little different than many food items in that one of the big selling points to candy is often the story that goes with it. That story could centre around a popular slogan like "bet you can't eat just one", "take a break" or "sometimes you feel like a nut". Sometimes that story can be based on mascots, for example the M&M's guys, the Sour Patch Kids or the Tootsie Rolls Owl. While many of these brands may not have started with the mascots or slogans we now know, in many ways these marketing ideas have become part of the treat itself now. There is one thing about marketing like this that can become problematic, and that's international shoppers.

It's very possible or I would even say likely that there are several people who have read the slogans or list of candy mascots I've just listed above and have no idea what I'm talking about. While these slogans and characters are well known where I grew up, in the time I grew up, there are many people who fall outside of that circle. One of the things about having a website where you taste test candies from all over the world is that you're often given treats that have slogans or mascots that just don't make any sense, that have cultural touchpoints that fall out of my circle.

I'm sure if you grew up with these slogans or mascots you would have the cultural and historical context to make sense of them, but for someone who's outside of your bubble, it's confusing. Don't get me wrong, I now know that many of my candy and snack mascots and slogans are weird, but at one point I didn't. If this is a little confusing to you, let me suggest an example, or actually two Percy Pig and Colin the Caterpillar. 

When I wrote those two names, there were a group of mostly British people who don't really understand where this is going. That is because these two characters are British mascots for the sweet treats sold at Marks and Spencer stores in the UK. There are a few Marks and Spencer stores outside of the UK too that sell these character themed snacks, but let's assume that people who buy them outside of the UK either don't know who they are or maybe lived in the UK for a while and have grown to love them.

While they're not offensive mascots by any means, objectively they're a little weird. From what I can tell Percy Pig came from some gummy pigs that Marks and Spencer have been selling for many years now. Why they're pigs and not other farm animals doesn't make any sense to me. Colin the Caterpillar makes even less sense to me as I can't really figure out where his origins come from. My only guess, since most of the products featuring him are baked, is that he was once features in a cake form. I'm not really sure why you'd want to eat a giant caterpillar cake in the first place, but who am I to judge.

Objectively these two characters really shouldn't be as popular as they are in England. I imagine that most British kids and many adults of a certain age would know exactly what you where talking about if you said Percy Pig or Colin the Caterpillar. The strange thing is that unlike characters from television shows or books, these characters seem to be based on sweet treats. As an outsider I can't for the life of me figure out how their origin story (either fictional or real) might have come up.

Every time I walk into a Marks and Spencer food section I'm slightly baffled by all of the different candy and treat choices featuring these characters. Why did they become so popular, how good are those gummies (review coming soon) or that cake. It's really a confusing thing that while I accept on the surface, it confuses me when I think about it.

The thing is, I realize that I too have characters and slogans embedded in my cultural history that British kids just don't understand. I can't see them because they're just part of who I am. One of the great things about the candy world is that even if you don't understand what's going on, you can still try and enjoy it. If you enjoy it enough you can do the research and maybe become a fan. I can tell you that becoming a fan of another cultures treats or snacks can be hugely rewarding.

A Halloween Treat... Sort Of

 In this episode of Chris, Why Would You Eat That I eat another Halloween Kiss, for the fourth time. It's part 4 of a 14 year series where I'll eat a Molasses Kiss candy from the same bag till they get stale or until I finish them all.

Get Ready For Some Blue Orchid

 Have you picked up your copy of Blue Orchid, my awesome comic about a girl who fights monsters?

If not, you can pick up all things Blue Orchid at bewarethecheese.com/blueorchid/ or on Amazon.

A New Candy?

Whenever I travel, I always have a hard time knowing if some candies are new, or if they're just new to me. Take my latest candy review, Hitschies. I've never tried these before, or even seen them before, however I've learned that they come in multiple flavours and have likely been around for a while. When I first saw them on the shelf, I had no idea that they weren't brand new. Hitschies have never crossed my path before, but now I truly wish they had, since they're pretty good. This happens a lot with exploring new candies from all over the world, and it's pretty awesome.

Check out the full review of this unknown (to me) classic.

Still Creepiest

 Every year I post this commercial around Halloween, and I'll continue to do so until someone makes a commercial that's even creepier.

The Treats and The Beasts

 

Do you know someone who loves animals and sweet treats, and maybe they could use a brushing up on their alphabet too. Why not get them my awesome alphabet book called Treats and Beasts.

Pick it up right now on Amazon or at bewarethecheese.com/treatsnbeasts/.

Butter, Is It Better

Butter is an odd ingredient. I feel like most cookie, cake or general baked treat needs butter to work well. However I imagine that most baked treats don't actually use any real butter at all. From what I know, butter is not really shelf stable, meaning anything made with butter runs the risk of going rancid or mouldy. Yet, when it comes to baked goods, a buttery flavour is something many people really enjoy, myself included. I'll often talk a lot about how buttery a particular cookie or cake is, when trying to decide if I like it or not (the more buttery the better). Having said that, rancid butter is awful, so I probably wouldn't actually want to eat real butter in most of the treats I review. It's a bit of a conundrum really.

Check out my latest cookie review that happens to be butter themed.

Simple Is Scary

 I love the simplicity of this Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercial so much.

Icelandic Adventure

Recently Allison and I went on a pretty epic Icelandic adventure with a couple of friends of ours. Unlike many of the adventures I write about on this site, the focus of this trip had nothing to do with food. The focus was instead exploring the natural beauty of this awesome country. What this basically means is that all of the food we tasted on this trip was focused on road tripping around the amazing island, and not about stopping at every restaurant or candy store.

In fact, stopping at restaurants wasn't that important to us at all, since we were all riding in a camper. Most of our meals were being cooked on a tiny range inside our camper. The meal of choice for this adventure for me and Allison were hamburgers. It's because the local grocery store (called bonus) sold pre-made hamburgers in packages of two. As a side note, Bonus has one of the greatest grocery store logos/mascots ever (pictured above). One thing that was available at Bonus, as well as other grocery stores was a huge selection of pre-made salads and dips. Often a meal for me was a hamburger with a side of one or two salads, and the burger would be covered in some kind of flavoured cream cheese or spread.

Mornings for me consisted of skyr, which is kind of like yogurt. I'm not sure where skyr was invented (maybe Iceland) but it was so abundant on this trip. Most grocery stores had several brands of skyr to choose from, but only a few varieties of yogurt. 

Coffee was also an important part of this trip, for everyone except me because I don't drink coffee. We were traveling with two friends from Finland, so I'm not sure if the excessive amount of coffee came from them, or if Iceland is also really coffee crazy too. It could also be the fact that we were driving a lot, and some nights sleeping very little, so coffee was just important.

While we stopped at many amazing sites, we also stopped at many truck stops as well. The selection of snacks at the truck stops was superb. Always a good collection of chocolate and wafer themed bars, and always an exceptional collection of licorice and gummy treats. Each truck stop had at least one giant wall filled with a huge selection of sweet treats.

Truck stops often had bakeries in them as well, and cinnamon buns seemed to be the treat of choice. Some bakeries/truck stops had more than one variety of cinnamon bun to choose from.

The one thing I found challenging on this trip, snack wise, was trying to find treats that were exclusively Icelandic. While in Reykjavík and even at some truck stops there were advertised Icelandic chocolate bars available, candy wise it was hard to figure out which treats were brought in from other countries and which were local. There seems to be quite an affinity for Northern European treats, in particular treats from Sweden and Denmark.

We finished our trip in the capital Reykjavík, and the food choices seemed very plentiful. We ate some excellent local dishes, and even tried some great Indian food. Outside of the cities it seems like Iceland is really a great place to eat simply as you explore the beautiful countryside. Inside the cities it feels very European, with options from many parts of the world, but also some traditional local foods that are very comfortable for most western pallets.

Did I mention, I also tasted some glacier water from a newly broken iceberg. It was really tasty, but also just a little bit salty.

Quick List - The Best Candies For Each Letter of the Alphabet - A-F

 A quick list of the best candies from each letter of the alphabet. This time we're going to be checking out A through F.

Those Facts About Snacks

 

If you want to educate yourself about all the fun treats you love to munch, then pick up my fun comic called Snack Facts.

You can get your very own copy of Snack Facts in many different forms at http://candycritic.org/snackfacts/buy.htm

The End of the Review-A-Thon

The end of this month means it's the end of this crazy idea I've had to try and review a new treat every single day for an entire month. It was both a chore and a joy, and that often depended on how I felt about the particular treat I was reviewing. I'm not sure if I'll make this an annual event, but maybe once in a while it's worth doing. More importantly, I managed to get through my candy backlog a bit, and that means more room to get more treats.

Check out one of the last treats in this month's review-a-thon.

Super Hero Candy

 There was a time, before regulations, that candy companies could claim that their treats would actually make you stronger.

So, What Flavour is a Rainbow (or a Unicorn)?

 Today I look at the super trendy flavour (actually two flavours) that has kind of confused me for the last little while, Rainbow.

The Blue Orchid is Pretty Amazing!

Make sure to check out Blue Orchid, a fun comic about a girl from South East Asia who has to fight all kinds of crazy monsters.

Pick up the latest Blue Orchid comics or merchandise right now at www.bewarethecheese.com/blueorchid/.

When In England, Buy Milk Chocolate

I feel a little sorry for candy makers in the UK, unless you make a milk chocolate treat. My problem is that every time I visit the UK, I tend to gravitate towards any of their treats that contain milk chocolate. The reason is simple, some of (if not the) best mass produced milk chocolate comes from the UK. On just about every visit to the UK I tend to load up on milk chocolate treats, and that means that I might miss or pass up something that doesn't have any milk chocolate in it. If you know a great non-milk chocolate treat that I should try, let me know, I'll add it to my list and really try hard to get it.

Check out my latest UK, milk chocolate treat review.

You're Not Fat Enough Yet

 According to this candy advertisement from South Africa, you have to be heavy in order to eat a giant chocolate bar.

Attempting To Solve A Popcorn Problem

 The popcorn problem is a mathematical problem that takes place mostly at theatres, but can also happen at just about any place that entertains you and offers popcorn. I've never bought popcorn at a concert or professional sporting event, but I have seen it for sale at those events and can imagine that the problem happens there as well. For the sake of explaining this problem, I'll use the theatre as my example. The problem is that all too often you run out of popcorn before the entertainment has even begun. On some occasions you might manage to limit you popcorn intake during the time you're waiting for the event or movie to start, and maybe you'll have popcorn available during the first 15 minutes of so. 

This is a strange situation because I always associate popcorn with watching movies, but maybe I'm actually associating popcorn with waiting for movies to start. Maybe once the movie starts I might actually have no interest in popcorn at all. I wouldn't really know because I've always finished my popcorn before the movie has started.

Popcorn is an odd snack. You might be thinking to yourself, "those buckets of popcorn at theatres are huge, that's more than enough". The fact that they call the container for popcorn a bucket supports that theory. The thing is, most popcorn buckets don't actually contain much solid food mass. I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain about having to carry a bucket of popcorn before because it's too heavy. It's a bit of an illusion, as most of what you're buying is actually air, and these air filled popped kernels have lots of air between them as they don't really nestle together very well.

I should also point out that I tend to order the medium, or maybe large if I'm sharing popcorn when I go to the movies. I pretty much just go along with whatever "combo" or deal the theatre is trying to sell that seems appropriate for my party size (a single if I'm alone and a two person combo if I'm with Allison). I am aware that many theatres also offer insanely large buckets of popcorn as well. I'd just always assumed that these buckets were meant for families and since I don't have kids, I've never bought one... That is until now.

On a recent trip to see the movie Inside Out 2, Allison and I jokingly suggested that we pick up the largest bucket of popcorn available at this theatre. As you might be able to see from the picture, it's about 10 inches tall with a diameter of about 12 inches. I feel like this sudden urge to get a giant bucket of popcorn came about because of our last theatre going experience where we bought the "large" box of popcorn at another theatre and it contained maybe 50 kernels of popcorn, and that's it. Maybe we were over compensating, but the price wasn't too bad and we figured it might be an interesting experiment.

We got this behemoth and couldn't stop laughing the whole time. We were actually watching this movie in Thailand, and I couldn't help but imagine how the locals would see the "westerners" with their giant bucket of popcorn since there's a generalization that westerners eat large portions (spoilers, we do). We waited for the theatre to be cleaned out, and once it was, we wandered inside to our seats. In this theatre they offer special seating for couples that consist of two large, comfy chairs squished together like a couch. We generally opt for this and it worked out well as our popcorn needed a large place to sit and between us on this couch worked perfectly.

We also decided that we would eat the popcorn as usual. So no holding back and waiting for the movie to start. We sat down and watched a good 20 to 30 minutes of trailers happily munching away on our popcorn. I would occasionally feel around the bucket to see how far we'd gotten. By the time the movie started it felt like we'd eaten about 1 and a half inches into the bucket. After about the first 45 minutes of the movie I assumed that we must have been near the end, but we weren't even halfway through.

By about the 1 hour mark I started to not want to eat popcorn anymore, and only continued to eat out of habit or some drive to finish this bucket. About 20 minutes after that I was pretty much tapped out. I nibbled here and there, but I just couldn't eat any more popcorn. I felt like Allison was in the same boat as me.

The photo above is how far we managed to get into the bucket. By this point I could touch the bottom with my finger, but just barely. I would say we had a good 2 or 3 inches left. I took away a few lessons from doing this. First and foremost, as much as you think you'd like to eat popcorn throughout an entire movie (or concert or sporting event), I don't think that's true. Secondly, if you get a giant bucket of popcorn, make sure to get the giant drink to go with it. I noticed my consumption went way down once my drink was done.

We tried to eat more popcorn when we got back to our hotel, but frankly the idea made us a little sick. There's a great expression is show business "leave them wanting more". The expression suggests that it's better for your audience to not get enough entertainment rather than over doing it. I feel like this works with popcorn too. It's better to not get enough popcorn than have too much. When I don't have enough popcorn I just look forward to the next time I'm planning to go to a movie. If I get too much I just leave with a tummy ache and sore, dry lips.

There's Something Wrong With These M&M's

Keep in mind that I'm not a legal expert, but I feel like a line or two might have been crossed.

CC

Learn about Beasts and the Treats They Love

 If you haven't already picked up my awesome alphabet book called Treats and Beasts, then you're missing out on a fun day of learning all about beasts and the treats they love.

Pick up your very own copy of this book (and even some merch) at bewarethecheese.com/treatsnbeasts/ or on Amazon.

A Review Every Day

 

If you haven't noticed yet, this month (September 2024) I've decided to post a new candy review every single day of the week. I'd planned to do this several months ago, assuming that I wouldn't be traveling or anything this month, and would be able to update the site every morning. So far it's worked, and I'll be honest, it hasn't been that hard on me either. Not that I should ever complain about having to eat candy. The thought has gone through my head about the idea of keeping this up for a whole year, but I feel like that might be too much on me both mentally and physically (you can have too much of a good thing). The good news is that I don't plan on stopping the review-a-thon this month, and I'll have plenty new reviews after.

Check out on of the latest entries in this review-a-thon, a bar from Iceland.

Simpson's Candy Facts?

 I just learned that this Butterfinger commercial is actually the first appearance of Milhouse. Apparently he was created for this commercial specifically.

Deep Fried Snacks Rule On Street Food

 Watching these expert street food artist make a crunchy deep fried peanut treat at a street market in Bangkok, Thailand is what makes me happy all the time.

CC

Do You Know Snack Facts?

You can learn some really fun facts about the snacks you love in a really fun way, and all you have to do is pick up my comic Snack Facts.

Check out Snack Facts right now at candycritic.org/snackfacts/buy.htm or on Amazon.

A Little Offensive But...

 I get the feeling that this commercial isn't trying to be offensive, but there are a lot of elements that probably wouldn't sit well with today's audience.

McDonalds Anime Update

 Ronald McDonald is probable one of the most famous food mascots ever created. I say this because I’ve seen depictions of Ronald all over the world, and I’m pretty sure that kids and adults all over the place associate this brightly coloured clown with burgers, nuggets and fun fast food. Thailand even has some very unique Ronald statues to greet people outside of every single restaurant.

The thing is, Ronald seems to be disappearing a bit. While there are still hints of him everywhere, he’s not commonly found at every restaurant anymore. I’ve seen many documentaries about the rise and fall of Ronald and the entire McDonald Land cast, and there are many theories about why these characters seem to be falling out of favour at the restaurants. Oddly however I am finding that these characters are starting to become more popular outside the restaurants, being used in clothes, shoes, and even some fine art and collectible toys.

It seems like the licensing of Ronald and the McDonald’s Land characters is going strong, but for marketing in restaurants they seem to be completely disappearing. Again I’m not sure why this is happening for sure, but I am noticing in Asia that these classic characters are starting to be replaced by new Anime style characters.

While there are some food related characters in the mix, the main theme seems to be characters based on the people working at McDonald’s. Maybe this is not only a way to sell food, but also a way to try and get people to apply for jobs.

What I wonder is how deep this goes. While I’ve seen a few posters, cut outs and window decorations of these characters, I haven’t seen any of the obvious marketing pieces that would make sense for Anime style characters, like comics and animation. I think it might be fun to see the adventures of some characters that work at a McDonald’s that’s regular attacked by various fast food related robots and monsters.

Longest Lasting Gum

 A quick list of the longest lasting gums that I've ever reviewed on candycritic.org. If you want to check out all the gum I've reviewed check out candycritic.org/reviewgum.htm.

That Blue Orchid is Awesome!

If you haven't yet picked up issue 1 of Blue Orchid, make sure you get it soon, because issue 2 is almost done.

Check out all things Blue Orchid at www.bewarethecheese.com/blueorchid/ and pick up issue 1 on Amazon .

It's A Review-a-Thon Marathon

Starting this week, and going until the end of the month, I'm going to post a new snack/candy review every single day. Normally I post one or two reviews a week, with the occasional small one week review-a-thons, but lately I've had a huge backlog of reviews that I need to post. I've decided to thin out this backlog a bit and post like crazy. My goal is to have them all posted overnight with a notice on my social media every morning, but please be kind if I'm running a little late.

Check out the first entry in my mega review-a-thon and don't forget to complain about the fact that it's not really a candy.

A Little Strange I Guess

 Even if you look beyond the general strangness of this commercial, I find it really odd at how happy the kids are that the M&Ms don't melt in their hands.

Is Red Licorice, Licorice?

 Today I debate the age old question, is red licorice actually licorice?

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Beast Up Those Treats

If you haven't picked up my fun alphabet book all about beasts and the treats they love, then you're really missing out.

Pick up your very own copy right now on Amazon or at bewarethecheese.com/treatsnbeasts/

Marshmallow Redemption?

While writing this new candy review I got to thinking. I was wondering if I could acquire a taste for mass produced marshmallows the same way I (sort of) acquired a taste for black licorice. The way I attempted to acquire a taste for black licorice was to buy a big bag of the stuff (the extreme black licorice from Holland) and eat a piece every single day. I'm not sure that this will work for mass produced marshmallows as the thing I dislike most about them is the lack of flavour and the texture. Black licorice was a flavour issue, where is this is a texture issue. Maybe I'll give it a try in the future, but for now I'm happy to remain very picky about the marshmallows that I eat.

Check out my latest marshmallow review right now.

Almond Joy and Almond Cluster

 I have two questions about this commercia. First of all, what happened to the Almond Cluster, and why can't I get one now. Secondly, why is the theme song sung with a French accent?

Googly Revolution

There’s a saying, or at the very least an idea that many people believe to be true, and that’s chocolate will improve any food. I will agree that chocolate can make many desserts, nuts and even some savoury foods pretty good, but I’m pretty sure it can’t improve everything. I’ve pointed out in the past that onions and chocolate seems to be a stumbling block that I’ve seen a few people attempt but never succeed. I’d also argue that there a few desserts that would not be better with chocolate, like strawberry shortcake, carrot cake and trifle. So that made me think, is there anything you can do to a dessert, snack or candy that will always improve it?

My next line of thinking was fruit or a fruit compote. Fruit is a great garnish on so many desserts so it seemed like it should work. I was mostly thinking of a berry coulis, maybe strawberry or raspberry. The problem with coolis is I’m not convinced it would improve any candies, and pretty sure it would wreck some savoury treats, I’m looking at you pretzels.

This basically lead me right back to the beginning, and had me once again sure that there was no unifying single thing one could add to snacks, desserts and candy that would always improve them. That was until I took a trip to my local bulk food store and came across some candy googly eyes.

You could easily argue that these candy googly eyes add nothing when it comes to taste and texture. I would argue back that they do add a little bit of crunch, but would kind of agree that flavour wise they’re just adding some sweet and nothing more. The thing they do add is endless entertainment, and maybe that’s just what desserts, snacks and candies could use. Even if your dessert is fancy or your candy is fun, these googly eyes just seem to add even more fun to them.

My plan is simple, I bought a handful of these googly eyes, and I’ve decided that over the next few weeks/months I’m going to take every opportunity to add them to many of my desserts, snacks and candies that I’m eating to see if it actually makes them better. I’m convinced that there will not be one failure for this experiment, and I challenge any treat to try and be less fun without some slightly wonky eyes attached to them.