The Pefect Gift For The Sweet Tooth On Your List

This is the perfect marriage of beer and pretzels.

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Candy News

Jason Mecier is opening a show called Candylebrity, and it looks amazing.

NPR has posted two really interesting looks into the candy world.  First is a look at why a package of Peanut Butter M&Ms is lighter than a package of regular M&Ms.

The second article from NPR is a fun, illustrated, look at why chocolate might be better than sex.

Some people argue that candy and beer don't work well together at all, not the Beeroness.

If you want to keep up with all of the daily candy news that we come across as it happens, follow us on Twitter.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Beer-Flavored Lollipops - Lollyphile - For those of you that enjoy the flavour of beer, but don't like getting any kind of buzz. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Stuff I Want To Try

ChocOBeer  - Carre Chocolates- The perfect gift for that special bartender at your local sports bar. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Beer-Flavored Jelly Beans - Jelly Belly - I don't drink beer, but I may enjoy eating it. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Candy News

"The price of chocolate to triple" in price... This means your chocolate bars will either get expensive or lower in quality.

Why do chocolate prices soar?  Sometimes it's because of a bad crop, sometimes times it's because of high demand.

China isn't the only place eating more chocolate, as it turns out North American's are eating more dark chocolate too.

It's good thing people are eating more dark chocolate, because there's even more evidence that it's good for you.

There's eating retro candy, and then there's this.

If you're a visual artist and a fan of potato chips, you should watch this video.

Last week I wrote a short piece about popcorn being the most popular snack in the world, the Smithsonian wrote a more detailed piece about the history of popcorn at the movie theater.

Why you might like junk food, personally I can take it or leave it... Nope I can't leave it at all.

My friend Jonathan's two favorite things are beer and dessert, now he can know how to pair them perfectly.

You may not want to banter around words like "vanilla" anymore.

Do you like bananas?  How do you feel about ice cream?  What if you could have the best of both worlds?

To think my mother wanted me to stop playing with my food, who would have thought there would be a career in it.

Do you eat too much junk food?  I'm not sure if I do or not, either way here's a way to cut down a little.

If you want to keep up with all of the daily candy news that we come across as it happens, follow us on Twitter.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Samuel Adams Beer Lover's Sampler Gift Box - TCHO - I don't actually drink beer, but I enjoy chocolate that goes well with beer. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Beercandy  - Beercandy - I think eating these candies might make me feel more manly. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Friday's Candy Links

Candy flavoured beers are not new, but beer flavoured candy made by people who make candy flavoured beer, that's news.

Is it blasphemy in the UK to eat the likeness of a royal?  I wonder if William and Kate know?

Here's a new expensive coffee trend with a hint of chocolate and mint, oh... it's also passed through the bowls of an elephant.

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Monday's Candy Links

Maltesers is going to release some cool retro commercials to celebrate 75 years of candy making.

Flavoured beers are strange, almost as strange as other things that are flavored like beer.

You think you know the food you're eating?  Well what's the main ingredient?

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Wednesday's Candy Links

Luden's is looking for a jingle to sell their cough drops, here are a few words that rhyme with "soar throat" to help you out:  tore moat, chore boat, more gloat...

Did you hear that?  It sounds like the best chocolate bar I've ever tasted.

Soft serve beer foam, keeps your beer cold and looking a little like a Dairy Queen Sundae.

This is the kind of news that really ticks me off, apparently there are reports that some bad bottles of coke (here in Greece) have gotten out to the public.

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Wednesday's Candy Links

The Royal ladies go out for some sweets, Kate likes chocolate, Camilla likes Jelly Beans, the Queen... she has some cake.

If you like beer and gummy bears than you should probably click this link.

Do you prefer to buy you cupcakes anonymously?  The cupcake ATM is here.

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Old Candy Critic Articles - Fair Treats

I've decided to take down several old articles from the candycritic.org and re-post them here on the Candy Critic blog.  This week I'm posting an article I wrote after a day at the county fair.  I love state, county, national, or any kind of carnival or fair.

On a hot summer day there is nothing better than to head off to the county fair. It doesn't really matter where you live, going out to support your local agricultural industry is important. Just remember that if it weren’t for farmers you wouldn't eat. They toil day and night working long hours so you can enjoy a quality of life that is so amazing. Going to a fair is important, because you not only support them by paying admission, but you also tell our farming friends that you know they work hard and give them their moment in the sun. You can do all this, and still ride the tilt-a-whirl so many times that you can't keep the corn dog and candy apple you ate down. That's why we live in a great society.

We here at Candy Critic decided to head down to our local fair (the Super Ex) here in Ottawa and pay tribute to what could be the most important resource in the world, carnival candy. We decided to take a look at three treats that we enjoyed at the fair and review them. We chose the treats based on their fair-like qualities. Mainly:

How exclusive they are to fairs or carnivals.

How traditional they are in our minds.

How close in proximity they were to the fishing game, because it's a winner every time.

Treat Number one

Beer Nuts

Beer nuts are what a fair is all about. I love these things. Best of all, I love the fact that I can take them home. Although they're not as good later on, I usually pick up a couple of packs for later in the week. Speaking of fresh, I think beer nuts, although tasty, might be one of the bigger scams in the carnival world. They always claim they're fresh, but they always come in a sealed bag. Sure they were probably made that day, but I doubt they were "just made" as most beer nut booths will claim. I can't prove them wrong, but it just seems unlikely.

The odd thing about beer nuts that I just can't figure out is: why do they call them beer nuts? They're candy-coated peanuts. They're really lumpy too, but candy coated nonetheless. Maybe they put beer in the candy coating to give it the unique flavour, but I don't really taste it. Maybe it's that they go well with beer.

Beer nuts are by far my favourite classic carnival food, I never go to one and not pick up a bag.

Treat Number two

Cotton Candy

I just recently learned that the average bag of cotton candy, or candy floss, has only two or three tablespoons of sugar. My question is: what makes up the rest of it? What I mean by this is that I'm pretty confident cotton candy is basically just sugar, colouring and air. I'm thinking there must be a lot of air, if this is the case. Not that it's a problem; I'm a great believer in candy negative space, what would an Aero bar be without the air? I've also had the fortune of eating some old candy floss after the air has leaked out, and it's not great.

The thing about candy floss is the texture. It is really the bread and butter of this treat. I've eaten some great flavoured candy floss, but for the most part it only has one flavour... Candy Floss. I judge my cotton candy by how fluffy it is and how colourful it is. Fluffy tells you how fresh it might be. If you get a rock hard ball, chances are it's been around for a while. Colour, on the other hand, is just a personal thing. To be honest, I'm always a little disappointed to see only pink and blue cotton candy when I buy it. I know they make more colours, but for some reason they just never seem to be available.

My batch today was nice and fresh; it also made my fingers super sticky.

Treat Number three

Mini Donuts

I don't know where you're from, but the mini donut thing is fairly new around my parts. I say fairly new because in the realm of carnivals, a confection that's around for less than 50 years is still pretty new. Most carnival treats have been around longer than just about anybody reading this article. Mini donuts are great. Covered in some kind of sugar flavoured powder, or in some cases just powdered sugar, it's a must on a trip to the fair.

The batch I tried on this particular day had to be one of the best I've ever had; so good that I would say it was the treat of the fair for me this year. Normally when I get these round treats, they're a little soft on the outside, but these ones had a bit of a crunch. A nice surprise if you ask me. Donuts work so well with a bit of a crunch, something I'd recommend anybody to try. Sure, being cake-like all around is ok, but crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside is really a nice change. I don't think most donut shops have the ability to create something like this and keep a good shelf-life so I don't blame them, but if you're making them fresh and you can't do this, you should be ashamed.

The surprise treat of the day. I liked it even more than my fresh, handmade corndog.

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Beer and Chocolate Pairs

I've posted many times about wine and chocolate pairings, and it makes sense.  Wine is after all considered one of the classier of the alcoholic beverages, and chocolate is considered one of the classier candies.  But frankly I don't like the idea of elevating chocolate beyond the taste buds of everybody who doesn't raise their pinky finger when they drink tea.  Apparently neither does Lindt chocolates.  They've created a great list of perfect pairing for beer and chocolate.  To be honest the more you think about it, the more it makes sense that these two flavours would go together.

Click here to check out the list.

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Don't Forget Dad This Year

Father's day is quickly approaching (June 19th) and maybe you want to give him something a little different this year.  Instead of giving dad a tie, or a cheesy card that plays the theme from Star Trek, you could get him some candy.  What if your dad loves candy, but he also loves beer?  Don't worry, we have a solution.

Click here to find out what to get him for fathers day.

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Beer and Chocolate Together

Just in time for St Patrick's Day a small chocolate maker in New York has combined beer into their selection of chocolates.  The chocolatier claims that the flavour of beer actually improves the the chocolate more than simply adding a flavour to it.  I'm convinced this could be true, but I guess I'll have to try it to be sure.

Click here to read more.

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Feeling Hot And Sober

Want to change both of those? Well here's the solution for you.

Click here to solve all your problems.

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