So Many Pocky

I think Pocky probably ranks as number 2 on my list of candies with the most varieties, number 1 being Kit Kat. You wouldn't imagine that there could be so many varieties of a cookie stick covered in chocolate, but here we are. As of this moment I've reviewed 19 different variety of Pocky, and there are still a few out there I haven't tried, as well as new versions coming out all the time. I can't say that I've loved each and every version, but they have yet to make a real gross out version (like wasabi Kit Kat).

Check out my latest Pock review.

Candy Corn?

Our latest featured review on candycritic.org has got me thinking about when I was a kid. I seem to have memories of my family calling popcorn with a sweet outer coating "candy corn". Today you mostly see sweet popcorn flavours called caramel corn when it's really sweet and kettle corn when the sweetness is less severe.  I think later in life I used to think that candy corn only referred to the popcorns that were covered in sweet stuff, however it had to be a flavour other than caramel. I'm not sure if this was all a construct in my mind, or if other people have the same memories. Today you don't really see candy corn mentioned anywhere except with those Halloween treats.

Check out our latest candy corn... I mean caramel corn treat review.

Can you get This T-Shirt for Someone You Love?

Cathy the Crocodile t-shirt
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 "C", this one will make the perfect #gift.

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I'm Not Sure That I Hate Any Candy

My latest review has made me think about the idea of liking or hating candy. I believe that there is not one candy in the world that I hate. There are a few flavours I don't like, and even a few texture I don't care for. But just because I don't like a flavour or texture, doesn't mean that I don't like the candy. In fact there have been a few candies that I totally disliked the flavour (hated even) yet I love the concept. What I'm finding however is that the candies that get really low scores (like this new candy bar that I just reviewed) are disappointing to me. I believe, what makes a horrible candy is disappointment.

Click here to read about this really disappointing treat.

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Almost The Original, But Not Exactly

 

This candy made me think once again about the power of authenticity. I always find that authenticity in food, particular candy, is a strange battle. Just because a company did not invent a particular candy, doesn't mean that their version is less superior... right? The problem with this argument is that the original companies often do make the more superior version of most treats. I've had hundreds of variations of classic treats, but most of the time the original seems to be the better one. My only guess is that the original company has a reputation to uphold. The copycat companies can always move onto the next popular snack and make a copy of it instead, while the original company needs that treat to be the best it can be.

Check out my latest review where I taste a generic copy of a classic candy.

Don't forget to follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter because I'm posting lots of extra content there as well.

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Yet Another Beastly Treat T-shirt

Cathy the Crocodile t-shirt
by candycritic

Here's the letter C, with a fun crocodile chewing caramels.

Check out the full line of Treats and Beasts t-shirts.

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The Christmas Extravaganza Continues With Santa

Here's a completely random thing that happens to me often because of this site. I often find that I have to misspell certain words. In the most recent case it has to do with this new Christmas chocolate review. The chocolates are in the form of Santa Clause. So in this bag there are several Santas, which all my spell checks consistently remind me is not a word. It makes sense that a pluralized version of a proper name cannot be a word, but when you're such a famous person and your image might be on many different things then that changes. I know that my spelling is not the best, but I try, the fact that the word Santas keeps coming up wrong for me on my spellcheck is driving me nuts.

Click here to read about the holiday treat that caused a great deal of red marks on my spell checking apps.

I'm posting many bonus reviews in December for Christmas, so be sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with them all.

If you want even more fun times, check out my Patreon page too.

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A Hand Full of Something Missing

One of the things I will never understand about the candy business is flavoured chocolate. Some might even argue that flavoured chocolate is not really chocolate. This argument comes about from the fact that most flavoured chocolates are white chocolate with some kind of flavour added, and many people believer that white chocolate is not chocolate. I'm very divided on the subject of white chocolate being chocolate, but when you add a weird flavour to the chocolate my division pulls a little more towards the idea that it's not. While I don't always understand why companies use flavoured chocolates, I don't always hate them. I just keep wishing that instead of making a chocolate taste like something else, why not use chocolate to accent an amazing flavour.

Click here for an example of why I don't like flavoured chocolate.

Come visit me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and tell my why you love flavoured chocolates.

Also be sure to check out my micro comic called Snack Facts to learn a little more about snacking history and science.

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Caramel M&Ms

I think the M&Ms characters are some of the longest running candy spokes characters still around. Best of all they seem to re-invent the idea on a regular basis.

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It's Time To Look Back At The Kraft Caramel

In this new episode of In Hindsight I look back at the simple yet classic Kraft Caramel. This is a candy that's been around as long as I can remember. It's nothing special, but it's also very special all at the same time.

Click here to read the review I wrote about it before.

If you have a classic treat that you think I should look at again, let me know on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Also be sure to follow me on YouTube to keep up with all these crazy videos.

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Texture As A Variety

Today when we see different varieties of candies, the thing that's often the difference is the flavour. It's much more rare for candy companies to change the texture of their classic candies at all when they come out with a new variety. Even more rare is candy companies coming out with a new variety of their classic treats and the only real difference is the texture. The folks at Werther's did just that, and it worked pretty well.

Click here to find out about the texture differences between Original Werther's and the chewy version.

Also be sure to check out my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds for all kinds of extra content.

And it that's not enough content for you, I have even more in Patreon.

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Reviews Are Back, But They Almost Disappeared For A Little While

My goal was to finish the Quality Street review-a-thon last week, but Wednesday afternoon changed everything. That was the moment that I spilt a half a glass of water on my laptop. While it was a horrifying moment, two things worked in my favour. First and foremost Allison and I acted quickly and dried off what we could, as well as turn the computer off immediately. Secondly it was only water, and not tea or cola. After the spill we cleaned it up very quickly, set it upside down, and had to wait about 3 days. After those 3 days I tried to turn the computer on for the first time, and luckily it turned on and everything was still working.

So now that everything is okay, I've decided to resume the Quality Street review-a-thon with a fine example of caramel and chocolate mixed together.

Click here to check out the newest entry in my Quality Street review-a-thon.

Make sure to check out Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to keep up with every new Quality Street treat I review this week.

Also be sure to check out Snack Facts, my micro comic all about Snacks and Treats.

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Candy In the Media - Rolo Magic

The last few seconds of this commercial are enough to make me want to eat a Rolo.

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It's Another Snack Review - IWAB "Sweet" (Sweet Hearts?)

One of the biggest problems about reviewing candies and snacks from all over the world, is figuring out exactly what I'm eating.  This can be a problem because I won't know what to expect (although this can be an advantage sometimes too), or it can be that I don't really know how to eat it (see this video for the best example), or as is the case with today's new review, I don't really know what it's called. While not knowing the name of a treat might seem like a small problem, it becomes a big problem when I'm trying to post the reviews on our candycritic.org. I take my best guess, and sometimes just make up the name based on what the foreign writing kind of looks like (as is this case).

If you happen to speak and read Thai, I would greatly appreciate a translation of this package. Until I get one it's going to keep the name IWAB.

Click here to find out how these IWAB snacks did.

Also make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

You should also check out our Patreon page too.

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Candy In The Media - Share Your Rolos!

When I was a kid, this commercial actually showed me that it was better to share my candy.

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Today We Eat A Classic European Bar - Lion

I think what amazes me most about this bar is the fact that most people in North America have no idea that it exists. It's the kind of bar that I think people in North America would love, but you really don't find it around at all. Maybe there's some kind of stealth technology attached to this bar, maybe it falls under the radar of anybody in North America, after all, it took years for me to finally get around to reviewing it.

Click here to find out what  you're missing, if you're North American.

Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter too.

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Canadian Candy That I Love - Part 1 - Caramilk

To help celebrate Canada Day (July 1st), all this week I'm going to look at some of my favourite Canadian candies.  There's no better Canadian candy to start with than the Caramilk bar. There are a few Canadian things that I think everyone in the world should try, Tim Horton's, Swiss Chalet Chicken, and a Caramilk bar.

Click here to read my Caramilk bar review.

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It's A New Episdoe of In Hindsight All About The Wunderbar!

It's been a while since we did an episode of In Hindsight, and we're really happy to have the chance to eat another Wunderbar. If you're not familiar with In Hindsight, it's where I look back and an old review, and re-taste the candy again. I compare my notes and see if the old review holds up.

If you want to check the Wunderbar review in full, it's right here.

Also be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to keep up with all the candy news.

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Our Latest Experiment Is All About Cracker Jacks

In our latest experiment we tried to make homemade Cracker Jacks. Strangely enough it worked, fairly well. Below is a quick version of our recipe along with a few changes we think might make it a little better:

-  Heat your oven to 250 degrees.

-  Mix 8 cups of popcorn with 1 cup of roasted peanuts (maybe make it half a cup of peanuts if you'd like).

-  Take 1/4 of a cup of salted butter and melt it in a pot. Then add 3/8 cups of brown sugar, 1/4 cup corn syrup, 1 tablespoon molasses, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Whisk them together and heat them up till they reach 250 degrees (use a candy thermometer).

-  Take the sugar mixture off the heat and add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda and whisk them all together.

-  Poor the sugar mixture into a large bowl over the popcorn and peanut mix.

-  Mix everything up until the popcorn and peanuts are covered (careful it gets hot).

-  After it's all mixed up lay it out on a baking sheet with a silicon baking liner (or you can grease it).

-  Put it in the  oven for 10 minutes, then toss the mixture. repeat this until the mixture has been in the oven for 30 minutes (my original recipe suggested 50 but my oven is small and very hot so I went for 30 instead).

- Take the mixture out of the oven and let it cool for 20 minutes.

-  Break the popcorn and peanuts apart and consume.

-  Make sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook to check out some future experiments.

- Follow us on Patreon to help support us and get a bunch of extra content.

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We Got S'more Candy To Review And A New Show

We'll start today off with our new review. It's for a packaged s'mores treat, and I spend most of the review wondering if it's at all possible to make a treat that actually matches the pure joy of real s'mores. It's a tough thing to re-create, but candy companies keep trying.

Click here to read how this candy stacks up to real s'mores.

Also this week we're premiering our new YouTube show called Chris's Monday Morning Breakfast Thoughts. A show were we take a look at what's happening this week on candycritic.org and within the candy world in general. Let us know what you think of the new show, and we also welcome suggestions for what we should eat for breakfast.


Make sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook to find out what we're doing every day.

You can also follow us on Patreon to get early previews and exclusive videos, and why not follow us on Instagram as well, you won't regret it.

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