Sticky Gum

Bubble Bubble Bubble Gum T-Shirt
by candycritic

 Are you a fan of chewing a sweet piece of chewing gum? Tell the world how awesome it is with this sticky sweet bubble gum t-shirt.

Check out more designs on my Zazzle store right now!

Today I Ate Something Natto So Great.

As promised, the videos from our trip here in Japan just keep coming. This video is a bit of a return of sorts. 9 years ago (or so) we visited Japan and wrote a blog post about tasting natto (the most notoriously horrible food in Japan). Today we’re giving it another try, and frankly I’m surprised with the results.

Click here to check out our second attempt at natto.

Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to keep up with our Japan adventure.

CC

Old Candy Critic Articles - Stick it to the man

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 with some candy lessons I had just learned.  Since then I've learned a few more.

What's the appeal of eating something on a stick? What makes something on a stick better than just eating it? Who thought stick = fun? You could look at the history of food to find out that sticks and food have been around forever. As long as man has been cooking, food sticks have been an important part of life. The problem I have with the idea of putting food on sticks comes from the candy world.

Why in the world do so many candies come on sticks? I think the only candy that has to be on a stick is a Popsicle. Why might you ask does the frozen treat deserve to be on a stick? Go into your freezer, put an ice cube in your mouth and don't take it out. Can't do it can you. You have to pull cold things out of your mouth or it hurts.

 Lollipops are okay with me, but not because I think the stick are necessary. If you think about it the idea of taking a candy out of your mouth half way through eating it is kind of gross. Try spitting out your chewing gum after a few minutes, hold it, and then put it back in your mouth, yuck. The lollipop was originally huge and impossible to stick in your mouth in one shot. So you can understand why a stick might help you keep your fingers clean.  You can still find huge lollipops today, but for the most part lollipops fit comfortably in your mouth whole, so the basic principle doesn’t really make sense.

The problem I have comes from the idea of putting things like chocolate, marshmallows, and gummies on sticks. Chocolate and marshmallows on a stick has been around for a while, but the gummy thing has become a new and very strange trend. Whenever I eat a gummy on a stick, all it does is get all gooey and stringy, and if they decorate it little bits of icing fall and sprinkles fall all over the place. The chocolate on a stick is very often cheap chocolate, I'm not saying it's all cheap but for the most part it is. The other problem is that chocolate cracks and when you’re trying to eat it on a stick, it falls all over the place.

Let's face it; just putting something on a stick is not really that creative an idea. If you need the stick by all means use one, but if you’re doing it because you think it's clever to put something new on a stick, you’re wrong. Try something else, we as candy consumers are finished with the stick thing, I want something new and fun not something pointy and long.

CC

Spreads - Molasses

I just finished an art piece for bewarethecheese.com's fine art gallery "Senses". For this piece I had to photograph, and eventually eat more than 40 different spreads.  I've decided to post a little something about each spread that I sampled.

Have you ever heard of the great molasses tragedy in Boston in 1919.  A drum of the stuff exploded, covered a large area in black sticky goo, and several people lost their lives.  The first time I heard about this incident  I have to be honest, it seemed a little funny.  Imagine people running from a really slow wave of sugary goo.  Then I thought about it some more and realized that some people might have been cornered, and suffocating in this black tar like spread would be really horrible.  So I apologies to those that suffered this fate, and I promise never to chuckle at the idea of a giant, really slow, wave again.

CC

Thursday's Candy Links

"Fat Affects Brain Activity", I read this headline and got nervous, then I realized it doesn't necessarily make you dumber.

The latest trend, from mostly chip companies, is to ask consumers what the new flavour should be.

What is the best way to improve any treat or food?  How about putting it on a stick.

Do you have a fond memory of Red Vines?  Well over at their Facebook page they're asking people to submit it, and it could win you some candy, and even 1000 bucks.

CC

Candy Art - Fortress of Starburst

When I think of playing with my food, this is the kind of dream project I have in mind.

Click here to see this castle in its full epic glory.

CC

Rev 7 Gum, I Learn Something About Sticky

About 2 months ago I started hearing rumours of a gum technology that would change the candy world.  This new gum was not bragging about a new flavour, or new colour, or even longer lasting flavour, this gum was instead bragging about keeping the world a cleaner place.  The concept was simple, why not make a gum that can biodegrade and be cleaned off of any material.

It’s not often that a particular novelty of a candy intrigues me so much as this one did.  I was lucky enough to get in contact with the folks making this gum, called Rev 7.  I spoke to Jonathan Briggs the product manager at Rev 7 and he had lots to say about this chewing gum revolution:

Professor Terrence Cosgrove from Bristol University created this new gum technology.  He was challenged by his wife, who noticed all of the black spots on the street, to create a gum that doesn’t make such a mess.  He examined the technology of “gum” and studied why things stick on a scientific level.  He managed to create the base of what is Rev 7, a gum that cleans up easily from almost any surface.

Jonathan went on to explain that the gum was tested by many independent sources.  They would use sections of sidewalk and compare the gum with other gums by pressing it down and seeing how it holds up to weather conditions.  In this particular case the losing gum, the one that didn’t stick as well, would be the winner.  This new type of gum base (found in Rev 7) came off the sidewalk 75% of the time in normal weather conditions. They also did a test in Florida at very hot and very dry conditions; the gum came off 100% of the time while competitors only came off 5% of the time.  This may not seem that important in the grand scheme of the world, but the thing you have to consider is that the UK alone spends 150 million pounds (that’s more than 245 million US dollars) a year on gum removal.

But sidewalks are just part of the problem, clothing and hair can be the worst place to find gum.  I personally have had many bad experiences in this area in particular a few years ago when I sat on a park bench and my bag and pants where covered.  Jonathan told me that they tested the gum on clothing as well as hair.  They bought samples of many different fabrics and found that the gum was removable all of the time with soap and water.  The most challenging test was wool because it could sink into the fabric yet the gum was removed with a little soap, water and some care.  Most importantly in all of their tests the gum did not damage the fabric at all.  They even had a few employees offer to test it on their hair.  In all cases the gum came out with shampoo and water, no need for oils or peanut butter.

The stickiness of gum is something that has never really been address in the candy world.  Solving this problem is a great way to improve the environment and also makes me feel a little better about sitting on park benches in the future.

CC

It's National Toasted Marshmallow Day

While I unfortunately have no place to toast a marshmallow at this time, I do have a recipie for a really great toasted marshmallow sauce that my friend Marc made me a while back.

CC

Putting Things On Sticks Is Popular

I'm not sure why putting things on a stick changes the dynamic of a candy so much, but it does.  It could be the fact that when you put it on a stick your hands stay a lot less sticky.  Or the fact that you're not forced to eat your treat on stick in one bite.  It could also be the challenge one gets when you get down to the last bites of anything on a stick.  You have to strategically manage your treat on a stick so none of it falls to the ground.

Click here to read about one company and their chocolate covered cranberries on a stick.

CC

Rev 7 Gum

A few months ago I posted a few links about a new kind of gum that apparently bio-degrades quickly to help eliminate those unsightly black spots all over the sidewalk.  Apparently this gum is also easy to pick up off the street, since it doesn't stick, as well.  Even more importantly this gum is finally hitting the market, and it's called Rev7.

Click here to read more about Rev7 gum.

CC

Today is National Taffy Day

I'm thinking that tomorrow is probably going to be "national go to the dentist, because I pulled out a filling on national taffy day, day".

CC

This Month Is Peanut Butter Lover's Month

Here's reason number 28 to love peanut butter:

It's sticky... sure sometimes that can be a pain, but if it wasn't then it would stick to so many other things and make the perfect flavour combinations... Think about it.

CC

Non-Stick Chewing Gum

Apparently Revolymer has invented a gum that is easy to get out of just about anything with just a little water. Where was this invention when I was a kid. I used to get gum stuck all over the place, mostly carpets and hair. The true question is, how well does it blow bubbles, chew, and taste.

Click here to read more about what could save the lives of many gum chewing children.

CC

Sugar Free Ring Pops

I wonder if these new sugar free Ring Pops are as sticky as the originals. My only complaint about the originals are that when you eat them your hand gets all sticky, so I'm thinking it would be nice if these where just as tasty but not as sticky.

Click here to read more about the new Ring Pops

CC

Candy And Your Mouth

Here’s a little information about how candy affects your mouth. Some say it’s the worst for your teeth and gums while I disagree. The worst thing for you to do is eat something you think is good for your teeth when it’s not. At least you know after eating a sweet treat that you should brush your teeth and limit the sweet treats as well. With some snacks people think they’re healthy but really they can be just as bad as candy for your gums and teeth.

Click here to read more about your mouth and sweet treats.

CC

Stirring Peanut Butter

Boing Boing has a great piece with tips and tricks on how to mix your natural peanut butter better. If you’ve ever purchased the natural stuff you’ll know what a pain it can be and frankly I don’t want any barriers between me and a PBandJ sandwich.

Click here to read more.

CC

Ode to the Apple Fritter

Hey little donut, without a hole,

Those who don’t love you, they have no soul.

Your apple inside and sticky exterior

Makes you tasty, makes you superior

Your name however puts me in a titter

It sounds obscene that word fritter

Your shape is strange, a kind of square

You don’t seem that popular but I don’t care

CC

Sherry paints candy, I like candy.

This Friday my friend Sherry Garcia is having an opening for her show at the Canteen art shop and gallery (238 Dalhousie st).

The show is called “sticky sweet”, so you can imagine why I’m interested. Come on out if you’re in the Ottawa area.

CC

This video is for tomorrow really.

Tomorrow is “Something Sticky Day” so I figured a video full of sticky candy might be just right.

CC