Ranking Nuts Part 2

This is the second part of my exploration and attempt to find the best and most versatile nut in the world. Each time I take 3 nuts and give them a score, as well as some explanation about why they scored the way they did. 

Today I've decided to start with the almond.

On their own:

It's funny, but Almonds are a go to snack nut in my household, but I don't think I would rank it as one of my favourite nuts. We go through giant Costco sized bags of these nuts regularly and they hold the position of having the largest jar in our available nut collection. While I don't think they're a favourite, they're always good to have around. I really enjoy them toasted with no salt, but every now and then a flavoured one comes around that really makes me happy. I'll give it one point.

Nut Butter:

Allison (my wife) loves Almond butter, particularly if she can find it crunchy. I'm okay with it, but honestly I find the flavour to be a little too smoky. This is another nut butter that I can't ever remember having with jam or on bread for any reason. It's okay with a bit of chocolate, but honestly not one of my favourites, so no points here.

In Chocolate:

Almonds and chocolate are a match made in heaven. The key to combining chocolate and almonds is to keep your almonds whole (or at the very least large pieces). The crunch you get from an almond works really well with the dense soft texture of chocolate. Some of my favourite chocolate bars have full almonds in them and I would never turn down a chance to eat one. Two points for this.

In Sugar Candy:

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I think in many cases sugar candy and almonds work well together. First of all nougat with almonds is fantastic. Also, there's a Korean company called HBAF that makes a candy coated almond that's out of this world. In fact they make several flavours of candy coated almonds that are all great. They also layer on the sugar pretty thick. I can't say I've ever had a hard candy with almond, but I'm kind of convinced that it would work. I'll drop a point here for the almonds.

In Other Cooking:

This is one area that I can't really remember a great way to eat an almond. I'm sure it might work as an ingredient in a stuffing maybe, but I'm not entirely convinced the texture would be great. Cookies are okay with almonds, but mostly when they're sliced super thin. Maybe almond flavouring might be good for some baking, but I don't think that's really in the spirit of this competition, so no points here.

Total Almond Points : 4

Next let's look at the Brazil nut.

On their own:

This is going to be a rough one, but I feel like the Brazil nut might only squeak by here. Don't get me wrong, I like eating Brazil nuts, but I just feel like the main reason I like eating them is because they're a fairly uncommon nut. I don't know if I've ever seen a bag of just Brazil nuts available at a grocery store. When they're in mixed nut selections they're rarely the predominant nut. Honestly I can't really ever picture myself eating more than a few of these at any sitting. I'll give them a 1, but mostly because I feel like they're not going to score well in this competition and they deserve something.

Nut Butter:

I feel like a common theme in this article when talking about Brazil nuts will be that I've never seen the Brazil nut any other time then with a bag of mixed nuts. So when it comes to nut butters, I can't say I've ever seen a Brazil nut butter before. I'm also fairly certain that it wouldn't be that great. So no points.

In Chocolate:

I think once in my life have I eaten a Brazil nut covered in chocolate. I believe it was at a fancy chocolate shop and I seem to remember it being not that great. Coating a Brazil nut in chocolate seems like an idea you might have to try it, but not because you think it's going to work flavour wise.

In Sugar Candy:

There are few nuts that work covered in sugar candy. While again, I haven't ever tried a Brazil nut covered in sugar candy, I can't imagine that it would taste very good.

In Other Cooking:

Nope, can't think of any time I've eaten a Brazil nut in cooking. I can't even remember having eaten them in a cookie or cake. No points.

Total Brazil Nut Points : 1

Last one today, will be the walnut.

On their own:

The walnut is going to a get a point for eating on its own, so don't worry. I will however say that I much prefer them toasted with the shell removed. I also might be a bit of a snob here, but I like good quality walnuts over anything lower quality. Low quality walnuts are the worst. They often have an astringent flavour and the number of times I've found bits of that hard membrane shell like stuff in cheap walnuts is astounding. One point here.

Nut Butter:

I think I've had walnut butter once, and it didn't really work. The biggest problem with walnut butter is it tastes a little astringent, the same flavour you get with low quality walnuts. I also find that the flavour of walnuts is too subtle for a spreadable butter. No points here.

In Chocolate:

Chocolate and walnuts can work really well together, but I can't say that they're my favourite nut to blend with chocolate. The problem with walnuts is that the texture can be a little soft for some chocolates. The flavour can also at times be a little too subtle, so too much chocolate overwhelms it in some cases. One point for walnuts and chocolate.

In Sugar Candy:

Other than maybe nougat, I can't think of any time where I've seen walnuts in a sugar candy situation. I can't even remember having a lightly sugar coated walnut. I feel like the subtle flavour and soft texture just wouldn't work very well.

In Other Cooking:

Baking with walnuts is a pretty common thing for me. My favourite banana bread recipe is full of them, and so are my brownies. With savoury foods it might work in some cases, but I can't really think of too many recipes that call for them. On point for the baking.

Total Walnut Points : 3

HBAF (the “h” is silent)

On our recent trip to Korea we came across a snacking trend that was so gigantic, yet so unique at the same time. This trend is completely about almonds, in particular, flavoured almonds by a company called HBAF. According to their advertising the “h” is silent, if that makes it easier for your to read. I first noticed these almonds on day one of our trip as we had a few hours to wait at the train station in Seoul to head down south to Busan. There was a grocery store in the train station, and we thought it would be a great place to get some snacks and also see what the shopping/food is like in Korea. At the front of the store was a huge display with a giant statue of a cartoon almond greeting everyone who walked in. In this are of the store were hundreds of colourful bags of almonds, with hundreds of strange flavours to choose from. There were also dozens of people loading up on this these nutty treats.

I decided that I should probably try a few flavours. I went for a few of the stranger flavours, as I’m known to do including carrot cake, salted caramel pretzels and salted caramel latte (Allison actually picked that last one). After our shop, we got on our train and headed south to Busan. I opened my first bag of these flavoured almonds and was instantly impressed by the smell coming out of the package. It not only smelled great, but matched the flavour perfectly. Even the almond itself was perfect, fresh and very crunchy. I could see why people were so excited to pick up these nuts, and I thought to myself that I should probably go back to that store on our way home to get some more. Little did I know that there were going to many more opportunities to get some HBAF again in the future.

Our first stop was in Busan, a smaller city in the south of Korea. Within a few days of exploring I quickly realized that HBAF almonds were not going to be hard to find. Every single store had at least a small display for these tasty almonds, some had whole sections dedicated to them. At one point we were walking down a trendy shopping street in Busan and I noticed that they were in the process of building an entire store dedicated to HBAF almonds. It looked like it was going to open soon, and it looked pretty epic. I was a little sad that I wouldn’t be around to see it open, but it really gave me an idea of how popular these almonds were... or so I thought.

After our time in Busan we headed north to Seoul. Our first night we decided to walk to one of the trendy areas of town that also had a night market atmosphere. This is when I realized how popular these nuts really were. Every single shop that sold packaged food (there were a lot) had a huge display of these nuts. As far as visiting a HBAF store, I had a choice of no less than 3, each bigger than the next in this one neighbourhood. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any snack have so much publicity and available in so many places in my life. It was like spotting Mickey Mouse at Disneyland, these nuts were just everywhere.

The good thing about the HBAF almonds is they’re really good. The flavours are super creative and the way they make the flavours work is even more ingenious. You could easily try a new flavour every day for a month and not only will you not repeat, but you’ll be amazed how different each flavour is. I’d like to tell you that you shouldn’t miss HBAF if you happen to be visiting Korea, but I feel like you’d have a harder time avoiding them, they’re just everywhere. I just wonder if this trend might make its way outside Korea, I sure hope so because I’m already craving another bag.

A Perfect Gift for the Holidays

Arlo the Armadillo
by candycritic

 I've got #tshirts for every letter of the #alphabet featuring beasts and the treats they love. If you know someone who's name starts with "A", this one will make the perfect #gift.

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Today's New Candy Review Is An Average Chocolate Bar

I always have a hard time writing reviews for candy that's very average. It's not that I don't like it, it just doesn't have anything interesting about it. When people ask me what my favourite candy is, I have two answers. One is that Kit Kat bars rank the highest on the site, and second is "something new". I can't tell you how many times I've reviewed the same candy over and over again, and each time I have to figure out how to explain how this candy is not very interesting. I'm thinking in the future I might just write a single "this candy is boring" review, and just put a link to that review every time I come across a decent, but boring candy.

Click here to find out why this candy was boring.

You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook to get previews  of all our upcoming reviews as well.

And why not follow our Instagram feed called Snack Facts to learn about interesting snack related trivia.

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Wish They Still Made It - Part 1 - Mars Bar With Almonds

Everyday this week I'm going to look at a treat that is no longer with us, and let you know how sad I am that it's gone.  We're going to start with the Mars Bar with Almonds.  This was probably my favorite of all Mars bars, and one of the few instances where the special edition of a bar was actually better than the original.  This is why I don't understand why it's not made anymore.  They have released a Snicker's bar with almonds that's supposed to be similar to the Mars bar, but not exactly the same.  I haven't tried this Snicker's bar, but I can't imagine it being exactly the same as a Snickers bar is very different than a Mars bar.

I'm not sure exactly when this bar was discontinued, but it was a sad day in the candy world.  I hope that one day the folks at Mars will realize the necessity of having nuts in the Mars bar, and that Almonds are not only a creative choice, but a tasty one as well.

I've written a poem about the loss of this great bar:

Mars bar with almonds of which I am fond,
I'm really sad that you are now gone.
You gave a classic a wonderful crunch,
I could eat you for breakfast, or even lunch.
I have a dream on this very night,
That I could have even one more bite.

Click here to read the Candy Critic review.

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Candy In The Media

On my way home from Europe, I had a stop in Dubai.  While in Dubai I stopped at a candy store, it was a massive candy store with treats from all over the world.  I'm pretty sure I'll be writing about this store in the future.  While at this candy store I was offered a foreign (at least to the local Emirates) treat, an Almond Joy.  They gave me a piece and then went on to explain the bar to me, like I'd never heard of it before.  After describing the Almond Joy, the girl then went on to describe the Mounds Bar to me, just in case I didn't want the almond.  The conversation then went as follows:

Girl in store:  The Almond Joy has an almond in it, and the Mounds Bar does not.

Me: Cause sometimes you feel like a nut, and sometimes you don't.

Girl in store: *Blank stare*

Me: *Walk away awkwardly*

This just proves that some cultural references don't cross all borders.

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X Marks The Review

I'm always proud to look over all of the reviews that I've written to see that I have tasted a candy that starts with every single letter of the alphabet. The next logical goal is far more unlikely to complete, tasting a candy from every country in the world.  The goal after that is even less likely, to try every single candy in the world.  The great thing about what I do, I can always strive to complete these goals, and although I'll never complete them, I'm going to have a great time trying.

Click here to read our latest "X" review.

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Yesterday I Was Too Tired, So Today I Post a New Review

It took me a while to write this review.  When it comes to treats with multiple components, I often find myself trying to eat the treat in as many ways as possible.  In this case I started with a random handful, then I tasted each ingredient individually, finally I started making up combinations that I thought would be appropriate.  That takes a lot of time, and a lot of thought between each handful.  I sometimes wish that candy companies who make these sorts of mixed bag treats would put recommended combinations on their package.  While it would take the creativity out of eating this treat, it would make my life a little easier.

Today's treat was provided to us from our friends at sarsaparillas.co.uk, a fun candy store in the UK that can supply you with all kinds of treats from all over the world.

Click here to read today's review... well it's actually supposed to be yesterday's review, but I couldn't manage it.

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Classic/Creative Candy Advertising

That is one big Mars Bar with almonds.  I'm not sure if the best way to treat a date is to provide them with a chocolate bar that could potentially crush them.

I found this ad here.

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What Does Toblerone Mean?

Since my Swiss isn't that great, I'm not really sure what "Toblerone" really means.  I know that the first part "Tobler" is the name of the creator Theodor Tobler, but the "one" (pronounced more like own without the "w" sound) is a big mystery to me.  I also wonder when the last time someone had a bar named after them.  Why do we have to give all of our treats descriptive or wacky names?  Two mysteries that won't stop me from enjoying this Toblerone, but might make me spend a lot of time on Wikipedia this morning.

Click here to read the Toblerone review.

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Friday Candy Video - Evil M&Ms

I really think that some M&M's adds should have a PG13 label.

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Old Candy Critic Articles - The 12 Candies of Christmas Part 9

I've decided to take down several old articles from the candycritic.org and re-post them here on the Candy Critic blog.  This article I've decided to re-post a little differently.  Since it's a special post for Christmas, the 12 days of Christmas in particular, I've decided to split it up into 12 parts and count down the days till the fat guy's going to bring me some sweet gifts.

'Tis the season to eat candy fa la la la la la la laaaaaa. As we all know Santa's Sack includes candy, and you know it's always what I want for Christmas. The question, with all of the Christmas candy out on the market, is which candy really says Christmas. Well in classic Candy Critic style we're going to tell you, and you better believe we're going to make it as cheesy as possible. Sooooooo.....

On the ninth day of Christmas (whenever that is) my true love gave to me......

One scoop of Chocolate Covered Almonds

Does your holiday season need a touch of class? Are you sick of childish candies with bright colours? Want to invite the boss to Christmas dinner, and don't want to hand him a reindeer that poops brown jelly beans? Well, here is your answer. The chocolate covered almond is all about class. It can make even the biggest loser look like a high-class, snobby gentleman or lady. Well, maybe that's a little ambitious, but the chocolate covered almond is an excellent treat to have on hand for your Christmas party, and I really don't know anybody that doesn't like them, so it's a safe bet.

I guess you could say that these really aren't "Christmas" candies, but as a child I remember them being a fundamental part of my festive experience. I also noticed that a lot of stores have started to carry them durring the holidays as well, so I can't be the only, one right.

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It's Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day!!!

I guess the question today is, are almonds the best nut to go with bittersweet chocolate?  My answer is probably yes.  Almonds have a nice texture and the perfect flavour to offset one of the strong chocolate flavour that comes with a bittersweet chocolate bar.  I would say though, that a nice strawberry or any kind of sweet or slightly tart fruit goes really well with bittersweet chocolate as well.  But I guess no ones made up a holiday called "bittersweet chocolate and raspberry day" yet, so today I'll go for some almonds instead.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Almondina Delights - YZ Enterprises, Inc. - They sound delightful. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Toblerone Crunchy Salted Almond Bars - Kraft - What's crunch salt? - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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It's National Almond Day!!!

"Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't.  Almond Joy has nuts, Mounds don't."  And the kind of nut in an Almond Joy?...

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Marzipan in Vienna

Marzipan is one of the most flexible candy products in the world when it comes to shape and colour.  Although it's not clear as to origins of marzipan, the fact is, many countries have latched onto this amazing almond paste and use it in many ways.  Austria is no exception, and you can find the stuff in just about every single sweet shop, cafe, and bakery.

In many cases marzipan is used in a relatively standard way.  You can find it in the center of the famous Mozart chocolates, inside many sweet treats, and it's also used to decorate treats and cakes with spectacular results.

The good thing is, the sweet makers don't stop there.  One of my favorite uses of marzipan that I saw all over Vienna,  is it being used  to make other foods.  Or at the very least when it's molded and coloured to look like other food.  Often the results are pretty fantastic, and even though I'm not a huge marzipan fan my mouth waters.

This being Vienna (one of the sausage/hot dog capitals of the world), you're bound to find marzipan decorated like the many varieties of tubed meat available. Although this looks spectacular as a piece of art, I'm not sure if it makes my mouth water like some of the other shapes available.  For the most part I like many types of sausages and wieners, but frankly I find them to look kind of unappetizing.

This also being Europe, you're bound to find marzipan in many erotic shapes as well.  As with the marzipan sausage, although I have to give them credit for the artistic merit of the treat, the idea of consuming small boobs isn't really that appealing... I wonder if that last sentence is  going to increase the traffic to this blog?

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Strange Greek Treats

My friend Zoe always brings me strange treats from her travels through the Greek islands.  These two treats are a textural wonder and very sweet.  The treat on the left is really soft in the middle, but almost crunchy on the outside.  It tastes very citrus like but I'm pretty sure the base is almond.  The one on the right was the most terrifying of the two because the outer white coating felt like a translucent paste.  The flavour of this cookie can best be described as similar to that of Christmas fruit cake, so I'm not sure how you feel about that.

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Big Fat Greek Wedding Treats

Recently Allison and I went to a Greek wedding, and what they say about them is so true.  There was lots of food and lots of Greek dancing.  Best of all there was lots of great people too.  At the end of the ceremony we got this great big frilly bundle filled with confetti candy.  Sure I didn't look very manly carrying it, but it's candy, so I don't care.

We also got these great little cupcakes made in a very Greek style.  It had walnuts, filo dough, and lots of syrup.

We also got a little bag of rice, I was going to eat it, but Allison told me to save it and throw it at the bride and groom instead.  I can't turn down a good food fight so I pelted away at the right moment instead.

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Sugar Covered Sweets From Poros

My friend Zoe brought me back a box of treats from her trip to the island of Poros.  Zoe is one of those people that always brings great treats.  Best of all, she always brings good treats.  I can't remember what these are called, but they're chewy, sweet, and yummy.

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