Candy In The Media

As it turns out, if you really want to enjoy that junk food, getting a little drunk might help.

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Candy News

Jason Mecier is opening a show called Candylebrity, and it looks amazing.

NPR has posted two really interesting looks into the candy world.  First is a look at why a package of Peanut Butter M&Ms is lighter than a package of regular M&Ms.

The second article from NPR is a fun, illustrated, look at why chocolate might be better than sex.

Some people argue that candy and beer don't work well together at all, not the Beeroness.

If you want to keep up with all of the daily candy news that we come across as it happens, follow us on Twitter.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Beer-Flavored Lollipops - Lollyphile - For those of you that enjoy the flavour of beer, but don't like getting any kind of buzz. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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A Cool Candy Thing

I'm not an science expert, but my experience leads to me to believe that gummies are water soluble.  That means when they get wet, the disintegrate.  That makes me wonder if gummy shot glasses are really a good idea.  You could however go a little meta and make jello shots in them.

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Candy News

What's the sexiest food you know, chocolate, oysters... asparagus?!!

I normally don't link to other people's snack reviews, but I highly doubt I'll ever review edible underwear myself.

Get the full scoop on Candy Hearts, then get yourself a full scoop of Candy Hearts.

Of this list of ways to say I love you using food, I think "let a jar of Nutella do the talking" is good enough for me.

So does wine and chocolate really go together?  I'm convinced that everything goes with chocolate, so the answer is yes.

Apparently who you vote for may actually have a connection to what kind of candy you like.

Boing Boing has posted two really interesting articles that I feel tell the real problem with obesity in the world right now. Here's the first, and here's the second.

If you need to argue that chocolate might be a health food, read this article, and amaze your friends.

Here's an interesting study that deals with how we are affected by candy advertising.

I find it odd that the closer we get to Valentine's Day, the more recipes I'm discovering for candy themed alcoholic drinks.

If you want to keep up with all of the daily candy news that we come across as it happens, follow us on Twitter.

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Stuff I Want To Try

ChocOBeer  - Carre Chocolates- The perfect gift for that special bartender at your local sports bar. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Beer-Flavored Jelly Beans - Jelly Belly - I don't drink beer, but I may enjoy eating it. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Candy News

This is your brain... This is your brain on chocolate... See it works so much better.

So what is a candy cane, where did they come from?  Here's all the information you're going to need.

This years trendy DIY sweet treat for the holidays?  Gingerbread.  Not that it wasn't popular before, but these year it seems to be exploding.  Here's some proof, here even more, and even more.

It turns out that the new folks at Hostess are looking to expand into the global market, that means that all you folks in Europe, Asia, and Australia won't have to pay premium prices for Twinkies anymore.

Nutella Bar opens in Chicago, on an unrelated note, anybody out there have a spare room in Chicago that I could move into?

I'm not sure how I feel about the trend to mix alcoholic drinks and sweet treats together, no matter how silly or strange the combination might be.  Sometimes it works naturally, other times...

If you want to keep up with all of the daily candy news that we come across as it happens, follow us on Twitter.

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Fistiki Fest (Pistachios Everywhere)

Last weekend I visited a festival on the Greek island of Aegina called the "Fistiki Fest".  For those that don't speak Greek "fistiki" is Greek for pistachio.  I love going to festivals, and I particularly love festivals based on foods.  The best kind of food festivals to go to tend to be based on ethnic foods (like a Greek food festival, or a Chinese food festival) or food festivals based on a particular harvest, like this one.  I was really looking forward to this festival because it was celebrating the harvest of my favourite nut, and I wasn't disappointed at all.

Festivals can really be hit or miss in my opinion.  I've been to festivals where they're supposed to be celebrating one thing, but most of the vendors and entertainment have nothing to do with the namesake of the festival.  Who wants to go to a rib festival and buy potpourri, or cat T-shirts?  I've also been to some festivals where they don't work with the environment around them.  Local festivals are the best when they include the locals and local business.  This festival really celebrated the pistachio, and it also celebrated the community where pistachios grow.

The first thing this festival got right was the premise, pistachios.  It's a simple premise, the nuts are harvested at this time of year, and now is the time to try them as fresh as possible.  There's no side ideas or extra events in the Fistiki Fest, just pistachios.  Since the community is such a big producer of these nuts there are plenty of people in the area that can cook with them, and show them off.  It's also nice to know exactly what you're in for; Fistiki (Pistachio) Fest is pretty clear what they're celebrating.

When walking along the main festival street you're hit with one particular theme during this festival, pistachios.  While there were a few non-pistachio businesses on the route, I would have to say that at lest three quarters of the booths at this festival sold pistachios or pistachios related products.  The great thing about pistachios is that they're a very versatile nut that you can use in liquors, baking, soaps, and even just on their own.  Fortunately the people of Aegina (particularly those that set up this festival) know the versatilities of this nut, and know that a festival is a great place to show it off.  If you had dropped me off at this festival and not told me what the main theme was, I could have easily figured it out.

As I've said above, the fact that this festival was celebrating a local crop, that many of the local people depend on for a living, makes it a better festival.  You can see the pride that everybody in the town has over their crop, and they really love the idea of showing it off.  Since it's a small town the festival is not that big, but since it's so tied into the local people, you can find pistachios throughout the town, and it becomes an extension of the festival itself. If you walk about 30 minutes towards the outskirts of town you'll even come across many pistachio farms (freshly harvested).  Even many of the restaurants use pistachios in their cooking, so off the beaten path you can celebrate this awesome nut.

This was by no means the biggest festival I've ever been to, but it was one of the best.  Unless you really hate pistachios I highly recommend you stop by Aegina around the middle of September.  You'll not only come to a fun festival with all kinds of great ways to sample pistachios (I tried complete raw/fresh pistachios for the first time), but you'll also see a community that is proud of their harvest.  Everyone we met was very friendly, and the desserts where spectacular.

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Booze Flavoured Candies

Booze and candy have an interesting relationship.  Some booze goes well with certain candies, like chocolate and red wine.  Other times the candy is just used to mask the flavour of booze, like gummy bears and vodka.  There are also occasions where booze and candy just don't mix at all, but I can't think of any off hand.  Booze flavoured candies can work as well, and do in the case of today's review, but only if the booze in question actually tastes good, and isn't simply designed to get you sloshed.

Thanks again to our friends at sugarfina.com for giving us such a great selection of gummies to sample.

Click here to read the boozy tasting review.

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It's Time For Another Review-A-Thon, This Time With Gummies

All this week we're going to be sampling a great collection of gummy treats, brought to us from our good friends at sugarfina.com.  They told us that they have one of the most original collections of gummy treats in the world, we told them to prove it, they did.  So sit back, and enjoy some fun gummy reviews.  Our first review might seem like a basic gummy bear review, but it's not.  Why not mix your favorite drink with your favorite gummy, what could possibly go wrong.

Click here to read our Champagne gummy bear review.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Beercandy  - Beercandy - I think eating these candies might make me feel more manly. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Halloween Candy Links - Part 7

What could possibly improve candy corn, why not make it hard to get at?

I know I've already told you that candy prices are on the rise because of the bad crops this year, but here's a clever way to write about it and make it relevant to Halloween.

So you're a grown up and you have some extra treats left over, here's some perfect boozy pairings for those treats.

It appears that Australia is getting into the Halloween spirit, soon the whole world will learn how cool this holiday can be.

Once again there are some dentist out there that will pay you cash for your candy.

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Friday's Candy Links

It's great to see schools selling chocolate bars to raise money, it's totally awesome to know that the food science department is behind it.

I don't always think about what candies are vegan, and what candies are not.  For example, did you know fudge isn't vegan?

What do you get when you mix vodka with your favorite breakfast cereal, surprisingly the answer can't be found in a fraternity movie.

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Thursday's Candy Links

Kids are apparently sneaking booze into school using gummy bears.  I wonder if this will be a new trend at bars?

Thieves are stealing pecans in New Mexico, I say check the local bakeries and ice cream shops for suspects.

Check out this tour of the Dum Dum lollipop factory.

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Tuesday's Candy Links

The French love M&Ms, they love them so much that they're going to produce lots more M&Ms for them to enjoy.

Smirnoff Fluffed Marshmallow and Whipped Cream Vodkas, this could be a great new idea for drinking, until you drink a whole bottle of the stuff.

When the economy is going bad, the candy industry does very well, here's some ideas as to why.

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Monday's Candy Links

Pet themed cookies... I never thought I'd ever link to a pet lovers site.

Tesco has beefed up security in the candy isle because chocolate bars have become a huge target for thieves.

Learn a little more about chocolate in with 5 keys to understanding cocoa.

Kids are using gummy bears to sneak booze into schools, why don't they just sneak it in the old fashioned way, a small flask hidden in a small pocket, or in your thermos.

Chocolatiers know the most important rule of chocolate, quality over quantity.

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What To Drink With S'Mores

Wondering what the perfect alcoholic beverage would be on that night out camping?  In particular are you looking for something that goes with the campfire desert course.  You know, after wieners on a stick but before you run into the tent being eaten alive by mosquitoes?  Well do I have a link for you.

Click here to learn what to drink with your S'mores.

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Can Jello Shots Be Classy?

Jello shots don't normally have the reputation for being something one would serve on a silver tray at a "function".   However this idea seems to be changing.  The folks at Martha Stewart look into the idea of Jello shots as being a classy treat. And I'd say if the folks at Martha Stewart are even looking into this, then it's on the way to be appropriate.

Click here to read more from Martha Stewart

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More Chocolate Wine

I've found yet another article on the subject of chocolate wine.  That's not mixing wine and chocolate together, but wine that tastes like chocolate.  It makes sense since the flavours work so well together.  I see a new food trend in the making here, and a lot of intereting new wines.

Click here to read more about chocolate wine.

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