A Little Strange I Guess

 Even if you look beyond the general strangness of this commercial, I find it really odd at how happy the kids are that the M&Ms don't melt in their hands.

Is Red Licorice, Licorice?

 Today I debate the age old question, is red licorice actually licorice?

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Beast Up Those Treats

If you haven't picked up my fun alphabet book all about beasts and the treats they love, then you're really missing out.

Pick up your very own copy right now on Amazon or at bewarethecheese.com/treatsnbeasts/

Marshmallow Redemption?

While writing this new candy review I got to thinking. I was wondering if I could acquire a taste for mass produced marshmallows the same way I (sort of) acquired a taste for black licorice. The way I attempted to acquire a taste for black licorice was to buy a big bag of the stuff (the extreme black licorice from Holland) and eat a piece every single day. I'm not sure that this will work for mass produced marshmallows as the thing I dislike most about them is the lack of flavour and the texture. Black licorice was a flavour issue, where is this is a texture issue. Maybe I'll give it a try in the future, but for now I'm happy to remain very picky about the marshmallows that I eat.

Check out my latest marshmallow review right now.

Almond Joy and Almond Cluster

 I have two questions about this commercia. First of all, what happened to the Almond Cluster, and why can't I get one now. Secondly, why is the theme song sung with a French accent?

Googly Revolution

There’s a saying, or at the very least an idea that many people believe to be true, and that’s chocolate will improve any food. I will agree that chocolate can make many desserts, nuts and even some savoury foods pretty good, but I’m pretty sure it can’t improve everything. I’ve pointed out in the past that onions and chocolate seems to be a stumbling block that I’ve seen a few people attempt but never succeed. I’d also argue that there a few desserts that would not be better with chocolate, like strawberry shortcake, carrot cake and trifle. So that made me think, is there anything you can do to a dessert, snack or candy that will always improve it?

My next line of thinking was fruit or a fruit compote. Fruit is a great garnish on so many desserts so it seemed like it should work. I was mostly thinking of a berry coulis, maybe strawberry or raspberry. The problem with coolis is I’m not convinced it would improve any candies, and pretty sure it would wreck some savoury treats, I’m looking at you pretzels.

This basically lead me right back to the beginning, and had me once again sure that there was no unifying single thing one could add to snacks, desserts and candy that would always improve them. That was until I took a trip to my local bulk food store and came across some candy googly eyes.

You could easily argue that these candy googly eyes add nothing when it comes to taste and texture. I would argue back that they do add a little bit of crunch, but would kind of agree that flavour wise they’re just adding some sweet and nothing more. The thing they do add is endless entertainment, and maybe that’s just what desserts, snacks and candies could use. Even if your dessert is fancy or your candy is fun, these googly eyes just seem to add even more fun to them.

My plan is simple, I bought a handful of these googly eyes, and I’ve decided that over the next few weeks/months I’m going to take every opportunity to add them to many of my desserts, snacks and candies that I’m eating to see if it actually makes them better. I’m convinced that there will not be one failure for this experiment, and I challenge any treat to try and be less fun without some slightly wonky eyes attached to them.

A Look Back at a Dark Chocolate From Japan

 Today I tasted a dark chocolate that came from a place that didn't used to have a lot of dark chocolate. Now it's got much more dark chocolate, and this doesn't really cut it anymore.

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Facting on The Snacking

If you've wanted to learn all there is to know about the snacks you love, make sure to pick up Snack Facts, my fun comic featuring fun facts and history treats, candy and munchies.

Pick up your copy right now at candycritic.org/snackfacts/ or on Amazon.

For The Love of Cinnamon

I'm not sure if my tastes have changed, or if I'm just finally brave enough in my older age to admit this, but I really like cinnamon. I might even go so far as to say that there are times where I crave cinnamon over chocolate. This is particularly true when someone's talking about baked treats. Don't get me wrong, there has to be some sugar mixed with that cinnamon, and it shouldn't be very spicy either. I've never really understood the full appeal of spicy cinnamon treats to be honest.

Check out my latest cinnamon filled review.

Old PopRocks Slogan

 I feel like PopRocks could bring back their old slogan "the cracklin's what's happenin'" and people would love it.

A New Street Food 10 Second Kitchen

Watching them make fun and unique street foods at the night markets in Bangkok is always fun, particularly when you know that you're going to eat it a few minutes later.

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That Blue Orchid Is Pretty Amazing

You should stop what you're doing right now and check out my comic all about a girl who fights all kinds of monsters. 

Pick up Blue Orchid right now at www.bewarethecheese.com/blueorchid/ or on Amazon.

My Monthly Review-A-Thon

 

You may or may not have noticed but each month, during the second week of each month to be precise, I post a review-a-thon. What that means is that rather than posting two new candy reviews a week, I post a new review each day that week (from Monday to Friday). I started doing this when my backlog of reviews started to grow a little out of control, with the goal of thinning this backlog out a bit. It appears to not be doing a good enough job, as my backlog is once again way too big. So while this month is going to be the same as usual, next month I've decided to do a super review-a-thon and I'm going to post a new review every single day for the entire month of September.

Check out the first entry in week's review-a-thon, and stay tuned to our social media for a fairly hectic September.

Early TV

 One thing about older candy commercials is there was a time when you didn't really have to impress, you just had to be on television.

Kaya Revelation

 There are a few snacking trends that make their way from Asia to the west. Odd flavoured Kit Kat bars, Pocky, seaweed crackers just to name a few. There are however some Asian trends that never make their way to the west, and I can’t figure out why. Salted Egg, both on fish skins and as a flavour is a great example. It’s a flavour trend that’s just about everywhere in Asia, from Krispy Kreme donuts to every kind of salty snack and cookie you could imagine, yet most people in the west have no idea what it is. I can never really figure out why one particular snacking trend makes its way around the world while others don’t.

Kaya is the latest thing I’ve discovered that seems to fall into the category of treat that just about everyone should love, but for some reason it seems to stick to certain parts of Asia. I discovered it on a trip to Malaysia where I met a person who was so surprised that I had never tried it before. This isn’t that uncommon, for someone to introduce me to a treat that I’ve never tried before. After all there are hundreds of regional treats and snacks all over the world that are only available in very specific places. At first I assumed that this was just a Malaysian thing and while happy to try it, I didn’t think much of it.

Then, after my trip to Malaysia, we ventured to Singapore. I decided to poke around Singapore and see if they had any Kaya available as well. I was blown away by how much Kaya I found. There were snack shops and restaurants dedicated to the stuff. Dunkin’ had a doughnut flavoured with Kaya too. I also checked the grocery stores and there were shelves full of different varieties and different qualities of Kaya. After having one person in Malaysia point it out to me, I suddenly discovered that it’s actually all over the place. I’ve since travel ed to a few other Asian countries, and each and every one of them also offers Kaya.

For those of you that don’t know, Kaya is a coconut based spread. It often has pandam in it as well as various other ingredients like sugar and sometimes egg. There are apparently different versions of it too, depending on where you get it, but most are sweet, slightly gritty spreads. There is certainly a coconut flavour, but it’s not too overpowering. The traditional way to eat it is on toast with butter, but as I said before filling donuts or dipping things in it is also acceptable.

It’s a sweet spread that has some truly fun (and fairly familiar) Asian flavours, so why is no one in North America or Europe eating this stuff? I don’t really have an answer, but I can say that it’s not because it’s brand new. The people I’ve talked to about it have been eating it for years. According to some research I’ve done online, there are Kaya recipes that have been around since the early nineteen hundreds.

I’m not sure how long Dunkin’ has offered a Kaya donut, and I’m not sure how long Kaya toast shops have been open. Maybe Kaya is just hitting the mainstream in Asia. Maybe it’s been on the shelves for a while, but now it’s finally getting a bit more of the snacking spotlight. I can’t really say for sure because it just wasn’t on my radar until recently.

What I’m hoping is that this awesome spread picks up momentum, and we start to see more and more treats flavoured with it. A Kaya Kit Kat sounds good to me, maybe even some more Kaya cookies. I would also love to taste a Kaya ice cream, if Baskin Robbins is feeling adventurous.

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The Best Milk Chocolate Bars

 This is a list of the best milk chocolate bars I've ever reviewed on candycritic.org, so this doesn't include fine milk chocolates or milk chocolate that might be in other forms. It also only includes bars that have nothing but milk chocolate.

Those Beasts Love Treats

If you want to better your alphabet skills while still showing your love of snacks and treats, be sure to pick up my book called Treats and Beasts.

You can get your very own copy at bewarethecheese.com/treatsnbeasts/ or on Amazon.

Being Objective Is Hard

Probably the hardest part of doing a site dedicated to reviewing candy is staying objective. After all I have likes and dislikes, licorice and spicy foods is a prime dislike that I run across regularly. I also have childhood memories of eating certain candies. This is a hard one to put aside since it's not uncommon for me to taste these treats and instantly be flooded with great childhood memories. This week's featured review is just such a treat. It's been years since I've eaten a Zingy Zap, but the minute I bit into one I instantly had fond memories of being a kid and visiting my local corner store with my friends.

Check out my attempt at objectively reviewing this classic treat.

Retro Rolo

 To say they don't make commercials like they used to is an understatement in this case.