Pickle Pepsi?

KFC came out with pickle Pepsi and I just could leave well enough alone. The bonus is that with each pickle Pepsi, you also get some Pepsi flavoured pickles.

Ode to Dill Pickle Flavoured Snacks

 I think we could debate for days, weeks or even years about what the best flavour of potato chips might be. I’m standing firm in salt and vinegar world, but maybe you like barbecue more. Picking a “best” flavour for any snack is impossible, since we all have different tastes. I however want to suggest this question, and maybe even suggest an answer. The question is, what’s the surprisingly greatest flavour of potato chip? I’ll even go one step further and say that this flavour I’m thinking about is the surprisingly greatest flavour for just about any salty snack.

The flavour I’m talking about is dill pickle. Just to make this clear, it’s a flavour that objectively seems a little too weird to work, but surprisingly tastes really good. I also want to make it clear that I’m talking about dill pickle flavoured treats, and not just dill or creamy dill flavoured treats (not that those are bad either).

I don’t know when or where dill pickle flavoured salty snacks came to be, but my memory is of them being a popular flavour of potato chip in the early 80s in Canada. I remember talking to an American friend at the time who thought it was crazy to have a chip that tasted like dill pickle, so I feel like it was a Canadian thing before becoming an American thing, but I could be wrong. It didn’t take long for this flavour to really settle in my area either. It seems like it’s been a regular flavour of chip since it first came out.

The great thing is dill pickle as a flavour seems to have settled in other parts of the world too. With this flavour of potato chip becoming accepted, it also appears that the flavour has moved onto other salty snacks as well. I’ve seen dill pickle sunflower seeds, peanuts and even crackers. I’ve tasted dill pickle versions of many salty snacks and I have to say that for the most part this flavour has never failed. Sure there are better and worse dill pickle snacks, but I think it has more to do with the seasoning quality than the snack it’s paired up with.

There are only a few potato chip flavours that have really moved on successfully into the great snacking world, and dill pickle is one of them. Most of the other flavours have been around for such a long time, but dill pickle is comparatively the new kid on the block. However, what amazes me more is that there are still people out there afraid to try this flavour, or even some people that don’t know it exists. This is why dill pickle is surprisingly the best flavour of chips or any salty snack in the world (emphasis on the word surprisingly).

This then asks the question, would I want dill pickle to become as common as salt and vinegar or barbecue for salty snacks. Part of me enjoys the niche-ness of this treat, but most of me wants the whole world to truly understand how good this flavour can be. Sure there are going to be some people out there who just don’t like it, heck I’m not a huge barbecue fan. I just want everyone to have at least tried it once.

Unusual Candy For Your Tree - Dill Pickle Candy Canes

The thing about these dill pickle candy canes is that I want them to also be really garlic heavy, but I don't want them to be garlic heavy at the same time. I love pickles that are garlic heavy, and I find it's a flavour lacking in the candy world. Most pickle flavoured snacks are more on the dill and vinegar side with a hint of garlic. Why they don't do this is obvious, garlic candy likely won't taste very good.  Probably the best way to enjoy this candy cane is to suck one end into a spike and skewer several olives onto it.

CC

A New Episode Of Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!!! Is Online!

This is part one of a 5 part series where Chris samples strange things from his trip to India (and ending in Dubai).  In this episode Chris tries some "pickled" onions, probably the worst thing he's tried yet.

Click here to see some of the past episodes on YouTube.

CC

Canadian Candy List - Part 1 - What I Miss Most

Over the last few years I've been living away from my home country, Canada.  I've been traveling the world exploring all kinds of snack foods, junk foods, and sweets, but my heart is still in Canada.  I'm going to be back home for an extended period, and I've decided to compile various lists on the theme of Canadian candy and snacks.  Each week, for the next several weeks, I'll be posting a different list of Canadian candies I've reviewed in various categories.  Some of these treats may be available in other parts of the world, some are exclusive to the Great White North, but in my mind all of them are Canadian.

Since I'm still not back yet, this is a list of treats that I most miss from my home and native land.  While away I've pined for some of these treats, and even begged friends and family to mail me these treats on occasion (with mixed results).  Since I'm only visiting when I return, I'll be sure to stock up on all of these snacks to keep me going for a while for my next several year long adventure.

The first treat in this list is a really simple treat, a Kraft Caramel.  From what I understand the origins of this candy come from Kraft making a caramel for baking purposes that kids used to love snacking on.  My entire experience with these has been as a penny candy, rather than a baking supply.  Sure this treat is simple, but it works.

Click here to read the Kraft Caramel review.

 I think the thing that makes me most nostalgic for a Crispy Crunch bar is the memories that come with it.  This was my dad's favorite chocolate bar, and I always remember getting a bite or two of his when I was a kid.  Don't get me wrong, this bar has more than nostalgia going for it, it's a tasty bar in its own right.

Click here to read the Crispy Crunch review.

 Maple sugar candies are another nostalgic treat for me.  I remember going to the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) in Toronto, and finding vendors selling these all over the place.  The CNE was a great memory for me, and these, in particular the smell of them, are a big part of that memory.  Although much like the Crispy Crunch bar, these are pretty tasty as well.

Click here to read the Maple Sugar review.

 When I was a kid, the Oh Henry! bar was my bar of choice.  For those Americans reading this, the Oh Henry! bar is most similar to a Baby Ruth, but I think it's a little better.  It seems slightly less sweet than a Baby Ruth, and it has all kinds of childhood memories attached to it.

Click here to read the Oh Henry review.

When I was a kid growing up in Canada our closest neigbours to the South seemed to have everything I wanted.  They had more ice cream, more chocolate bars, and more fast food places.  The one thing that they did lack was a great range in flavours of potato chips.  Canada has always had hundreds of different flavours of chips to choose from, and the strangest one that really has kept on is dill pickle.

Click here to read the Dill Pickle Chip review.

CC