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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Candy In The Media

This is likely the creepiest Snickers commercial ever.

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The New Episode of Junk Fud News Is Online... Finally

In this episode we look back at all the fun things that happened in the junk food world for the month of September.

Click here to see older episodes of Junk Fud News, and if you want to subscribe to our YouTube or Soundcloud you can keep up with all our new episodes.

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A Halloween Cookbook Candy Thing

These recipes look so good, it's scary.

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Episode 2 of In Hindsight Is Online!

In this episode I look back at the only review to ever achieve a perfect score, the Kit Kat bar.

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This Week In Candy

Here we are, late again. I guess things aren't exactly all back to normal, in fact things here are still really chaotic. But that doesn't mean you have to miss out, it means we have to sleep less.  That aside, this week we're really gearing up for Halloween.  This year we're going to have an epic Halloween Candy Review-a-Thon, and it's starting next week.  That means for two weeks you're going to have a new review every day, maybe even two reviews some days.  On our recent visit to the US we came across a lot of cool Halloween treats, and rather than just pick one cool one out, we got them all.

Later this week we're also going to be posting a quick article all about our trip to the US.  We'll talk about the drive down, and our stay at the happiest place on earth, Disney World.  We might even throw in a bonus review. Later this month we'll also be posting a new episode of Junk Fud On The Road with Allison and Chris talking about all of the fun treats they came across. Speaking of Junk Fud, we'll have the new episode of Junk Fud News going up today or tomorrow.

Later today we'll be posting episode 2 of In Hindsight, a video series we've put together where I look back at some of the old reviews I've written and see if they still hold up (you can see the first episode here). This week I look at the Kit Kat bar, my favorite bar in the world, and the only review to get perfect marks. Right now we've got to get back to working on all of these Halloween reviews, then maybe in November we can get a little sleep.

Right now we have a fun review of a treat we picked up on the way back from Disney World.  It's a treat that seemed like a really good idea, but didn't really work out so well.  Click here to read the review.

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Candy In the Media

A DIY to make one of my favorite toys (Lego), into one of my favourite candies (gummies).

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This may shock you, but I support Jaime Oliver

I believe that people eat too much sugar. I believe there is an obesity problem, and I believe it's getting worse. No I haven't decided to retire from Candy Critic, and this isn't written to be sarcastic or ironic. I truly believe that we have to worry about our weight and sugar is one of the biggest enemies.

So how can I say this without being a hypocrite? I believe that candy is not the biggest enemy in this battle, at least not always. Neither is junk food, at least not always.

Let's start with candy. Candy is sugar, or at the very least it contains a lot of sugar. Candy (most of the time) does not hide this fact. You don't walk into a store called "Sugar Mountain" and not know what you're getting yourself into. I believe that enjoying an indulgence now and again is not a problem. Eating an entire king sized chocolate bar is not enjoying an indulgence, that's pigging out. I believe that it's fine to enjoy something sweet, as long you exercise portion control.

Junk food (things like hamburgers and pizza) are another indulgence, but one where you can eat, as long as you know what you're getting. I support fast food restaurants giving out information about what's in their food and whenever possible using less sugar and saturated fats. While these places aren't perfect, some are getting better.

So where is the problem in my book? Hidden sugar. Walk into any grocery store and you will find "healthy" foods that are loaded with sugar. Cereals, granola bars, and pre-made meals loaded with sugar, sometimes more sugar than the candy bar in the next aisle. Worse yet, many of these foods claim to be healthy because they don't contain fat or other "bad" ingredients. It's as if they're saying it's OK to eat a lot of sugar, as long as you don't know about it.

I also believe that healthy low sugar options have to be available everywhere. Schools and workplaces need to offer quick healthy food such as nuts and vegetables. They can offer something for the quick indulgence, but healthy options must be available as well. We must also educate kids and adults about healthy eating. Your first lesson, 90% of what I feature on this site is full of sugar and should be eaten in moderation.

I believe enjoying candy responsibly is fine, and responsibly depends on you and your lifestyle. Between the occasional sweet treat you must get balanced meals and even a few healthy snacks. Celebrate sweet treats and junk food the same way you celebrate a birthday, not every day. Get the best sweet indulgence you can because you shouldn't do it all the time.

The Candy Critic supports Jaime Oliver and his #FoodRevolution.

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A Candy Critic Shirt Thing

Candy Critic Guy Shirt by candycritic
Make your own t-shirt design at zazzle.com

This is our mascot, and he's kind of a caricature of myself.  That probably says a lot about my ego.

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The First Episode of In Hindsight Is Online!

Welcome all to the first episode in a 4 part series called In Hindsight.  In each episode of In Hindsight I'll look back at an old review that I've posted on Candy Critic and see if the review still holds up.  I've been reviewing candy for longer than I care to admit, and frankly some of my early reviews... well... they suck. So this is a way for me to make up for that. This week I'm looking back at one of my favorite childhood candy bars, the Oh Henry. So sit back and relax and watch me realize that I'm not that great at reviewing candy.

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This Week In Candy... Yup, It's a Little Late.

Seriously, I just can't seem to get back on track after my epic adventures.  We just got back from an awesome drive across the USA to Florida (Disney World) and then back to Canada.  I'm a little tired, and falling behind on everything, including posting this blog, and posting the new review.  But if you're reading this than obviously I have things back on track... at least enough to post this.

So now that I'm back home, what's going on here at Candy Critic?  We'll it's already been posted, but a new article all about things that many people think are American, but are actually not, has gone online.  I'm not saying that the USA hasn't come up with some amazing junk food items (after all I had my first real Philly Cheese Steak on this trip and it was amazing), but sometimes Americans appropriate things that they really don't deserve credit for.  Later tonight we'll also be releasing the first in a 4 part video series called In Hindsight were I look back at old candy reviews and see if they still stand up.  We'll also have our regular segments of A Candy Thing and Candy In The Media coming later this week.

Next week I hope to have a written account of our trip to Disney and all the cool snacks we came across, we'll also have an episode of Junk Fud On The Road with Allison on that very subject. Speaking of Junk Fud, Junk Fud News is coming back this week... at some point I hope.  Snack Facts on the other hand won't be back until next week as we're just trying to organize things here as well as get ready for Halloween.

Now that we're back home, we are back with a new review. This one was one we picked up on the road, unfortunately it wasn't great.  I'm sure one of the dozens of other treats we picked up will be great, but  not this one. Find out why by clicking here and reading our Yoo-Hoo Candy review.

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Classic “American” Foods That Weren’t Invented In America

There's nothing more American than giving the kids a peanut butter sandwich for lunch, ordering a side order of fries, and maybe enjoying some ice cream for dessert, right?  As it turns out some of the classic American foods aren't American at all.  Here's a list of some of the items you find in restaurants all over America, staples in the American diet, that have their origins in other places.

The Sandwich  - What's more American than the Sandwich?  As it turns out plenty.  The Sandwich is a creation of a British Earl; in fact, the Earl of Sandwich.  There are debates about how he came up with the idea of putting things between two slices of bread.  Some say that he was a gambler and he wanted a way to eat meats with his friends without getting his playing cards dirty.  A few people argue that the Earl was a victim of bad publicity and he in fact worked very hard and wanted a meal he could eat while he worked.

Kit Kat Bar – Probably one of the most popular candy bars in not only America, but the entire world, this bar has its origins in the city of York in England.   It's not the only candy to come out of this Northern UK town; the Aero bar, Terry's Chocolate Orange, and many others were found in this great city.  The reason, this was the home of Joseph Rowntree, one of the most influential and successful candy makers in the world.  While the city of York is full of chocolate themed attractions, Rowntree's original storefront is now a Pizza Hut, but still worth a pilgrimage for any candy fan.

Pizza – Of all of the items on this list, the origins of Pizza are probably the most controversial.  I've read stories that it was invented in Chicago or New York by an Italian immigrant restaurateur that wanted to celebrate a visit from a famous Italian royal to the United States.  Italians would have you believe that it's come from a small village in Southern Italy.  Greeks also take some credit as they say they've been baking flat breads with toppings for thousands of years.  The most likely story is that today's pizza is influenced from the flat breads found in Greece thousands of years ago. However pizza as we know it came about in village called Naples where an industrious restaurant owner Raffaele Esposito came up with what we would probably define as a pizza (topped with tomato sauce, cheese and other ingredients).

French Fries – There was a time when Americans wanted to call French Fries, “freedom fries”, and that would actually be fine with the French, since they didn't invent them either.  French fries are actually a creation out of Belgium; yes that place that mastered chocolate as well (be very jealous).  French fries are still very popular today in Belgium, where they also boast that they invented the process of double frying to make the fries even crunchier on the outside.  Stranger still is that they offer a French fry sauce in Belgium known as Americano, a sauce I've never seen in the USA, a sort of thousand-island type topping.

Ice Cream – You can't argue that the recent renaissance in the ice cream world is a product of great Americans like Ben and Jerry, and Baskin and Robbins, but the origins of ice cream are certainly in Europe.  It's not clear exactly when ice cream was invented, however Charles I was said to have enjoyed a similar dessert at his royal table.  There are even stories of the Romans collecting snow from the mountains and flavouring them with juices.  The first public sale of ice cream most likely happened in Cafe Proscope in Paris, France.

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Candy In The Media

The science of brain freeze, the more you know...

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Best Variety - Lay's

All this month we've been looking  at treats  that offer huge varieties.  These varieties are all about taking the original treat, often a classic, and changing it slightly, or dramatically, to create something similar but with a twist.  So far we've covered, M&Ms, Kit Kat, Pocky, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, for our last installment we're going a little bit out of the box, in fact we're heading into a bag, a bag of Lay's Chips.

This installment might be a bit of a cheat, for two reasons.  First of all many people get on my case for reviewing chips on a site called Candy Critic, I have no honest justification for this, but I won't change it either.  Secondly, almost all of the varieties of Lay's chips has something to do with geography. Almost all of these chips are flavoured with common spices and flavours found in the  countries where they are sold.  There is one exception to this  rule, and that's Canada (my home and native land). This is because of a strange history that Canada has with potato chip flavours.

Canadians are very proud of the fact that we're crazy about crazy flavours of chips.  Most countries, as I said above, are tolerant of flavours, but only if they're based on common savory foods that they enjoy.  Canada on the other hand makes chip flavours for just about anything, and it doesn't even have to be savory.  While a few of these flavours do disappear and are only really gimmicks, several "strange" flavours have stuck around, and one in particular, Dill Pickle, remains a classic popular flavour in Canada today.

This might be why I appreciate tasting local chip flavours whenever I'm traveling.  From Spanish "Sabor Jamon Presunto", to Asia Nori Seaweed, to Pakistani street food, there are so many local flavours that can be found spicing potato chips.   Lay's is probably the largest maker of potato chips in the world, and I've seen their logo in just about every country I've ever visited.  While they always have a simple salt variety, there's inevitably a few other flavours worth trying as well.

I've tried 14 different flavour of Lay's potato chips, and the  diversity is pretty amazing.  The strangest flavour would have to be Cinnamon Bun, out of Canada.  Some flavours however are common in many countries.  Cheese, Onion, and Vinegar are very common flavours used in chips.  In just about every place I've visited there is one variety that will contain at least one of these three ingredients.  One of the other interesting features of chip varieties is the heat, or spiciness of the chips.  As you might imagine, in many Asian countries like India or Pakistan, the flavours are often very spicy, while in places like Greece or France it's more about subtle herbs.

The variety of Lay's chips available around the world are a great example of cuisines from around the world.  While being a simple snack, chips reflect a culture a lot more than most people would  think about.  This is likely because the potato gives you a blank canvas where you can add just about any flavour you'd like.  They can even be really strange flavours, like I find at home.

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A Candy Critic Shirt Thing

Ice Cream Dream Shirt by candycritic
Create a custom tshirt at zazzle.com.

If you end up traveling to a country where they don't speak your language, this t-shirt will ensure that you can still eat ice cream. All you have to do is point to your shirt and smile.

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This Week In Candy

Can you believe we're still here?.. At Disney World?  The photo above is me in Disney Paris, that's because I'm writing this way in advance and I don't have a picture of me in front of the Florida castle (yet). At this point in our trip I'm sure that I'm either sick of Disney stuff, or planning to move here permanently.

Our trip is winding down right now, and that means it's on to the second part of this adventure, but we'll have more about that next week.  For now we're still posting most of our regular blog posts, and reviews are likely to come back in the next few weeks.  This week we're posting our final installment on candy varieties, and it's a strange one.  We're going to look at Lay's chips and all of the strange flavours you can find of this salty snack.

Hope you're keeping up with everything we're doing at the Magic Kingdom via Twitter and Facebook.

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Candy In the Media

Challenge accepted.

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It's Time For Another Episode of Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!!

Just because we're away doesn't mean you have to miss out on all of the fun of watching Chris eat (or in this case drink) questionable foods.

Click  here to see some past episodes, I assure you most don't go this well for Chris.

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Best Variety - M&Ms

All this month we're looking at some different treats that offer interesting variations.  Last week we looked at Reece's Peanut Butter Cups, and before that we looked at Pocky and Kit Kats.  Today we're looking at a fairly unique treat, that's been around so long we might forget how unique it is, M&Ms.  Unfortunately M&Ms are a copycat candy, they likely were inspired by the British Smarties.  Smarties are a candy coated chocolate that was created several years before the M&M.  The real difference in the two candies is the choice of colours (although with custom M&Ms this might not be true), thickness of the shell, and in some cases the flavour.  M&Ms have also branched out a lot more than Smarties.

Smarties have really only come out with one variety, and that's putting their popular candy into a chocolate bar.  M&Ms on the other hand have branched out a great deal.  M&M's might also be considered one of the first candy companies to produce a variation.  M&Ms peanut came out in 1954, just under 15 years after the original "plain" M&Ms came out.  This variety proved to be very popular, and today is considered just as original as the milk chocolate filled variety.  While M&Ms diversified fairly early on, they didn't get extremely experimental till much more recently.

In the last 15 or 20 years there has been a renaissance in the M&Ms variety world.  It started with adding a few different nuts to the center, and has expanded ever since. Similar to the Kit Kat, M&Ms have two different kinds of variations, long term and limited edition.  Since starting out with variations M&Ms have introduced a few varieties that have stuck around.  Peanut butter, Almond, and crispy M&Ms are still around, and are likely not going anywhere soon.  There have also been a few varieties that are limited edition, and many that seem to be tied in with movies.  Some of  these movie tie-ins make sense, like Ogre sized M&Ms that tie in with the movie Shrek.  However a few of the limited edition movie tie-ins are not so clear, like Peanut Butter and Jam M&Ms tied in with Transformers, and mint crisp M&Ms tied in with Indian Jones.

So far I've tasted 11 different variety of M&Ms, and the one thing I can say about almost all of them is that they've never really deviated from their original format.  With some of the other treats I've discussed in this series there have been some variety that are almost so different that you might have a hard time saying they're a variant as opposed to being a completely different treat all together.  M&Ms variants seem to stick to the format, a small candy coated candy, often with chocolate involved.  With this limitation, it's surprising not only the number of variations, but in the diversity of each of these variations.  There are different textures and flavours in most of these treats, and you'd likely have no problem telling them apart in a blind taste test.

In fact that would be really fun.  Take a bag of every variety of M&M ever made and put them in one bowl.  Then spend the night randomly picking out M&Ms and guessing what variety they are.

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A Disney Candy Thing

When I first saw this jellybean machine I thought it served frozen jellybeans, I thought that it was a unique, but likely stupid idea.  I was wrong, but not about the idea of frozen jellybeans being silly.

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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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Candy In The Media

Just got to Disney World, I'm going to eat as many treats as I can.

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Best Variety - Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Every week this month we're featuring treats that have special varieties.  The last two weeks we've looked at Kit Kat and Pocky.  While Kit Kat is a western candy bar, invented in England, and very popular all over the world, most of its varieties have come out of Asia.  Pocky, is truly an Asian creation and has only come to North America recently, and in limited flavours.  This week's candy on the other hand is truly an a North American treat, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  In fact all of the varieties of this treat have been released in North America, and few have ever left.

For those in North America the Peanut Butter Cup is a real classic, but outside of North America it's really a niche treat. In most countries, if you can find Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, you'll find them in airports and candy specialty shops.  The reason they're not so popular all over the world? Peanut butter.  Peanut butter is a very divisive product, some cultures love it, many can't stand it. For those cultures that can't stand it, combining it with chocolate is about the silliest thing in the world. I've been told "why would you put peanut butter with chocolate, it just ruins the chocolate".

Because of this, the variations  in Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are all North American.  In fact, I can't say that I've ever seen a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup variation that isn't strictly American.  The varieties of this bar are a clear indication of that.  For the most part, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup varieties are based in changing up the size or ratio of the chocolate and peanut butter in the cup.  Some have more peanut butter, some have less, some are huge, some are tiny.  There's also the variety of the size of the peanut pieces in these cups.  Some of the peanut butter is smooth, some is chunky, and there's even a few with full peanuts inside. The other common difference is shape of the cup.  In some cases we can't really call them cups, but instead you have chocolate bunnies or bells filled with the same peanut butter you'd find in the classic cups.

I would say that there's only been one slightly "out there" Reese's Peanut Butter Cup ever made, and that's the special edition Elvis commemorative peanut butter and banana cream cup.  Other than that most of the cups have simply been playing around with the same ingredients.  It's not to say that these variations are any less than Kit Kat or Pocky, there's just a different take on change.

Of the approximately 18 Reese's Peanut Butter Cup variations I've tried, I've been really impressed with many of them.  This is because Reese's makes something good, and they stick to it.  Some might say that this is a prime example of American cuisine next to Asian cuisine.  America takes what they know and stick to it because it's what they like.  Asian cuisine likes to challenge itself, and often they go too far.  It's not better or worse, it's just different.

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A Disney Candy Thing

This is a pretty epic Mickey Mouse JellyBelly machine.  It's the only time you want to eat a jellybean served to you from a mouse I might add.

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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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A New Episode Of Junk Fud On The Road Is Online!

In this episode of Junk Fud On The Road, Chris and Allison talk about Greece, a place that's near and dear to our hearts... and stomachs.

Click here to find other episodes of Junk Fud On The Road and all of our other fun podcasts.

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Candy In The Media

I will pretty much never miss the opportunity to watch cans of soda explode in slow motion.

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Best Variety - Pocky

Each week we're looking at some candies that have spawned many variations.  Last week we  looked at Kit Kat bars, this week we're looking at Japanese classic that's gone nuts with the varieties, Pocky.  Most people consider Pocky to be a fairly new candy on the shelves, however Pocky started in Japan in 1966.  These cookie sticks dipped in chocolate are as tasty as they are simple, but that doesn't mean they can't be complicated.

For most North Americans the classic Pocky with vanilla cookie center dipped in milk chocolate is about all you have.  Step outside of North America and this changes dramatically.  In many Asian countries Pocky varieties are vast, and if you include Pocky's salty cousin Pretz, then it's even more enormous.  It's strange to have such variety with a candy that is so simple, however this might prove the idea that the simplest of treats have the most potential for variation.

As of the writing of this article I've sampled 8 different varieties of Pocky, and two varieties of Pretz.  This is a small sampling of the varieties available, but since I've only visited (or lived  briefly) in countries that specialize in Pocky variety, it's difficult to sample every flavour.  This is true because while Kit Kat seems to focus their varieties in Japan, Pocky has expanded to other Asian countries.  Places like Thailand and China have their own flavours that are exclusive to these places.  Pocky has also had fewer "strange" flavours, and instead seem to focus on simple flavour combinations.

Probably the strangest Pocky flavour that I've ever seen is Pocky for Men.  This flavour is simple in design, dark chocolate with vanilla cookie sticks, but the idea of marketing it as a candy for men is strange, particularly from a North American standpoint.  Most of the other flavours I've sampled or seen are just cookie sticks, either vanilla or chocolate, with some kind of flavoured icing, instead of chocolate.  A few have broken bits of things, such as cookies, glued onto the sticks with the various flavours of icing.  These are generally considered the higher end of Pocky treats, and are marketed as such.

Pretz, also made by Glico, maker of the Pocky, is a salty version with a similar concept.  These are often flavoured with savory spices instead  of sweet. I'm assuming that the word "Pretz" is a play on the word "pretzel". These don't have the variety that I've seen in Pocky, or the following, but are still fairly popular.  These, much like Pocky, also don't come in many "strange" flavours.  Most of them are based on popular savory spice and food combinations.

I'm not certain that  we'll ever see the variety of Pocky in North America that there is in Asia, particularly since Pocky is a fairly new treat in these areas.  In some cases you can find varieties of Pocky at specialty stores, and I've even seen Pretz at grocery stores. I just don't know if they'll ever become a classic treat, like they are in Asia.

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A Candy Critic Shirt Thing

Gummy Bear Tug-of-War Shirt by candycritic
Browse Gummy T-Shirts

It's all fun and games until a gummy bear loses his arms.

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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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Candy In The Media

I know this isn't really "candy" related, but a game about fighting sausages was too much for me to ignore.

Click here for the Apple version and here for the Android.

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Best Variety - Kit Kat

All this month we're going to look  at candy varieties. Varieties happen when candy companies decide to change their classic bars with alternative flavours and textures.  Some of these variations are very complicated, while others are very simple.  Sometimes the change to the bar is more about texture, but most of the time it's about a change of flavour.  This kind of change doesn't alter  the  original  treat, instead it's about releasing a second treat with a slight variation.  Sometimes these variations stick, but most often they're temporary.

For our first installment we're going to look at the Kit Kat Bar.  This  is probably the most famous variation bar in the world right now.  This is not only because this bar is known  in almost every country in the world, but also because they've released so many different varieties.  Japan is probably the center of the variation craze for Kit Kat right now.  In Japan they release a new special edition Kit Kat flavour monthly, and to this date they've released  dozens, maybe even hundreds of flavours so far.

Interestingly though,  Japan wasn't the  first place to start this trend.  Kit Kat varieties started  in the UK and Canada first.  Simple variations included the Kit Kat Chunky (1999) and Kit Kat Orange (1996).  Both of these variations have remained very popular since their release. Japan can however be credited with creating the most, as well as the strangest, flavour variations.

As of writing the review, I've sampled approximately 26 different varieties of  Kit Kat.  Some were fairly basic, like Kit Kat Chunky, Kit Kat Dark, and Kit Kat Caramel.  Some were a little stranger like Kit Kat Mango Pudding, Kit Kat Apple Vinegar, and Kit Kat Azuki (red bean).  More interesting is how some of these varieties are presented.  With some flavours you get the standard small Kit Kat 4 or 2 fingers, however a few of the varieties come in the Kit Kat Chunky style.

This says a lot about one particular variety of Kit Kat, the Chunky.  This is probably the most successful of any Kit Kat variety, in fact the Chunky might be the most successful of any variety ever.  This bar came out in 1999 and has been with us since, and this bar has spawned varieties itself. While I'm sure the Kit Kat Chunky is not outselling the classic Kit Kat, it's safe to say that at this point the Kit Kat Chunky has turned into a classic unto itself.  This is a very rare case where a variation on a bar has become so successful.

I'm sure at some point Kit Kat will give up on their massive collection of variations, until then I'm willing to  try and them all, but I'm pretty sure that none of them will ever outsell the  original.  Hopefully the only variety to make it out of this trend will be the Kit Kat Chunky, and the rest will be bars that we'll look back on with fond memories.

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A Candy Critic Shirt Thing

Baby Gummy Bear Shirt by candycritic
Browse more Gummy T-Shirts

Would you eat a pregnant gummy bear? I might, because it's like getting two gummy bears in one bite.

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Candy Flavours From Around the World

As the world shrinks, the selection of food we eat grows.  Not long ago a shawarma was a foreign delicacy you’d only find in hidden away shops in cities with large Middle Eastern populations.  Now you can find a shawarma at your local mall food court along with pho, hummus, and chicken tandoori.  While our meals are evolving quickly today, our candy selection seems to be moving a little slower.

Sure you can pick up foreign candies in specialty candy shops, but some of the true foreign flavours of sweet treats have yet to really break out into the North American market (and some of our flavours haven't made it to the outside world either).  Sometimes there’s a reason for that, some of these flavours are nothing like what we’re used to, but some of these flavours are just itching to make it onto our candy shelves and bulk bins.

Tamarind – This is a common flavour of candies in South Asia and the Middle East.  It’s a sweet bean that on it’s own is a little strange, however as a flavour of gum or hard candy it can’t be beat.  The biggest problem with tamarind is how it looks, a large ugly dried bean is not something most North Americans want to eat, particularly if it's associated with sweet instead of savoury.  But get past the rough looking pod and you’re left with a unique sweet treat.

Sweet Potato – You’d have no problem covering your yams in sugar for thanks giving, yet you would probably never want to cover your yams in chocolate.  In Eastern Asia yams are as much a sweet treat as dried fruit or nuts.  In some cases it’s covered in chocolate, sugar, or just enjoyed for the sweetness it gives naturally.  In Japan they even have people going around neighbourhoods selling warm yams the same way ice cream trucks do in North America, they even have a song that plays to tell kids they’re around.

Sour Plum – Common in Japan and parts of the Far East, sour plums are just that, very sour pickled or dried out plums.  They can also be a little salty as well, thus making them fairly off-putting for most North American candy fanatics.  The only people that would probably enjoy sour plums are the same people that fell in love with the Harry Potter themed Bertie Botts jellybeans.  This is an extreme flavour, but for many Asians it’s one they love.

Licorice – What’s this?  Licorice is already a candy, there’s nothing strange about it.  While licorice is an acquired taste in North America, in the Netherlands and Finland licorice is the ultimate candy treat.  More importantly they’ve taken licorice and started to use it in other candy treats.  How about milk chocolate bar, filled with licorice chunks.  There’s also the famous Dutch “Double Zoot” salted licorice, a salty licorice flavour that you’ll either love, or loathe.

Marzipan – Most people consider marzipan to be a filling for chocolates, or occasionally found in that foreign bakery down the street.  In Austria it’s an art and a celebration.  There are shops dedicated to this sweet treat, and how they sculpt this treat into pieces of art is exceptional.  You can get plates that look exactly like Vienna Sausages, fruit, and just about anything you’d find for dinner all made out of this almond paste.  On new years it’s tradition to eat a pig made of Marzipan, for good luck.

Mastixa – Mastixa made of sap from a pine tree found on Chios island in Greece.  To say that it's an acquired taste is putting it lightly.  Many people would tell you that it tastes like awful cough medicine, others say that the strong flavoured sap is refreshing.  You can actually just chew the sap in a slightly crystallized form, however most people prefer it as a flavouring agent.  It's used to flavour ice cream, cookies, cakes and candies.

Rose – The smell of fresh roses brings memories of weddings, or Valentines Day, but in many Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cultures it brings up memories of cakes, cookies and candies.  Some North American recipes might call for rose water, but it's still a bit of a novelty.  However in Greek and Turkish desserts it's very regularly used.  Greek Christmas cookies known as kourabiethes are sprayed with rose water when they're done, and Rose flavoured Turkish delight is one of the most common.

Bonus:

Peanut Butter – peanut butter?!! Everyone loves peanut butter, right?  Nope, in many cultures peanut butter is just too strange.  Many European countries don't have much of a taste for peanut butter at all.  To them a peanut butter cup is a novelty, and too many a disgusting one at that.  So remember that next time you're eating strong piece of Dutch licorice in the Netherlands, or a sugar coated sweet potato in Japan, and grimacing about how gross it is.  They might feel the same way about your PB and J.

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This Week In Candy

There's a lot going on right now.  Things at Candy Critic are going to be different.  It'll start with a huge crazy adventure, followed by a change of address.  We're not at liberty to give everything away, but I can assure you that it's going to change things here a great deal. During the crazy adventure there will be a lot of regular things put on hold, or at the very least put on random.  Some of our regular posts will continue as is.  The reviews will likely be put on hold for a few weeks. I wish I had more to say on the subject, but I don't, particularly since I'm writing this week's in advance.

What you will have during this transition is a few of the regular blog posts.  We'll be posting our weekly "Candy Thing" as well as our weekly "Candy In The Media" posts.  This Week In Candy will also still be posted, but keep in mind that they're all pre-written, and they'll generally just explain that there's things going on.  Reviews may, or may not, be going online while we're in transition.  That really depends on our tech situation at any given moment.  Since this "transition/adventure" is a somewhat permanent thing, we're sure to run into a couple of bugs while we try to make sure everything works.  So please be patient.

To make up for everything we're not doing, we're giving you guys a fun little bonus.  For the month of September we're posting weekly articles about candies with variety.  This week we're posting about the bar that probably has the most varieties Kit Kat.  We'll talk about all of the different versions that are out there, and which are the ones worth trying.  Next week, we'll be looking at Pocky.

Snack Facts, our Instagram feed will not be posting daily, instead it will be posting randomly.  We'll post any fun things we learn about while this adventure happens.  Sometimes you'll get a whole bunch of posts, other times not so much.  You can always keep up with Snack Facts on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Speaking of Facebook and Twitter, this is going to be where a great deal of our continuing coverage will be.  We hope to post here as regularly as we can with updates as to where we are, and what we're eating (junk food and candy wise).

UPDATE!!!

I have internet, so here's a new review! Click here to enjoy it!

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Candy In The Media

I've been pretty interested in this whole VR goggle trend, now that I can make my own out of graham crackers I'm even more intrigued.

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There's A New Episode Of Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!! Online

In this latest episode rather than watching Chris get grossed out, you can watch Chris be disappointed, and when it all boils down that's just so much worse.

Watch past episodes of Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!! here.

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A Candy Critic Shirt Thing

Irony T Shirt by candycritic
Check out Candy T-Shirts online at zazzle

Don't you get it, gum, gummy bear?...

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Two Years In Pakistan

Pakistani culture is similar to its food, it can be really good, and sometimes it can be very difficult.  While I'm sure locals get over the difficult parts, as a foreigner that can be much more challenging.  If you're even somewhat  adventurous, the challenging can be at the very least educational. The part that shocked me most when moving to this country was the amount of good that there is, both in the people and the food.  People wise there is a lot of good, some of the most friendly people you'll ever meet, people who want to make you happy, and many who are willing to give the little that they have just to be a good person.

Food wise the challenges mostly came from the poverty issues. Health and cleanliness are a big issue in Pakistan.  There are really two levels of this when it comes to the food, one is that there are certain bacteria that locals can handle, but foreigners cannot, this lead to some problems particularly early on.  The second comes from other contaminants that even the  locals can not handle.  The contaminants are often found in the tap water, and this makes life very challenging. While this is a problem that cannot be overlooked, if you did you'd be in for a bad night of stomach upset, you also can't overlook how great some of the food is as well.

You can't start a conversation about Pakistani food without India.  In the 1960s Pakistan was part of India, while the religion may have been different, the food has many similarities.  Spicy is the order of  the day, and you'll have a hard time finding anything that isn't spicy, even the basic fast food places have menu items that would shock most westerners.  There is also a great range in spices used, it's not just about heat, but it's also about the flavours behind the heat.  The biggest differences you'll find  in the food between Pakistan and India is the meat.  Beef being illegal in many parts of India, is a huge part of the Pakistani diet.  Pork, while not illegal in India is not common, in Pakistan pork is illegal. This certainly makes for different choices when it comes to meals.

Subtlety there are a few differences between the two cuisines.  I found that Pakistani food tends to blend more spices together in each dish.  It's much harder to take apart a Pakistani dish and figure out what flavours are mixed in.  In Indian food the flavours are simpler, and maybe a little bit cleaner, with one or two spices leading each dish.

One of the great debates in local cuisine between India and Pakistan is who makes the best naan bread. Many people prefer the lighter Indian naan bread, but personally I really liked the thick heavy naan bread from Pakistan.  Indian naan is more flexible, and would then be easier to pick up food, but the heartiness of Pakistani naan made it a meal into itself. Pakistani naan also often had highlights, as well.  In Pakistan you can find naan stuffed with so many fillings, spicy or sweet.

As for candies and confectionery, Pakistan was a fascinating place.  In the packaged candy department there are a few locally made treats.  Most of these are either hard candies or gummies, and two of the most predominant flavours are Imli (a sweet red bean) or hot peppers.  The most popular packaged treats in Pakistan are not Pakistani at all.  Most of the chocolate bar market seemed to be British, this is likely because of the British influence from occupying this area for so long.  Dairy Milk and other British brands can be found everywhere.

Locally made treats where very different indeed.  Most treats came in the form of barfi and jalebi. As unappealing as it sounds to North American ears, barfi is a really great sweet treat, often made of milk.  It's a smooth creamy and sweet treat that takes on many forms.  Jalebi is a common sweet treat found in Pakistan that looks like a poorly made pretzel, but is in fact a sweet deep fried treat.  It's my favorite of all the treats I found in Pakistan, and something I hope to learn how to make myself.  As with the food, many of these treats can also be found in India, and there is always great debate as to where they have originated.

I can't lie, I had some trouble with the food in Pakistan. Many a night I found myself in the bathroom lying on the floor wondering what could have possibly made me this sick.  It's not a place for those that aren't adventurous (I'm still not sure how I survived).  The thing is, when it works, it works really well.  There's so much more to Pakistani cooking than just the food. I can't tell you how many times I enjoyed the environment, and people around me when I was eating. I'll never forget eating on New Food Street in Lahore, up on the rooftop of Andas restaurant looking down at a giant mosque with good people all around me.

Before I go, I can't forget the mangos... They're like nothing I've ever eaten before.

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