A Tradition, and The Best Christmas Candy Commercial Ever

 I post this every year, and it has not yet been dethroned as the most iconic and perfect Christmas candy commercial ever.

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Ring My Bell

 Every year I watch this commercial and every year it makes me smile.

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Blow You a Kiss

 With a name like Kiss, you'd think that the process of making them would be much more magical. Not enough pixy dust and magic wands in my opinion.

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It's an Easter Fun Experiment!

 For this very special candy experiment I decided to taste test 4 different mini eggs. One was very different, one was better than the rest, one was surprising.

Make sure to check all my videos out when they come out on YouTube.

You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to keep up with all the fun stuff I do.

If you want even more, follow me on Patreon too.

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It's Not Chirstmas, It's National Hot Chocolate Day

I was really debating about making this new review a Christmas review, then I remembered that National Hot Chocolate Day was coming and it seemed the perfect fit. I used to celebrate many of the "national" days that were associated with candy and junk food, but frankly it was just too much. Now I celebrate if I feel like I can. I also feel like as long as it's cold outside and I have the means, any day can be Hot Chocolate Day.

Check out this fun review for a hot chocolate themed treat.

Also make sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to find out what kind of Hot Chocolate I'm drinking at any given moment.

If you follow me on Patreon I might even send you some hot chocolate.

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A G-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-ghost!

I think I saw this coming.

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Birthday Cake, But It's Not My Birthday.

I don't really understand this birthday cake trend. From what I can tell "birthday cake" flavoured treats are often full of sprinkles (technically not a flavour) and have a very strong vanilla flavour. If this is correct, then here's what I don't get. First of all I've never had a birthday cake flavoured birthday cake. I feel like most of my birthday cakes were either chocolate or some kind of ice cream cake. Secondly, isn't this form of birthday cake actually just a vanilla flavoured cake? So if you flavour anything else with this flavour, it's vanilla flavoured and no longer really related to a birthday cake. It just doesn't make that much sense to me and frankly I've never been wowed with anything that's birthday cake flavoured.

Click here to find out how this birthday cake flavoured treat holds up.

Make sure to also follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for all kinds of extra fun stuff.

If you can't get enough of my candy shenanigans you can also follow me on Patreon too.

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I Don't Think I Like Menthol

Fairly often I find that I've discovered a new candy or kind of candy that I love, rarely do I find one that I don't like. While I don't hate all menthol candies, I'm finding that recently more and more candies using this cool ingredient seem to be using it wrong. It has got to a point where if I find a candy that has the word "cool" or "menthol" on it and it's not mint, then I'm a little nervous about trying it. I understand what Hershey's is doing here with the menthol flavour, but I just don't think it works. It's almost as if they saw the design of this bar on paper, then didn't bother to actually taste it when it was done.

Click here to find out why this menthol bar didn't work.

You can also follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and find out how cool I am already.

If you want to be extra cool, join me on Patreon too.

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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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Christmas Candy In The Media

This is proof that you don't need to be extra fancy to make an amazing Christmas candy commercial.

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This Week In Candy

Valentine's Day is coming!  If you're in love, and you like chocolate, this is pretty much the best holiday to be alive. If you don't like chocolate then there are a few other options, including Conversation Hearts and Cinnamon Hearts.  However, if you're not in love this holiday might not be that great.  Don't worry though, we have an article going online next week just for all of you single folks out there.

This week however we're only hinting at Valentine's Day, instead we're going to focus this week on America.  For no reason that I can logically think of we're going to look at my favorite people to the south (of Canada, where I'm from).  This week on Junk Fud, our podcast, we have an episode of Junk Fud on the Road all about the USA.  We're also looking at this proud nation by having an American candy bar review-a-thon.  That means that instead of just one review this week, we'll have 5, and all of them are going to be American candy bars (I'd like to thank my friend Katie and Kyle for helping out with this review-a-thon).

Not that we want to push this any further, but since the time is right, we figured on Snack Facts, our Instagram feed, we thought we'd look at Hershey's (a truly American candy company). Say what you want about the quality of the chocolate, this company has a pretty big history in the candy world.  It's probably the only candy company that has an amusement park too.  So make sure to check our Instagram feed, Facebook page, or Twitter feed every day this week to learn a little something about this history of Hershey's.

As we mentioned above, this week we're having an American candy bar review-a-thon.  As far as I know all of the bars featured this week are only available in the US as well.  You might find some in fancy candy stores that sell American exports, but average candy stores outside of the US probably don't sell these at all.  This might come as a surprise to some of you Americans out there.  Our first review is so chock full of America that it'll make you salute an eagle, after all it's got bacon in it.  Click here to read today's new review, and check back on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, or Google +, to see the rest of our American candy bar review-a-thon updates.

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Candy News

Mallomars are 100 years old... the cookies aren't, but the concept is.

Dorito bread and Dorito butter, two excellent ideas.

Here's some really nice photo work that simply looks at colour and candy.

With the holiday's coming, we're going to start seeing extreme gingerbread houses.  Here's the first, and here's the second so far.

People really like nuts in their chocolate, apparently plain old chocolate just isn't cool enough.

If you thought potato chips were simple, think again.

Just when you thought chocolate couldn't do any more, apparently it might help in the fight against E.coli.

Thinking about entertaining a fine night of dinning?  Don't forget to buy some chocolate.

Art inspired by gummy bears, they left out one particular piece, but I'm sure I'm a little biased.

The Telegraph compares the Hershey bar to the Dairy Milk bar, which do you prefer?

Disneyland is selling candy canes for 10 dollars each, and people are lining up to buy them.

That little Debbie has been making Sweet Rolls for 50 years now, she looks pretty good for her age.

Here's a great way to enjoy eating jelly beans, and also keep your life organized... It's really a win/win situation.

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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Candy News

This article talks about ways to make chocolate more healthy for you by adding extra ingredients.  How about you just eat the chocolate after a well balanced meal.

Nesquick has sponsored an art instillation that features chocolate smelling bubbles... I want chocolate smelling bubbles for my own house!

"Woman Drinks Coke Instead Of Water For 16 Years", I know understand why Allison wants me to drink Coke 0 and water more often.

The Atlantic has a really interesting article about how junk food and health food are marketed to us, and how   much of this marketing isn't really fair.

Here's a look at Wald Konigsberger Marzipan in Berlin.

New gum themed app uses your jaw bone to help you play a game.

Are you American?  What state are you from?  What's the most famous product that's ever come out of your state?

The great thing about the show Mad Men is how they use real products, including Hershey's.

Speaking of Hershey's, apparently in Canada they just got in a lot of trouble for price fixing.

If you look at the bottom of many food packages in the USA (and other places as well), you might find some random coloured circles.  They mean something.

Last week I posted about some treats that you can only get in the USA because they were dangerous, turns out this list isn't really that relevant at all.

Serious Eats finds out what people want in the center of their Oreo, besides just vanilla cream.

Baking with Kit Kat bars, it sounds like a pretty good idea.

The Huffinton Post decided that Candy Dots was an important enough subject to investigate, we couldn't agree more.

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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Classic/Creative Candy Advertising

Now this is just downright disturbing.  I know babies are supposed to be cute and all, but the idea of a little baby sitting in the cocoa pod were my chocolate comes from is just gross.  I know what babies do, and I don't want a little baby doing it in my cocoa pod.  Chocolate already has enough problems being associated with poop, this isn't helping at all.

I found this ad here.

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Candy News

The economy is getting so bad that even some candy companies are feeling the pinch, this is rare because often in bad economic times candy companies thrive.

The folks at Ring Pops want you to decide on their new flavour of Ring Pop.  Personally I think I'd want to try the cookies and cream.

My friend Peter (@ponate), gives us his reasons why cotton candy is the best theater food ever.  He does however neglect to mention the sticky fingers problem.

If you want to plan a vacation this February, might I suggest Hershey Pennsylvania?

Learning something new, and chocolate, put them together and you have a very fun afternoon.

You may want to argue that Missouri is not the chocolate capital of the USA, but they have a pretty good argument.

Can chocolate be fine art, a gallery in New York would like to say that it can.

I think science is using M&M's for evil experiments, like finding out if we eat more candy/junk food because we're stressed.

How many letters do you mail in a month?  Would that number increase if the envelope tasted awesome?

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

Thursday's Candy Links

Hershey bar VS Hershey Extra Cream, Serious Eats does a taste test.

You know how much I hate food trend lists, it just bothers me that many people make up these lists based on nothing but thin air.

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Wednesday's Candy Links

What does one do with 40,000 lbs of walnuts, and why would someone risk jail time to get them?

Hershey's is having trouble marketing a chocolate bar that has less chocolate and more air, quelle surprise.

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Old Candy Critic Articles - Chocolate Relief

I've decided to take down several old articles from the candycritic.org and re-post them here on the Candy Critic blog.  This week I'm posting an article written by Tedd, a fan of Candy Critic, and man who served overseas in the military.

Late in 1990 I was a Combat Medic in Desert Storm. Sleeping in a tent in the middle of the desert, sand in places I don't even want to mention, dealing with heat that I never thought possible during the day and freezing temperatures at night. Always wondering what that bang was or what that glint of light was coming from across the dunes. Was that a mirage or an enemy truck?

Things weren't all bad while I was there, however. I was with fellow soldiers, we played lots of card games, Nintendo sent us a bunch of Gameboys, Chef Boyardee sent a bunch of their goodness. The company I remember most was Hershey's. Chocolate and the military have had a long and fruitful relationship and Hershey's didn't forget this.

You see, in the United States of America, the production of chocolate proceeded at a faster pace than anywhere else in the world. It was in pre-revolutionary New England — 1765 to be exact — that the first chocolate factory was established in this country. During World War II, the U.S. government recognized chocolate’s role in the nourishment and group spirit of the Allied Armed Forces, so much that it allocated valuable shipping space for the importing of cocoa beans. Many soldiers were thankful for the chocolate bars, which gave them the energy to carry on until more food rations could be obtained. Today, the U.S. Army’s "Meals Ready to Eat" contain chocolate bars and chocolate candies, and chocolate has been taken into space as part of the diet of U.S. astronauts.

What Hershey's sent to Desert Storm were 144,000 bite-sized chocolate bars, wrapped in nifty desert camouflage wrappings and specially formulated to withstand temperatures of over 100 degrees F. I remember getting up out of my cot one morning and going to the tent we had set up to take care of sick and injured soldiers. There, I saw a box that I originally thought was just another makeshift desk drawer. It had Hershey's printed on it, and when I looked inside, imagine my delight when I saw those mouth-watering, bite-sized packages of choco goodness. I felt like it was Christmas! I immediately dug in and grabbed a few, laid them on the table, unwrapped one, and popped it into my mouth.

What does a chocolate candy bar that doesn't melt in 100 degrees taste like? VERY GOOD! I remember it was a bit harder than other candy bars I have eaten, and it didn't melt in my mouth, but the taste was very close to the Hershey's we all know and love. After coming down off of my chocolate high, I decided to test the heat resistance and stuck a few in my pocket...ok, pockets. Throughout the day and several days thereafter, I and the other soldiers of my unit used them as "chips" for card games - those that we didn't eat before we got them on the card table. In a town nearby they were a treat for the children that lit up their faces like the sun.

Hershey's knows how to support the military and I thank them for their contribution to the Desert Storm conflict. They, and other companies, raised the morale of all the military while away from home and family. It was, and still is, nice to see that the military is appreciated to the point that companies like Hershey's are willing to go that extra step to let our guys and gals know they are appreciated.

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Old Candy Critic Articles - The Higher the Expectations…

I've decided to take down several old articles from the candycritic.org and re-post them here on the Candy Critic blog.  This week I'm posting an article Allison wrote about the disappointment she found in an no sugar added treat.

It’s no secret that I live a low-carb lifestyle. It’s also no secret that I loooooove chocolate, so I get my chocolate kicks from various “no sugar added” sources. Of these, I have to say my favourite is Hershey’s. They make lovely little chocolatey bars – regular, dark, and regular with little bitty pieces of almonds – and mini Reese’s peanut butter cups. The PB cups are a little drier than the regular cups, but still yummy. They all come individually wrapped in bags of about a dozen.

As for the bars, my favourites are most definitely the ones with the wee almonds. I like the little crunch, and I feel good to know that I’m getting a bit of protein with my snack. Win-win situation, I think. Except for the fact that there have been repeated problems with these bars.

It started with a couple of bags I picked up last fall. One of the wrappers had no chocolate at all in it! It was sealed nicely, nestled in amongst its buddies, but was completely empty. I felt disappointed and deceived. In the very next bag I bought, one of the chocolates looked like it had a bite out of it. I called the Hershey’s customer service people, but they really didn’t seem to care at all. “Yeah, the machines will do that sometimes,” was the best I got out of them.

Isn’t this a quality control issue? Shouldn’t somebody be notified? Reluctantly, the customer service lady finally agreed to send me a coupon so that I could get a new bag. That was nice, but couldn’t she have assured me that my phone call helped improve quality, and that they’d take measures to fix things?

Maybe I’m glad she didn’t, because with higher expectations, disappointment is only greater. Now I’m dealing with two bags in a row of the “with almonds” wrappers, without even an atom of almond in sight. I keep unwrapping my little almond chocolate wrappers, only to find no almonds. Not even one little itty-bitty piece. I took a picture, but it does no justice at all to my distress. I guess if I expected that Hershey’s cared at all about quality control in their “no sugar added” line, I’d feel even worse.

Still, when you find the best thing out there and it still has its bad moments, it’s pretty crushing. But not crushed almonds – they’ve gone missing.

by Allison

Wednesday's Candy Links

How much do you know about drinks, not as much as you probably thought.

How important is ethics when it comes to making candy, well Hershey knows.

Normally I'd give you tips on how to find the perfect candy store, here's tips on how to own the perfect candy store.

Making chocolate where it is grown, a great new idea starting in Madagascar.

Best Foods at the Louisiana state fair, including many treats on sticks.

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