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.