Is Handmade Better Than Factory Made

I've always wondered why the words "handmade" can make the price of a candy go up so much. One thing I want to get straight in this debate, let's assume that the fictional factory and the fictional candy maker are using exactly the same ingredients. Often handmade treats are associated with the use of fewer chemicals or less wholesome ingredients. I don't believe that to be true in all cases, so for this argument we're using the word "handmade" to only refer to the idea that the candy is made by human hands. So does that mean a machine will always make something of lesser quality than a person. I'll be honest, I'm not really sure. I guess it's a debate that's been going on for years, and the entire Terminator movie franchise is kind of looking at that very problem. In my life I've had some great handmade treats, but I've also had some machine made treats that are pretty good as well.

Check out my latest review that claims to be handmade, but I'm not entirely sure about that.

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That's A Big Lollipop

 Sometimes I think it's more fun to watch people make candy then it is to eat it, but that's probably only because I'm not eating it right now.

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Candy In The Media - It's Like Pulling Taffy

Marisa Wu is a really fascinating person with a really great business. Next time I'm in New York, I think I might try and get some of here Salt Water Taffy.

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Candy In The Media

It's almost as beautiful to watch this candy get made as the candy results at the end.

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Put It On a Stick And Review It

I'm not sure if this is a trend that I've just discovered, or if it's a new up and coming trend, but lollipops seem to really be making a comeback.  Best of all, it appears that handcrafted lollipops are really making a comeback, and the big boys in the candy industry should be keeping an eye open.  I'm hoping that this trend starts to grow, and we see more and more candy companies coming up with really creative and smart lollipop flavour combinations.  I've been lucky enough to sample quite a few lately, and I'm eager to sample even more.  If you make handcrafted lollipops, and you think you have some creative flavours, let me know (like the folks at www.thischarmingcandy.com did) because I'd love to help promote your candy cause.

Click here to read my latest lollipop review.

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A Salty Lollipop?

This weeks review was pretty special, it was something  I'd never tried before, it was kind of pretty, and best of all it was the creation of a small time candy maker.  These elements are often the case when it comes to candy, since small candy makers are willing to take risks in an attempt to make something unique.  The folks at A Secret Forest Patisserie made a lollipop that was original, but not crazy.  It just worked.  I could go on, but that's really what the review is all about.

Click here to read this lollipop review.

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The Best Local Chocolate

Here in Athens there are so many local chocolate companies it would take a lifetime to taste them all.  I’ve even written about one particular street down town (that I call chocolate street) that has dozens of chocolate stores in one block.

The thing about local chocolate companies is I find they can be split into two categories.  One is the great local company that produces original treats using high quality ingredients.  The other is the company that uses average quality ingredients and pretty much produces the exact same kind of treats as everybody else.  Often these lower quality shops don’t even make 80% of their stock, the just sell factory made sweets.  I think I’m going to start an investigation here in Greece, I’m going to find out which shops are really doing creative work, and which are just slacking off. I welcome you to do the same thing in your town or city, and let me know what you discover.

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Growing Too Big Too Fast

Here's a great story of a chocolate company that got an offer that was a great opportunity to grow, but they realized that they might be growing too fast.  There is a line with chocolate and candy companies where you go from making great hand made treats, to making factory made (still high quality) treats.  No matter how hard you try you can't avoid changing your treat once you start production on a large scale.  The trick is to make sure you don't lose the loyal candy fans you already have.

Click here to read the article.

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Two More Candy Stores To Mention

As I continue to plug any news or blog article that talks about a candy store, I thought I'd mention that I've decided to update the Candy Critic Map next month as well.  I'm going to start posting only candy stores that I've visited, and maybe give them a quick little preview.  I will not mention any stores that I've visited and didn't like, instead it's a kind of Candy Critic Approved list of places.  I will also except suggestions from other people that might want a certain candy store that they love on the map as well (I don't even mind if you own it).  I'll continue to post links to articles about any candy store that I read about here on the blog, in fact here's two links right now:

Here's the first article about a candy store I just read.

And here's another.

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Hand Made Lollipops

The thing about small companies making small batches of any kind of treat tends to be that it's really where one finds the creativity in candy. These people can afford to be experimental because they make their candy in small batches. So if it doesn't work out they don't have as much to lose as a larger company.

Click here to read about some tasty lollipops.

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Tour a Brisbane Candy Factory

Best of all it's a candy factory that makes all of their treats by hand. Some great photos and it looks like a great place to stop in and pick up a few sweets.

Click here to check it out.

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Candy on Etsy

I discovered this fun little site all about selling your handmade treasures and wouldn’t you know it they have a whole bunch of candy related stuff. Some of it is handmade candy you eat and some is candy related things like clothing and jewellery. Well worth checking out.

Click here to check it out.

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