My Favourite Candy Of All Times... Only Not

The number 1 candy review of candycritic.org is a milk chocolate Kit Kat bar. The thing is, it's not this milk chocolate Kit Kat bar. When I first started to review candy, people would often ask me if I was worried about running out of candies to review. I never really thought that far in advance, but maybe a sign that I'm starting to run thin on candy ideas is the fact that I've reviewed at least 5 different version of the milk chocolate Kit Kat bar. I guess it would seem pointless, except for the fact that each one of the milk chocolate Kit Kat bars is actually fairly different.

Check out my latest milk chocolate Kit Kat bar review coming from the USA.

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Cooking Up Some Toffee With Boxcar - Another Sweet Place That's Open For Business

We have yet another great sweet company to check out today. For the next little while, we’re going to look at sweet places that can still bring a smile to your face. Today we’re looking at a candy company out of the good old US of A.

Cooking With Boxcar might seem like an unconventional name of a place to get homemade toffee, but don't let the name fool you. These guys make classic toffees, and John (AKA Boxcar) has a pretty deep Italian cooking family history to make sure he's doing it right.

During these difficult time, Cooking With Boxcar has continued to stay open to make sure anybody craving a crunchy bite of toffee isn't denied. They even have some interesting deals on right now for Mother's Day.  Since they deliver almost anywhere in the USA, make sure to check out cookingwithboxcar.com if you need some crunchy sweet fun right now.

(ED – This is not a paid advertisement, we here at Candy Critic want to help the local candy shops in this very difficult time. If you’re feeling down, and you need a little sweet treat, make sure to visit the website of your local candy shop, and consider placing an order, many are still open for curbside pick up or delivery. If you run a small sweet, snack or dessert shop, let us know, we’ll be happy to feature you on this blog and on our social media to let people know you’re still open for business.) 

It's Labor Day, But We Still Posted A New Candy Review - Necco Wafers

This new review is a classic, but according to the news (candy news) it's not going to be around for very long. It appears that after hundreds of years this classic candy might be going away. There are people all over the internet trying to get their hands on one last taste of Necco wafers. Some might save them for posterity, others might want to ceremoniously eat one last bite. We just wanted to make sure we had the review covered in our collection.

Click here to read the review that might be impossible to find.

We don't have a new episode of Chris's Monday Morning Breakfast Thoughts because it's labor day and that means we're taking the day off. We will however have a special video tomorrow that we're cleverly calling Chris's Tuesday Morning Breakfast Thoughts.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook to complain about the lack of  MMBT.

Also follow us on Tumblr to get the new reviews as soon as they come out.

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Have The People At Oreo Gone Mad?!!

When I was a kid there was one kind of Oreo, it had chocolate cookies and a white icing center. At some point in my childhood the Oreo Double Stuff was introduced with the idea that there was twice as much cream as there was before. This was to be Oreo's first foray into changing their cookies, as well as into some controversy. There was a theory that Oreo simply reduced the amount of cream in their classic cookie, and the more expensive double stuff was in fact just the old version of the regular Oreo.

Slowly Oreo started to add more versions of their cookies onto the market. Golden Oreos are an Oreo with vanilla cookies instead of chocolate. Uh-Oh Oreos were a vanilla cookie with a chocolate cream center. Most of these variations used either chocolate or vanilla cookies and chocolate or vanilla cream. At this point things weren't out of hand, chocolate and vanilla seemed like an area where Oreo could venture safely.

Somewhere between 2006 and 2010 things seem to have fallen off the rails. As usual it appears to have originated in either Japan or Canada. Both of these countries are often the source of strange flavored things becoming the norm in the western world. You can always reference potato chips in Canada and Kit Kit bars in Japan for a better idea of the phenomenon. Canada often introduces not extremely strange versions, but slightly different flavours to the American market, it's easy with their close proximity to the USA. Japan on the other hand is legendary for their extreme flavour varieties of classic treats, and on the Internet these crazy flavours slowly find their way into American homes.

By 2010 it appears that the western world had jumped on board the freaky Oreo cookie bandwagon and things have been getting weirder and weirder ever since. It seems that the folks at Oreo have been given cart blanch and can pretty much come up with any flavour choices they want. Gone are the days when chocolate and vanilla are the only two flavours allowed. Today it seems that Oreo cookies come up with some kind of crazy new cookie every month. Pumpkin spice, blueberry pie, and orange creamcicle are just a few examples of some of the limited editor flavours we've seen so far.

But much like the introduction the double stuff cookie, these varieties have stirred up a bit of controversy. In my circle of friends the Oreo fireworks cookie (an Oreo with pop rocks like candy in the icing) was the topic of a huge debate. Some calling it a travesty of nature, others calling it the greatest thing ever created. Then there was the Oreo Peeps debacle, something that affected me personally. These Oreo cookies made headlines when it was found out that the pink colouring of the icing caused a certain colour shift in a solid biological function.  Yup, it made your poop pink.

I had already eaten a few of the cookies before I learned about this, but I didn't check my bathroom colours at the time. Fortunately I had more than half a bag left when I did learn about this issue, and I can tell you that the story was true... And a little disturbing. While this was the big story that broke about these cookies, the thing I found odd about the Oreo Peeps was what they did to your mouth. I realized that every time I ate a few of these cookies, I would spit up pink every time I brushed my teeth, for a few days.  So even if it was 2 or 3 days since eating them I would find that when I brushed my teeth I would spit out pink.

Oreo is on the edge of crossing over into dangerous territory with these crazy flavour, a line that's been crossed by a few candy companies trying to ride the wave of crazy flavour varieties. After that line is crossed, few survive. This line is crossed when a company has obviously run out of logical ideas when it comes to flavours. After this point these companies start to "get creative" and often weird for the sake of being weird. Kit Kat has weathered this storm and built an industry on their strange flavours, but a few other candy companies have fallen down that hole and not done well. The true indication of this is when Oreo decides they want to try savory flavours instead of sweet.

When you cross that line, you may find that some of your die hard fans have fallen out of favour. The news release about your new wacky flavour doesn't get the rush to the stores, but instead gets ridicule or a ho-hum type reaction. While the debate among my friends rages about whether or not Oreo has jumped the shark with these wacky flavours, I've found myself on the side of enjoying them. I've enjoyed the creative ideas, I've even enjoyed the flavour of most of them. So far Oreo, I'm on your side, but be careful. One day I may not rush out the store to try your latest creation.

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New York City Round Up

It's been over 10 years since I've been to New York, but before that time I'd been to New York several times.  I wasn't sure what to expect when I went back this time.  New York is a trendy city, and there's constantly change, this goes for food as well as fashion and general trends.  The thing is, New York is also known for certain mainstays, things that make New York the city that it is, this also goes for food.  The problem is, as a non-native New Yorker, I'm not always sure what is a mainstay and what is a trend.  When I was visiting regularly I thought I had a few ideas, but I'm never really 100% sure.  This trip was going to be a revision for me, of what New York is right now.

The one thing that shocked me most of all was the change in restaurants, mainly the delis. While the old fashioned delis are still around, there seems to be a growing trend toward larger "food markets" that look more like a cross between a deli, health food store, and supermarket.  They're all in one, like delis are, but much larger and a little fancier.  These food markets are a lot more expensive than the delis I remember as well.

With the expansion of these food markets, you're also getting more and more "healthy' snacks available as well.  Things like power bars, and high protein bars are all over the place at these markets. They seem to be pushing the baked treats out a little, as well as the chocolate bars.  I can't say I'm happy about that, but since they have yet to eliminate the baked goods I can't complain entirely.  I also don't mind that more and more fresh fruit is available, since I really like fresh fruit.

The good news is that sweet treats are not going away from New York, the candy stores and bakeries of this city are here to stay.  They're a solid part of the foundation of food in this city because they both innovate and offer the classics as well.  From black and white cookies, to cronuts, this city has some of the best baked goods you'll find anywhere. From cakes that will set you back hundreds of dollars, to a cinnamon treat that won't cost you more than a few dollars, it's really a great place to discover your loved for baked goods.

Candy wise, New York is really fascinating.  It is a trend setting place, with brands like the Mast Brothers working out of this city, but what New York really offers the candy aficionado is selection.  New York is a place where you can find tradition candies from all over the world, including one of the only high end Japanese snack shops I've ever seen outside of Japan. You also can't miss the giant Hershey and M&Ms store in Times Square.  These two stores are huge, but the selection they offer is pretty minimal, in fact the M&Ms store doesn't even carry that much candy at all, mostly just merchandise. There are also many retro and classic candy stores in the city, with Dylan's Candy Bar being the big show in this category.

I've been to Dylan's Candy Bar before, but this place just keeps getting better and better after each visit. I imagine that the competition in New York must be pretty serious, but this place keeps going, and they're even growing.  I think one thing that keeps this place interesting (at least for me) is the fact that they don't really sell anything outside of the candy world.  Many candy stores get into novelty and retro items that are outside of candy, and eventually seem to peel away from candy, and focus on the novelties.  Dylan's really seems to keep the focus on the candy and even expands the candy world. They offer all kinds of their own candy treats, and even have their own candy fashion (that's more than just their logo pasted on a t-shirt). If you're a candy fan (and I imagine you are if you're reading this), and you're in New York, you have to stop at Dylan's.

I think the only problem I have with New York's candy, and maybe even their food, is that it's really hard to find something that is exclusively New York.  The city is a place where you can find food from all over the world, or at the very least variations on that food.  You can also find a lot of American food, it's a pretty patriotic place when it comes to cuisine. But you can't really find anything that's exclusively New York, particularly a style of food.  This isn't a big problem since you're inundated with all of the other foods available from all over the US and parts of the world, but I've always wondered what food represents New York, maybe an apple?

On my last day of my visit I was walking through Times Square and I came across something that represented New York to me perfectly.  Taking place at the Square was the finals of the world championship of eating.  It was US VS Japan, and the contestants were eating fried rice.  There was a crowd gathered around, most chanting "USA", but there were also a few people chanting "J A Pan". It was good natured, over indulgent, and a little strange.

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Disney World Roundup (With Bonus Review)

I'm not sure how many people know this, but Disney World is really a foodie destination.  I think some people think that this theme park's best food offerings are corn dogs and chicken nuggets, but that's just not true. Granted these options are available, but this series of 4 theme parks, many resorts, and so much more offers some pretty amazing food as well as attractions.  There's everything from "fine dinning" to some pretty interesting niche snacks.

Since this is a blog about sweets, and candy, we'll start there.  Disney excels at some sweets, and fails almost completely with others.  When it comes to bakeries and hand made sweets, Disney has a huge assortment of things to try and almost none of them will let you down.  Some are classic Disney treats, like the famous Dole Whip, and others are far more unique and fancy, like pumpkin fudge (a special treat for the fall season).

Disney has also jumped onto the cupcake bandwagon with guns blazing.  Every single restaurant, bakery and many snack stands offer cupcakes.  Some are unique to their area of the parks, others are available all over the resort, almost every single one we tried was tasty, some were down right fantastic.  These weren't the only trends that  Disney seems to be trying out (we saw "cronuts"), but cupcakes are certainly the sweet treat that seems to be working for them.  They're all over the place, and there are some pretty amazing choices available. If you check some of the Disney World food blogs (yes these exist) you'll find that people collect these cupcakes like others collect Disney trading pins.

The good thing about their fine hand made and baked sweets is that they spread them throughout the resorts, including to the restaurants.  They've even taken the idea of dessert to a new level and started dessert parties.  These are parties that you pay extra for, and are associated with another event.  We went to the Star Wars dessert party, and it was pretty good.  The party consisted of a huge dessert spread in an indoor area with all kinds of Star Wars characters wandering around.  After the dessert party, we were ushered to a reserved spot for fireworks, and also given a special Chewbacca mug.  It was  a great night, and the food was constant.

Speaking of constant food, if we're to talk about the meals at Disney there are two descriptions that work, huge portion and fancier than you might think.  We had some days where we just felt sick at the end of the day.  One piece of advice that comes up on many Disney travel blogs is that sometimes you might want to share a meal.  I would say that most of the time you'll want to share a meal.  These massive portions were actually a down side for me.  The food was interesting, so I wanted to try as much as possible, but the portions are so big that you can't.  Since I'm a person that likes variety, I found myself really limited, and often overstuffed.

While the portions were a bit of a bummer, as the Candy Critic, I have one huge complaint about the sweets, and it breaks my hears since I'm a huge Goofy fan.  Disney has a few series of packaged snacks and candies including Goofy's Candy Company, Chip and Dales Snacks, and a few others.  These are prepackaged candies and snacks available everywhere in the resorts.  For the most part, I found these snacks to be very disappointing.  Most of them were just regular snacks packaged in Disney packages.  A few had Disney shapes when they could, but even that was limited.  I would think since they're putting so much money into creating some epic foods and hand made sweets throughout the parks that maybe they'd have some clever candies as well.  Alas that was not to be found, and you can read my review here to find out how disappointed I was.

All in all I would say that Disney World is expensive, but worth it. I don't see us going back in the near future, but not because we didn't have fun.  The portions were huge, and some of the flavours a little dulled down for North American palettes, but all in all I really enjoyed the food.  Some was OK, but most was surprisingly amazing.  If you're really into food, and you want to visit, I recommend visiting the Epcot Food and Wine Show (it was going on while we were there), it takes the surprising food variety of these parks and amps it up a bit.

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This Week In Candy

We're at Disney!  We're here for a while, and I imagine that our Facebook and Twitter feed are a clear indication of this.  I say "imagine" because, as usual I'm writing this well in advance.

As we mentioned last week, some of our regular posts will still be going up this week, and as you would expect, we've added a Disney twist.  Our "Candy Thing" and "Candy In The Media" are going to be full of pixie dust. Once we get home, we'll have a whole bunch of fun stuff to share about this epic trip.  While we're not posting a review this week, we're collecting a whole bunch of treats to review.  To keep you occupied, this week we'll be featuring another candy variety, this time M&Ms.

I think it's time I eat a Turkey Leg.

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This Week In Candy

Guess what?  We're headed to Disney World real soon.

Very soon Allison and I are headed to the happiest place on earth. We're just finalizing all our last minute plans and working out our route... That's right, you heard me right, we're driving to Florida.  That means stopping at all kinds of classic American road trip stops down the east coast.  Our first stop is likely going to be a Cracker Barrel, because that place knows to how to be American. After that, who knows. Actually is you have any tips or ideas let us know.  You can follow some of these adventures on our Twitter feed and Facebook page as soon as we hit the road.

Many of our regular posts are going to continue to go online, with a Disney twist.  Our "Candy Things" and "Candy In The Media" are all going to be about this Magical Kingdom.  We're also going to write up a full report on this adventure when we get back, and show you the best treats Disney World has to offer.  This week we're continuing our series about candy varieties with this week featuring Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Today's new review is brought to us from our great friends at ciocolata-de-europa.com. They sent us a great sampling of some chocolate bars that we'd never heard of before.  While this week's review didn't do to well, it was great to try something brand news.  Click here to read this week's new review.

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This Week In Candy

We're finally settled... Sort of.

So far our move back home has gone pretty well, nothing's broken... yet, and we're starting to settle into the Canada vibe.  It's still strange being back home, but it's a pleasant strange if that makes sense.  What's excited me most is that I can now buy North American treats.  It may not seem like much, but while you're overseas all of your North American friends are posting about the newest flavour of OREO (Nutella I hear) that's come out, and you can't get any.  Now I can head over to the local store and pick up a bag (or at worst drive a few hours to the US and pick up a bag). I'll miss all of the cool foreign treats I've been eating, but I'm happy to have some local treats for a while.

Speaking of driving to the USA, we're planning a road trip down south soon, and we need suggestions for not to miss US treats and snacks.  We'll be on the East Coast for the trip, and plan on going all the way down to Florida.  So any suggestions you might have are greatly appreciated.  We'll likely post a few fun photos along the way on Twitter and Facebook as well.

This week we're continuing our articles about candy varieties, this week we're looking at Pocky, our favorite Japanese Snack.  We'll also have all of our regular posts including our weekly Candy Thing, and our weekly Candy In The Media post.  Snack facts, our Instagram feed will continue be a little random where we'll focus on fun facts that we learn on the go. We'll be back to our regular Snack Facts feed in October.

This week's new candy review is a Kit Kat rip off.  The rare thing about this particular bar is that it was actually pretty good.  Most rip offs don't work at all, and tend to be money grabs instead. Click here to find out where this bar succeeded.

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This Week In Candy

This weekend I went to a local festival and I had the opportunity to sample some sugarcane juice.  I haven't had sugarcane in such a long time I forgot how sweet it is and how hard it is to finish a whole cup.  My favorite part of the process was watching this amazingly decorated machine spin as it crushed the cane into a fine green juice.  They added a dash of lemon to the juice to balance out the super sweet flavour. Snacking at local festivals is always great.

This week on the Candy Critic YouTube channel we released episode two of our series Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!!  We've got a few questionable treats lined up for future episodes, including a twist on a very popular chocolate spread.  We're also posting all of the episodes of Junk Fud (our almost weekly podcast) on YouTube as well.  Make sure to check later this week as we'll be posting the 4th installment of Junk Fud On the Road, all about France.

Speaking of Junk Fud On The Road, we're currently planning a few travel adventures right now.  We're thinking about India, and the USA.  Two very different places, but both really well known for food.  We're still working out the details, but as usual we'll be posting all about the trip during and when we come back home.  Stay tuned for more details.

This week on Snack Facts, our Instagram feed, we're looking at Snickers bars.  Probably one of the most well known candy bars in the world, and likely the most well represented candy (behind Doritos) in Superbowl advertising.  Make sure to check back every day to learn something new about this meal in a bar.  You can follow Snack facts on our Instagram feed, Facebook page, and Twitter feed.

This week's review is a result of last week's episode of Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!!  You can watch the video to see our initial response to the Cambodian Banana Candies, then read this week's review to get a more detailed look at this very strange chewy treat. Click here to read the review.

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Candy In The Media

This is a long, but pretty awesome documentary that looks how the Hershey's plant ran a long time ago.

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A new Episode of Junk Fud

Make sure to check out our latest installment of the Junk Fud podcast, Junk Fud on the Road.  This week Allison and Chris (that's me) are looking back at their adventures in the USA and what kind of junk food, snacks and candy they came across.

Click here to have a listen.

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This Week In Candy

Valentine's Day is coming!  If you're in love, and you like chocolate, this is pretty much the best holiday to be alive. If you don't like chocolate then there are a few other options, including Conversation Hearts and Cinnamon Hearts.  However, if you're not in love this holiday might not be that great.  Don't worry though, we have an article going online next week just for all of you single folks out there.

This week however we're only hinting at Valentine's Day, instead we're going to focus this week on America.  For no reason that I can logically think of we're going to look at my favorite people to the south (of Canada, where I'm from).  This week on Junk Fud, our podcast, we have an episode of Junk Fud on the Road all about the USA.  We're also looking at this proud nation by having an American candy bar review-a-thon.  That means that instead of just one review this week, we'll have 5, and all of them are going to be American candy bars (I'd like to thank my friend Katie and Kyle for helping out with this review-a-thon).

Not that we want to push this any further, but since the time is right, we figured on Snack Facts, our Instagram feed, we thought we'd look at Hershey's (a truly American candy company). Say what you want about the quality of the chocolate, this company has a pretty big history in the candy world.  It's probably the only candy company that has an amusement park too.  So make sure to check our Instagram feed, Facebook page, or Twitter feed every day this week to learn a little something about this history of Hershey's.

As we mentioned above, this week we're having an American candy bar review-a-thon.  As far as I know all of the bars featured this week are only available in the US as well.  You might find some in fancy candy stores that sell American exports, but average candy stores outside of the US probably don't sell these at all.  This might come as a surprise to some of you Americans out there.  Our first review is so chock full of America that it'll make you salute an eagle, after all it's got bacon in it.  Click here to read today's new review, and check back on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, or Google +, to see the rest of our American candy bar review-a-thon updates.

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This Week In Candy

Well the first of the three big holidays have past, and the second (at least for Americans) is on it's way, Thanksgiving.  I'm actually a big fan of Thanksgiving, and I'm glad that Americans and Canadians celebrate it at different times.  Mostly because this gives me the opportunity to celebrate it twice, my excuse being that my father lives in the US.  I really love turkey, and I also love the many desserts that come with Thanksgiving, pies, cakes, and such.  So this week, and next, we're going to be celebrating this most festive of holidays whose sole purpose is to lead up to a meal that will likely just make you regret having eaten it in the first place.

We're also continuing to work on the new projects here at candycritic.org.  Last week we released the first installment of our dessert club, featuring my world famous banana bread.  Next we're looking at some holiday treats including gingerbread, and a turduckin version of a cake.  We're also looking at various was to make ice cream without an ice cream maker.  Make sure to keep up with our social media sites to see what we're making next, and play along if you'd like.

On a side note, but food related, I've been asked to do some graphic design/consulting work on a menu for a restaurant.  They want me to re-think the format as well as some of the food on a menu, something I've never done before, but always had an opinion.  I'll be posting about my progress on our social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr), and I'll probably write a blog about the process when it's done.  So far it hasn't been an easy task, but it has been really fun.  Unfortunately the restaurant wants to remain anonymous, so the name will be blanked out.

This week on Snack Facts, our Instagram feed, we're going to post some early Thanksgiving facts for all of our American friends.  We're going to look at the history of this great holiday, and more particularly why we eat what we do on this day.  Make sure to check our Instagram feed daily this week, but if you don't use Instagram don't worry, we'll also post Snack facts on our Twitter feed and Facebook page as well.

This week's new review is a pretty interesting bar.  In the candy world this bar is fairly politically charged, as it's taking aim at what some consider unhealthy candy.  My opinions on the matter are simple, I love all candy, so I love the idea of stirring the pot a bit when it comes to new ideas.  Click here to read about this "trend" in candy bars.

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An Apparently Canadian Candy Thing

While trying to find a fun thing to post on this Wednesday's "Candy Thing", I thought I would search out something with a Canadian theme.  Today is Canada Day, the day we became mostly independent from England.  I thought I would search through the internets and see if there's was anything truly Canadian, and candy related (maybe a moose candy dispenser or something) that I could post today.  While doing my search I kept coming across something called "Canadian Mints".  Now I've been a Canadian all my life, and I've been writing about candy for many years, but I've never heard of Canadian Mints.  Is this an American thing, like calling cheddar cheese "American" even though it's British?  I'm thinking I may have to try and find a bag of these to review.

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Cadbury Proof - Part 2

Photo by Adam Montpetit www.behance.net/amontpetit

Almost 5 years ago I posted a blog about the purchase of Cadbury by Kraft (You can read it here).  I said in this post that I would save a Dairy Milk wrapper that was purchased when Cadbury wasn't owned by Kraft, then in one year I would compare the bars and see if there were any changes made.  Life got in the way and I wasn't able to write the article in one year.  Then after having moved several times, I lost the wrapper.  However, after having moved again recently, I was going through my file drawer and I came across the Dairy Milk wrapper from almost 5 years ago.  It reminded me that I should check up on how Cadbury/Kraft was doing.  See if they've made any great advancements, as well as check to make sure they're not lowering their standards in any way.

Since I'm not living in Canada right now, the place where I bought the original bar, I had to ask around and see if anybody would be willing to help me out by purchasing and photographing a Dairy Milk bar for me in Canada.  Fortunately my friend Adam (check out his awesome photo website here) was happy to oblige.  Probably both to help, and also to have an excuse to eat some chocolate after his photo shoot.  The first picture on this post is of the current state of the Dairy Milk bar in Canada, the photo directly above is of the wrapper from almost 5 years ago.  The wrapper itself has gone through a bit of updating, but I must say not much.  The two glasses of milk are still there, and the logo is almost exactly the same.  The colour of the package may have changed a bit, but that could also be a lighting thing.  The Dairy Milk font has changed a little, and the biggest change is the addition of the giant chocolate jug.  So far this is fairly promising.

Photo by Adam Montpetit www.behance.net/amontpetit

Upon comparing the ingredients, I'm happy to report that the order that they appear is still the same, and there appears to be little or no change to the ingredients.  This doesn't mean that there is definitely no change at all.  Companies are required to list what ingredients are in a bar, not how much of each ingredient is in a bar.  That means that notionally they could lower the amount of cocoa in the bar, and keep the wrapper the same.  The only reason they would have to change the package is if the change affected the ratio of ingredients.  The ingredients are listed from most found in the bar to the least.  So the amount of cocoa would have to change to the point where there was either less cocoa than soy lecithin, or more cocoa than cocoa butter for a change to be required.

I'm also happy to report that they haven't changed the size of the bar either.  I've traveled around and seen "updated" Dairy Milk bars in the shapes of bubbles, and these bars were a few grams lighter than the Canadian Dairy Milk bar.  I was worried that the folks at Kraft had decided that this "new" shape would be the norm all over the world, and that they would shrink the size of the Dairy Milk bar.  But as the bar Adam purchased shows, 42 grams, is exactly the same weight as the one I purchased several years back. It would appear that Kraft is doing well and leaving this classic bar alone.

While I am very happy about the fact that the Dairy Milk bar hasn't changed in Canada, I'm not completely happy with the way Kraft has dealt with Cadbury products.  I was optimistic when the purchase happened that Kraft would try and make Cadbury products more universal.  I was hoping that they might try and move some Cadbury products into new markets and share the wealth.  Caramello Koalas should be available to everyone around the world, not just Australians, and Crunchy bars should be on every store shelf around the world.  Most importantly Cadbury should be available to my neighbors to the south, the Americans.  As far as I know Cadbury is still a specialty item in the US, and that's a shame.  It's about time Americans knew what great chocolate bars taste like, and maybe add a bit of competition into what I consider one of the weakest in quality of chocolate bar markets.

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This Week in Candy

It's a hectic week here at Candy Critic, we're gearing up for a big change, and the transition for this change is going to take a while to sort out.  That doesn't mean we'll stop posting things, it just means that things are going to get a little funky.  But don't worry, the change is not coming this week, we've got lots to post this week, including a review of a classic treat that frankly should have been reviewed a long time ago.

This week I'm seeking out some suggestions for snacks I should sample in North America.  I haven't been back home in years, I'm heading there soon, and I need some good suggestions for treats that I should try.  I'm interested in both classic snacks that I may have forgotten, as well as new snacks that have come along in the last 4 years.  So if you can think of anything that I "must" try while I'm back home, let me know.

Finally, don't forget to check out this weeks Snack Facts all about fast food.  You can check out Snack Facts on our Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram feeds.  Just follow us on any of those social media sites and get a new Snack Fact delivered to you every day.

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It's The 4th of July!!!

To all of my American friends it's a big deal, to me it's an excuse to eat a giant American cookie.

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Classic/Creative Candy Advertisement

Since we're right between the 4th of July and Canada day, I thought I would mention the most controversial difference between Americans and Canadians when it comes to candy.  That would be the availability of Kinder Eggs.  A simple chocolate egg with a little toy inside is a great example of how laws differ on either side of the border.  In the US, they're illegal, in Canada, they're a staple.  As far as I know the law in the US that bans them says that you cannot have a candy with a toy inside it.  Americans are afraid that kids will choke on the toys, Canadians aren't so worried.  What do you think is right?

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A New Greek Candy Review

I know that many of my North American readers are going to be a little upset at the idea of posting a non-US or Canadian review this week.  After all, both countries are celebrating their national days this week, and I'm even Canadian.  The problem is, I didn't really think the idea of posting 2 months of Greek candy reviews all the way through.  I'm also a stickler for following through on things that I promise.

Click here to read our latest Greek candy review.