The Candy Critic Team Canada Shreddies Olympic Challenge.

During the summer games of 2016 I gave myself a fun little challenge. I promised to stuff gummy bears in my mouth and sing the Canadian national anthem, Oh Canada. How many gummy bears you might ask? I stuffed one gummy bear for every bronze medal, two for every silver, and three for every gold medal Canada won during the summer Olympics.  Well I'm at it again. Once again to celebrate the amazing accomplishments of team Canada I will shove food in my mouth and sing the national anthem.

This year I decided that gummy bears is not the best way to represent team Canada. After all gummy bears were invented in Germany, and don't really represent the true north strong and free. So this year I'm shoving Shreddies cereal in my mouth. Shreddies is a staple cereal in any Canadian household. They're also very dry and full of many sharp corners. I also think that Shreddies will be far more hilarious to watch me shove in my mouth and sing.  So every day I'll be adding to the bowl of Shreddies, and with each medal won the sharp cornered cereal numbers will climb, and my mouth will get dryer and dryer just looking at it.

Make sure to checkout our Twitter and Facebook feeds for daily Team Canada Shreddies Challenge updates.

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I Don't Like Mystery Flavours Anymore

I'd like to call an end to "mystery flavoured", "guess the flavour", and "name that flavour" candies and snacks.  It's not an original concept, and frankly it's very lazy.  For those unfamiliar, this is a trend that started about 10 years ago,  and has gone on strong ever since.  It's most common in potato chips, but I've seen it in other snacks and candy as well.  What this mystery flavour trend is, is a snack in a package, often covered in question marks, with no flavour listed anywhere. Instead of a named flavour the company labels the snack a "mystery" flavour, and sometimes offers the purchaser of the snack the opportunity to name the flavour themselves.  What you're getting is a flavour that the snack companies research and development team found tasty, but couldn't put a finger on what exact flavour it was.

What they do instead is get you to figure that out.  While I'm sure the marketing people at these snack companies would say that they're being "interactive", to me it just comes off as lazy.  There's a very interesting and challenging part of creating a new flavour, and it's about recognition.  If you eat a candy that's supposed to taste like apple, but instead it tastes like blueberry, your brain is going to set off some harsh warning signals.  Your brain may even go so far as to tell you that this apple has gone bad because it doesn't taste like an apple. Even if you like blueberry, and this is the best blueberry candy ever, your brain might tell you that it's gross because of  the expectation of apple flavouring.

This is something that marketing departments at snack companies have to get perfectly right every single time.  If they market a snack with a particular theme, and the flavour doesn't match in our heads with that theme, then it could lead to a complete failure of the snack. New Coke might have worked out perfectly if they didn't market it as a "better" version of Coke. If they had sold it as a different cola instead of a Coke replacement, we might still be drinking it today.  Flavour, and smell (which are very connected in our brains) are connected to our memories in a very strong way. If you smell cinnamon it might evoke memories of Christmas, if you smell pumpkin spice, you immediately think of fall no matter what the season.

This is why it's so important for these snack companies to get the theme and the flavour to match perfectly. When you read a package, your brain is preparing itself before you even take one bite.  If the description on the package does not match at all, then you could be in for a horrible experience no matter how "good" the snack actually is.  There are a few cases where candy companies will actually use this for their own benefit.  Some snack companies make treats that are purposefully the wrong colour for the flavour, to mess with our heads.  Why these snacks don't affect us as negatively is that they advertise it on the package, they warn our brains that something is going to be wrong.

Snack companies are making treats, and rather than taking the risk of labeling them a particular flavour, they're intentionally telling us that they don't have one in mind.  They're taking the easy way out of a very difficult and expensive part of the snack making process.  While this may seem like a clever idea, the problem I have is that every company seems to have a new "mystery" flavour every year.  It's a trend that grew old imediately after the first time it was done.

I don't eat snacks to solve a mystery, I eat snacks to satisfy my craving for whatever flavour I've been offered.  Sometimes I'm interested in trying new things, but I want to try new things that have a name, not a question mark.

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Marshmallows Vs Circus Peanuts (Part 1?) The Rice Krispie Challenge

Are Circus Peanuts marshmallows?  This is a question that crossed my mind recently.  I asked a friend of mine who happens to be a marshmallow expert and her opinion was that Circus Peanuts are not.  One person that might disagree with that Circus Peanuts are not marshmallows is John Holahan, the creator of Lucky Charms. The story is that he chopped up Circus Peanuts into a bowl of Cheerios, and Lucky Charms was born (I tried doing this myself, and you can read about it here).  According to the advertising, Lucky Charms contains marshmallows, so therefore some might consider Circus Peanuts to be marshmallows.

It's a difficult thing to really nail down, but recently I was inspired.  I thought the best way to find out if Circus Peanuts are in fact marshmallows is to compare them physically.  Sure I could do some science like stuff and compare the ingredients, but I have a better idea.  Why not try and find out if Circus Peanuts act like marshmallows.  After all if it has feathers and quacks, then it's a duck.

For my first experiment I've decided to see if Circus Peanuts work in a recipe that's tied closely with marshmallows, Rice Krispie Treats.  I'm going to make two batches of Rice Krispie Treats, one with normal fresh marshmallows, and one with an equal amount (in weight) of Circus Peanuts.

The first thing one notices when comparing the two ingredients is the way they melt.  Or more to the point, the way Circus Peanuts don't really melt.  The marshmallows melt very evenly and turn into a creamy liquid.  The Circus Peanuts do melt a bit, but they're much more globby. They also take a bit longer to melt.  In fact when I started melting the Circus Peanuts I was convinced they wouldn't melt at all and the experiment would be a bust fairly soon.

The thing is, the Circus Peanuts did eventually melt, but I'm not certain it's because of a gelatin breaking down in the heat, I'm thinking it has more to do with the sugar melting.  This means that if you're trying this experiment at home yourself, keep an eye on your Circus Peanuts because if it's the sugar melting than it's likely going to burn fairly quickly.

Eventually I managed to get both to a decent enough consistency that I could add the Rice Krispies.  With the marshmallows it only takes a few stirs to get them to blended perfectly with the Rice Krispies.  The Circus Peanuts were a bit more of an effort.  I also didn't end up needing as many Rice Krispies for the amount of Circus Peanuts I was using.

Putting the marshmallow Rice Krispie Treats into a pan is sticky, but fairly easy (particularly if you're liberal with the butter).  The Circus Peanuts were a bit more challenging, but manageable.  I should mention that I was really surprised that the Circus Peanuts worked this well, I thought they wouldn't make it our of the pot.  I eventually managed to flatten both batches of Rice Krispie Treats, however the marshmallow ones looked much more blended.

After letting them cool for about half an hour, it was time to taste.  The marshmallow Rice Krispie Treats were smooth, and each bit of Rice Krispie was coated in a fine coating of melted marshmallow. They were also very chewy, not hard.  The Circus peanuts were certainly not as well coated, and most interesting is that they were kind of hard.  It was as if the Circus Peanuts turned into a slightly chewy hard candy.  The Circus Peanuts stuck together a lot better than I thought they would, with only a few loose Rice Krispies in the bottom of the pan.

Flavour wise I was pretty happy with both treats.  I've always loved Rice Krispie Treats made with marshmallows, in fact they're my favourite way to eat marshmallows. The Circus Peanut Rice Krispie Treats were not bad either.  The cereal gave the normally strange texture of the Circus Peanuts a bit of a crunch, which is good.  It also killed the flavour of the Circus Peanuts a bit, and that's not a bad thing either.

While we  certainly can't say that marshmallows and Circus Peanuts are exactly the same, I wouldn't say that the difference is totally clear either.  At this point I would say that Circus Peanuts might be a marshmallow, but of a different breed.  I may have to try a few other experiments before I say for sure. Fortunately both Circus Peanuts and marshmallows are very abundant.  My only problem is coming up with more experiments.  I'm thinking next I may try and roast them on an open fire.

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Candy In The Media

"Yo Lucky Chaaaaaarms!"

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Wish They Still Made It - Part 5 - Lay's Cinnamon Bun

This was a treat that was pretty much guaranteed to be discontinued.  Last year when I saw the variety of flavours on offer from Lay's annual chip flavour competition, I was pretty sure that Cinnamon Bun wouldn't win.  It's just too strange a flavour for the market, and that's a little sad.  I think these chips deserve a second chance.  I loved them, and I'd easily make them a regular flavour in my chip rotation.  I think if more people actually tried them, they too may have been surprised.

Most of all I like the idea of these chips.  It's about time that chip companies started thinking savory and sweet as well.  Many candy companies use salty flavours to tremendous success, so why can't chip companies use sweet flavours?

Here's my poem on the subject:

Sweet and savory is a great combination,
For a salty snack, a new transition.
Please Lays, oh please, bring these chips back,
I'm really craving, this sort of snack.
Sweet flavoured chips are the future, a hunch,
I want banana bread chips to munch, munch and, munch.

Click here to read the Candy Critic review.

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This Week In Candy

This week Allison managed to win herself a Keurig machine in a raffle.  I've always had a bit of interest in trying one of these things out, but not enough to invest money into a machine.  I've met a few people who've owned them, but every time I've suggested buying pods and trying them out their machine, the people thought I was kidding.  So now that we have our own machine I've been able to sample the drinking sensation that's been taking over the world.  Later this week I'll post a review of my experiences so far.

Valentine's Day is coming up, it's one of the biggest holidays on the candy calendar.  While a great deal of candy is sold on this holiday, I find that the variety of candy is fairly limited.  Cinnamon hearts, heart shaped chocolate, and heart shaped candies are pretty much it.  It's been a while since someone has come up with a really unique sweet treat to celebrate this day of love.

Don't forget that we have a contest going on right now.  You could win yourself some free Mike and Ikes candies. Just click here to get more details, the contest closes next week so don't delay.

On Snack Facts this week, we're featuring the wafer.  It's a staple ingredient in the candy world, and it's been around for a really long time.  I've only recently gained a true respect for this cookie, mostly because so many companies don't understand exactly how to use them properly.  If you're unfamiliar with Snack Facts, it's our Instagram feed that gives you a new and interesting snack fact every day.  If you're not on Instagram, you can also check out Snack Facts on our Twitter feed and on our Facebook page.

This week's review is proof that if I see a candy on television, I want to try it.  I can't tell you how easily I fall victim to candy commercials. I also can't tell you how many times I've fallen victim, only to be disappointed with the final product. Click here and see how the Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk held up.

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How Would You Like Some Free Mike & Ikes?

This week we've started a new contest, brought to you by our friends at Just Born (the folks that make Mike & Ikes and Peeps).  They have some new/retro flavours of Mike and Ikes coming out soon, and they want to share some with one of our readers.  To win this prize pack, all you have to do is send an email or message explaining what your favorite flavour of candy is.  Tell us why this flavour is your favorite and whomever can convince us the most will get the new Mike and Ikes sent to their house (You must be a resident of the USA to enter, sorry rest of the world). You can submit your answer in the comments here, or send us a message on Facebook, Twitter, or here. Make sure include some way for us to contact you back (email always works), and the contest will end in two weeks (February 9th a midnight Eastern).

I mean who doesn't like free candy delivered to their front door? I like it so much that I built this site.

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This Week In Candy

This last week was really a pizza filled week for me.  First of all I was invited to a BBQ potluck pizza party, and it was fantastic.  The idea was that each person was supposed to bring ingredients for a pizza.  The dough was provided, so all you needed to bring was the toppings.  Then, one at a time, a pizza was put onto the BBQ, and each person that brought ingredients would have to top their pizza.  After the pizza was cooked, it was sliced up, and everybody got to have a slice.  I think by the time the night was over dozens of pizzas were made, including 3 dessert pizzas.  I brought one of those dessert pizzas, which consisted of marshmallows, grated milk chocolate (Dairymilk to be exact), and crushed graham crackers. S'Mores pizza!

Also this weekend, I recorded a new episode of the Junk Fud podcast.  This episodes theme was pizza.  Mark, who has been a guest on the Junk Fud podcast in the past had some great stories and insights into the world of pizza.  Hopelly this episode will be online later this week. Mark being such a great guest in the past and this time, is now going to be a regular on the Junk Fud podcast.  For now we're looking to post a new episode of Junk Fud featuring Mark every month.  We're still working out the details, so stay tuned.

This week we're also starting out a contest, brought to you by our friends at Just Born (the folks that make Mike & Ikes and Peeps).  They have some new/retro flavours of Mike and Ikes coming out soon, and they want to share some with one of our readers.  To win this prize pack, all you have to do is send an email or message explaining what your favorite flavour of candy is.  Tell us why this flavour is your favorite and whomever can convince us the most will get the new Mike and Ikes sent to their house (You must be a resident of the USA to enter, sorry rest of the world). You can submit your answer in the comments here, or send us a message on Facebook, Twitter, or here. Make sure include some way for us to contact you back (email always works), and the contest will end in two weeks (February 9th a midnight Eastern).

This week's Snack Facts we're looking at one of the best selling drinks in the world, Coca-Cola.  Every day we'll be posting a new fun fact on Instagram all about this soft drink giant.  If you don't have Instagram you can also follow Snack Facts on our Twitter feed, or Facebook page.

Our new review this week is from a chocolate shop in my home country.  Not only does the fact that they're Canadian make them awesome, but they also have the best name I've ever heard for a chocolate shop, Beanermunky.  Click here to read the Beanermunky's chocolate review.

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This Week In Candy

What the heck is "Green Cola"?  I've seen this can of cola on the shelf of my local grocery store for a few years now, but I've never had the nerve to buy it.  When I first noticed the design, I thought that it was an official Coca-Cola product, but on closer inspection I realized that it wasn't.  It sure looks official though.  I still couldn't figure out why it was called "Green". So after sampling it, do I know?  Not at all.  The cola is not green, the can doesn't seem more environmentally friendly, it's basically just a can of Coke 0.

About 3 weeks ago I announced a contest that would net the winner a huge box of retro candy from our friends at candycrate.com.  We asked people to write about their favorite candy memory, and we got some great answers.  But alas we could only have one winner, and it was a nice mix of nostalgia and sentiment.  Congratulations Holli, and thanks for telling us a little bit about your fond candy memories:

"Ahh retro candy...  My fondest memory is of Cadbury Astros.  Remember those?  Chocolate outside, crispy centered, multicolored balls?  It was a favorite treat on family nights. Once a month or so, we would bring our mattresses down to the living room, and my sister, mom, and I would eat junk food and watch movies. This was the only time we ever had Astros, so they were a coveted treat. We were never a very close family, but those nights were always fun. Even the cats would get in on it. One loved to steal a red Twizzlers and run off to eat it.  Apparently, you can now only get Astros in Africa. Sad times :("

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If You Like Waiting Till The Last Minute... This Is It!

Midnight tonight is your last chance to win yourself some free retro candy from Candy Critic and our friends at candycrate.com.  If you're just holding back because you wanted your entry to be perfect, now is the time to cross your final "t's" and dot your last "i's".

If you want to come up with a last minute entry, here's the rules.

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Two More Days To Enter

Remember, your chance to win a box of retro candy from the fine folks at candycrate.com is coming to an end this Wednesday at midnight.  So make sure to tell us about your fondest candy related memory, so you have a chance to pig out on some awesome snacks.

Click here to learn more about the contest.

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This Week In Candy

I had a bit of a sad moment this morning when a bunch of photos I took disappeared.  Well they didn't really "disappear", instead the SD card I used on my digital camera corrupted and the only way to fix it was to re-format.  Fortunately for you guys the photos were not of some new revolutionary treat, unfortunately for me it was of a fun night out.  No matter, I still have a memories.  The photo above was taken using my water proof camera in order for me to test to make sure that the card now works perfectly after being re-formatted.  This lovely night with friends involved getting a bag of fresh artisan marshmallows, this provided me with a great subject to shoot, and something to cheer me up after the SD card debacle. On to our adventures this week.

Remember that this Wednesday is the last day for you to submit an entry in to our contest with our friends at candycrate.com.  It's a really simple contest to enter, and you can win yourself a great big box full of retro candy.  You can click here for details on how to enter, but do it soon, or you might miss out.

I've been giving it some thought, and I think I may stop the Wednesday Japanese Candy Review.  I love Japanese candy, but I'm thinking that it's not fair to focus on one particular country every week.  So starting in the New Year, I'm going to have a different country, style of candy, or even brand of candy, represented each month. So you may see the Wednesday UK Candy Review, the Wednesday Ritter Sport Review, or ever the Wednesday Ice Cream Review.  Don't get me wrong, I'm sure in the future a month full of more Japanese snacks will sneak up again.  I just like the idea of mixing it up a bit and showing off a few more treats from all over the place.

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Next Wednesday's Your Last Chance

If you're having a hard time coming up with a good candy related story from your past, don't worry too much.  You have the weekend, and even a few days after before you have to submit your entry.  Also, if you really can't remember a story from the past, just make it up, after all, I don't plan on checking the facts at all.  I just want to make sure that some deserving Candy Critic reader is able to enjoy this retro box of candy from our friends at candycrate.com.  So think about it over the weekend, and draft up something fun, touching, or just plain wacky.  If you need more details about the contest, like how to enter, click here.

What's Your Best Candy Memory?

Just answer the question, and you could win a whole box of candy goodness from our friends at candycrate.com.  All you have to do is explain to me, and a few Candy Critic officials, that you have the most awesome story from your candy past, and you could win.  It's really simple because you don't have to make it up, I'm sure you have a really cool candy story to share.

Click here to find out how to enter our candy contest.

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This Week In Candy

Last week I attempted my first ever "I'll make it, if you suggest it".  It's a little project I'm doing on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.  It's very simple, every so often I ask my friends to suggest something that I should attempt to make, in many cases the recipe doesn't exist.  Then I pick the one that I think is the most insane, and try to make it.  This first attempt is an Oreo upside down lava cake with frosting.  Just in case it's not clear, I used an Oreo instead of a cherry in the middle of the pineapple.  This suggestion came from my friend Brent, who may be making a future appearance on the Junk Fud podcast.  I have a few more suggestions that I may try, but I'm always looking for more ideas as well.  So be sure to send them in and I may attempt your treat.  As a note, I should tell you that while this looks tasty (?), it's was kind of gross.

Don't forget, it's not too late to enter our contest with a prize provided by our good friends at candycrate.com.  First prize is an awesome box of nostalgic candies sent right to your front door.  All you have to do is tell me what candy treat has the best memories for you, and why.  Click here for more details, and information on where to enter.

The rest of this week, like last week, is going to be full of nostalgic candy.  We're looking back at some of our favorite candy things that gives us great memories.

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A Little Late With Today's New Review

Normally I try to have these reviews up first thing on Monday morning, but this Monday morning didn't go exactly as planned.  It wasn't bad or anything, it just didn't go as planned.  Today's review is a little interesting, and I expect to get a few comments about the fact that many probably don't consider it a candy, I made my argument and you're welcome to disagree.

I should mention that today's controversial review was brought to you by our good friends at candycrate.com.  The same people who are providing us with the awesome prize that we're giving away right now.  You can click here to learn how you could walk away with a box of cool retro treats, including a pack of cinnamon toothpicks.

Click here to read today's controversial review.

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Free Retro Candy For You?!!

That's right, if you haven't heard yet, we (along with our friends at candycrate.com) are giving away a box of retro treats. To win this box of treats all you have to do is tell us what candy treat has the best memory for you and why.  You can click here for more details, but I assure you entering this contest could not be easier.  Soon you could be sitting at your dinning room table enjoying a bunch of retro treats remembering days gone by, or creating some new sweet memories.

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This Week In Candy

What a fun week we have in store.  First of all I'd like to announce, officially, a contest we're having with our good friends at candycrate.com.  For the next two weeks we are going to be singing the praises of cool retro candy.  Best of all, the folks at candycrate.com are going to give one of our lucky winners an awesome box filled with retro candy.  That's right, one lucky winner is going to win a box of candy for free.  This box has everything from an Abba Zaba to Walnettos (What's this Walnettos are this week's review?!!), and everything in between. You can read all about which fine treats you'll be getting right here.  So how do you win this awesome prize?  It's actually very simple, tell me what candy treat has the best memories for you, and why.

A crack team of candy enthusiasts will go through the entries and pick out the one that tugs on our heart strings the most.  That person will win the awesome box of candy provided by the fine people at candycrate.com.  You can enter by sending us a message here, leaving a comment anywhere on this blog, dropping us a line on our Facebook page, on our Google+ page, or if you can cut it down to 140 character our Twitter page.  Feel free to get creative, if you want to shoot a video on YouTube, or take a series of photos, that's fine too, just include the link.  The key is to make sure we can get back to you, so make sure we can contact you via social media, or e-mail.  If we can't contact you, and you give us a beautiful story, we'll have to give it to the guy with the second best story instead.  The contest ends November 20th at midnight, so you have time now, but it will run out quickly. The only bad news is that this contest is limited to folks living in USA and Canada only.

So as you can see from this awesome announcement, we're going retro for the next little while, that means I have to pull out my Hammer Pants, and Blue Blockers.

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We've Got Some News Later Today!!!

Yup, we're officially announcing a huge contest this afternoon, and today's new review is just a small hint as to what kind of awesome prize you could walk away with.  If you've never sampled, or heard of, today's new review you don't want to miss a chance to sample it yourself.  I was once like you, I had no idea what this "Walnetto" thing was, but I'm a changed man now.

Thanks to our good friends at candycrate.com for providing us with this yummy treat to try.

Click here to read the review.

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Candy News

Art made from candy is truly something I love, here's a great example of that, which includes monsters as well.

Here's a strange question, "Which Candy Would You Eat On Pizza?" I would have to go with sliced Oh Henry.

If you're thinking that candy on a pizza sounds good, why not try a 7-Layer Candy Bar Dip?

I think I've posted articles about this before, but here's another look at Babe Ruth V Baby Ruth.

Did you know that Chattanoga was a candy town, I sure didn't, but now I think I may have to visit.

Once again the hierarchy of candy has returned, prepare to argue about weather or not a Bounty bar is better and a Mounds bar.

Dietitians agree that portion control is the way to go, and changing our treats to make them healthier is not.

Retro candy stores are a great way for a small business to thrive.

Speaking of candy stores, take a look at Economy Candy in New York, it looks fantastic.

A blast at a Mexico candy factory kills 1.  No one should die for candy.

In this Guardian list of the most impressive food heists, 4 of them are sweet treats.

Do you know what one million Skittles looks like?  Would you like to?

Haute couture made out of chocolate!  Now that's the kind of fashion show I could get into.

Kit Kat is going to change their recipe to eliminate saturated fats, it better taste as good or better.

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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