Women Love Chocolate, The Science

I've always heard people say that women have a certain affinity to chocolate.  I've been told it's the way to their heart, and a great way to make them happy.  The thing is I've seen very little science to prove this.  Sure there's evidence of chemicals in chocolate that might lead to euphoria, but does it just affect women?  Well according to some new science it does.  However it appears that women in Canada, US, and England are more susceptible to the allure of chocolate.  So that pretty much eliminates the idea that it's chemical.

Click here to read more about the science.

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Bunny Chocolates

These cute little chocolates are more leftovers from Easter. They had a hazelnut chocolate filling which tasted good but was a little crystalized and crunchy. I like the idea of animal shaped candy, especially cute stuff. I'd like to see a line of chocolates shaped like honey badgers, or yaks.

Big Gay Ice Cream Truck

I've never heard of this "Big Gay Ice Cream Truck" but after reading an article about it on "Serious Eats" I'm intrigued.  The truck looks like a simple ice cream truck, but the ice cream treats they're producing sound original and tasty.  Take for example their Choinkwiches, an ice cream sandwiches wrapped with bacon.  And that's just the beginning of their creations.  The good news is, apparently they're putting out a cook book, so if you can't make it to New York you can always try making their treats yourself.

Click here to read more about it.

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Ever Tried a Kumquat?

If you don't know what a Kumquat is, the best way to describe it is to say it's a really sour super small orange.  The shape and size is actually more like a grape, but it's most certainly a citrus fruit.  The flavour really isn't that appealing if you eat them on their own.  On the island of Corfu in Greece you'll find that they're obsessed with these little orange fruits.

The thing is, the only place I've ever seen them is in the tourist shops.  In all my time in Corfu I did not once see a kumquat in any of the local markets or shops.  So it makes me wonder, do they only sell kumquats to tourists?  Maybe many years back in Corfu they discovered that the island was perfect for growing the fruit.  The problem was, no one on the island really liked them that much.  Then they discovered that tourists (particularly those from place that don't have kumquats) found them to be rather fascinating.  Although I'm sure it's mostly because of the name.  Either way they discovered that tourist would buy anything that had this silly name printed on it, even if it wasn't that appetizing.  I say this because Corfu has many great flavours and none of these great flavour use kumquats. Yet every tourist shop in town can't sell enough kumquat souvenirs to fill an entire cruise ship.

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It's Spring Time

So what better way to celebrate spring than eating a chocolate butterfly?  Actually, today I saw a butterfly up at my apartment window.  It's kind of uncommon because I'm not that close to the bottom and they rarely make it up this high.  So it was kind of cool, and inspiring for today's review.

Click here to read the review.

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The Last of the Greek Reviews

At least for a little while this is the last of the Greek reviews.  I only say this because I have a pretty solid line up of non Greek candy on the way that I'm dying to try out.  But seeing as I'm living here, in Greece, for the next little while, I imagine you'll see more Greek reviews in the future.  Maybe even another "Greek Review-a-Thon.

Click here to read today's review.

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Playing with my Food

I find it very satisfying to stack and organize my food.

Sometimes it's easy to take pictures of food. It's already beautiful, it has unique packaging, it is a moment to be remembered. But sometimes candy comes in a bag that isn't very inspiring, and then it just lays around. That's when food photography seems to become creative food play. It takes a little more time to stack, organize, arrange things to make it look more interesting and dramatic.

Towers of gummies are very wobbly.

Do You Crave Junk Food?

I don't think I crave junk food as much as people think I crave junk food.  I'm interested in junk food, I think it's a fascinating subject to write about and to photograph, but I don't think I have a problem. In fact I really don't eat that much junk food on a daily basis at all.  Or am I just lying to myself.

Click here to read more about junk food cravings.

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Maple Syrup Makes Good Candy

If you need proof you might have to visit a sugar bush, like the one featured in the article below.  They don't just harvest the stuff, but they also make treats out of it too.

Click here to read about Shepherd Sugar Bush.

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People Ask Me Why I Don't Like Most Watermelon Candies

I'd be a liar if I told you that I like every single flavour of candy in the world.  Truth is I'm not a big fan of licorice, fake apple, and fake watermelon.  I try and describe to people why I don't like fake Watermelon but it's kind of hard.  I say that fake watermelon flavours don't have that refreshing splash that you can only get from real watermelon, and frankly that splash is the best part.

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Greek Gum?

Who would have thought that Greece would have it's own brand of gum.  Not only do they have their own brand of gum, but they have several brands of gum, and they're all distinctly Greek.  Why do you ask are they Greek?  Well it all boils down to that stuff I'm mentioned a few times before on this site, Mastiha.

Click here to read the review.

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The Science Behind "Eutectics"

Ever wonder why some things melt in your mouth better than others?  The answer can be found in a fun word, "eutectic".  Now that you know the terminology, why not find out the science behind it.

Click here to learn all about "eutectic".

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Lots Of Candy Related Things To Do This Weekend

It all depends where you live, but if you happen to live in Michigan, California, or Ohio, then I've got some events for you.

Why not check out this new club that has a candy themed evening of sweet fun.

Or check out the Chocolate Festival in Encinitas.

There's always the Appalachian wine, chocolate driving tour in Ohio.

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Strange Photo

Photo: Jacky Naegelen of Reuters.

I've been trying to figure out a way to describe this photo without actually posting it.  A way to make you want to click on the link because you where just so curious, but I couldn't.  The photo is of Carl Lagerfeld in a chocolate hotel suit... the memories you will take from it are un-erasable.

Picture found on Boing Boing.

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Honibe Teaches Me About Honey

I have to say when it comes to honey I'm a bit of an ignoramus.  Sure I can taste a difference in some honeys, and I might even like one over another, but I really don't think I have a developed pallet for honey.  The reason I bring this up is because Honibe just sent me this e-mail:


"Honibe™ Announces Collaboration with Comvita to Launch World's First 100% Pure Manuka Lozenge

Island Abbey Foods Ltd™, specialty honey manufacturer, today announced a partnership with Comvita, the world's largest manufacturer and marketer of Manuka (Leptospermum) honey .Comvita will use the technology created by Honibe™ to produce the first pure dried Manuka honey products in the world.
The first product from this collaboration will be Pure Manuka Honey Lozenges with a UMF (Unique Manuka Factor) of 10+.

The Honibe™ brand is built around a proprietary platform technology that has enabled the creation of 100% pure dried honey products in a variety of form factors with no additives or preservatives. Comvita will now expand their current product lines to include Honibe’s innovation in honey to create a 100% Pure Manuka Lozenge “Comvita is the leading producer of Manuka honey and Manuka products in the world,” stated, President of Island Abbey Foods Ltd., John Rowe. “Comvita has established a reputation for creating innovative natural health and wellbeing products which is further reiterated by this partnership. We will be producing a 100% Pure Manuka Lozenge for Comvita with our patented technology to create an entirely new innovation in Manuka honey."

Now I'm fairly certain I don't know what a "UMF" is and I'm really not sure how good a 10 is either.  However I trust the folks at Honibe so I'm sure it's pretty darn tasty.

UPDATE:

Graham from Honibe sent me this message:


"Manuka honey comes from a Manuka flower that is only native to New Zealand. This honey has considerably more active ingredients in it compared to other honeys on the market. It has been proven to provide more health benefits for the body than other honeys. The Unique Manuka Factor is the biggest reason for this as it contains high levels of antibacterial properties which is graded based on the +5, +10, +15, +20, +25.

I hope this helps explain it a little bit better.

Best,
Graham"


Thanks Graham, see the folks at Honibe are OK.

Click here to check out Honibe's site.

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No Creme Egg Easter... But Wait!

Although I had a pretty good Easter this year, I was a little disappointed about one aspect.  Here in Athens they don't seem to sell Cadbury Easter Creme Eggs anywhere.  But I didn't let it get me down, I decided instead to focus on the new treats I could have here and not worry too much about nostalgia.  But then after the holidays my friend Jonathan (having just come back to Athens from England for the Easter holidays) handed me a spectacular gift.  It was a British Cadbury Creme Egg, and it was the best treat any recently moved away from home Candy Critic could hope for.

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Sour Apple Candy Ad

Just like last week I decided to find this weeks ad by simply typing a random candy related word into the Vintage Ad Browser's search tool.  This weeks word was sour.  I have to say I had to comb through a few non-candy ads to find a good sour candy ad.  It's strange how whenever a candy company wants to promote something that is really sour, they often use a really ridiculous situation to do it.  Why is extreme flavour attached to corny random gags in candy commercials?

Ad found on Vintage Ad Browser.

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Off to the Races in Our Greek Review-a-Thon

I don't really understand that name of this bar.  It's called "Derby" but it doesn't appear to have any relevance to horse racing.  There are no horses on the package, and the main ingredient is coconut.  From what I understand coconut is not something one generally associates with horse racing.  Sometimes they call soccer tournaments "derbies", but then I still don't understand the coconut reference.

Click here to read the review.

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Sun Bleached Window... Not So Good

I love looking at candy windows.  Not only do they make my mouth water, but they appeal to the artist in me.  The thing is, there's a fine line between having an impressive window and having a window that makes me want to avoid your shop.  This window on the other hand has crossed this "fine line" and kept walking for a kilometer or two.  If you can't notice from the photo, the light chocolates in the window are not supposed to be light, they've been sun bleached.  Makes me wonder how fresh anything in the store might be.

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Summer Candy

For some reason I associate these salt water taffy candies with summer. It makes no sense. They're available all year, and if anything are harder to eat in the summer, because they go all soft and stick to their wrappers and then you have to decide how much wax paper you're comfortable eating.

From front to back: peppermint, cinnamon, blue raspberry, banana

This one is cinnamon flavoured.