Pop Rocks Rock!

This is probably the first candy I every discovered that had a science heavy component. Before this I thought candy was simple.

If you want to read something a little less complicated than Pop Rocks, pick up my book called Treats and Beasts.

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Wish They Still Made It - Part 3 - Xploder

This bar is one that keeps coming back every once in a while, that or I keep finding old boxes of these in various candy shops around the world.  Today you would say that this bar isn't really that original, as lots of bars now contain Pop Rock like candy, but when it came out it was cutting edge.  In fact when I first tasted this bar, I was convinced that I wouldn't like it at all.  It seemed really strange to add Pop Rocks to any kind of chocolate bar, but it worked.  Best of all the quality of the chocolate in this bar was pretty good as well.  It was like the candy industry saying that it was OK to mix novelty candy with fine milk chocolate.

Today that's become a bit of the norm, and it's all thanks to this legendary bar.  So this is more about giving this bar a bit of respect, and credit.  Next time you eat a bar that fizzes in your mouth, remember that at one point the folks at Wonka tried it first.

Here's my poem about this fizzy bar:

Of all of the companies in the candy bizz,
Wonka was the first to make chocolate with fizz.
While most chocolates were playing it cool,
Xploder bar came about making a fool.
When chocolate bar companies would make it plain,
The Xploder bar would blow up your brain.

Click here to read the Candy Critic review.

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Friday Candy Video

Here's a pretty fun collection of gum themed candy advertisments.  My favorite is the Pop-Rocks commercial that features such great lines as "the sizzle makes you giggle" and "the cracklin's what's happenin'".  I'd imagine that if they brought back these lines, people all over the world would clamor for pop-rocks themed merchandise.  I wonder what all those kids are doing right now, and I wonder if they'd be willing to reprise their roles?

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Candy News

Here are a few treats that you can only get in the USA, because some of the ingredients are banned in other places.  But don't worry, chances are you can get Kinder Eggs where you are.

Did you ever imagine that there would be a recipe that would call for a quarter of a cup of Pop Rocks?

The debate continues, is high-fructose corn syrup that much worse for you than regular sugar?

I keep hearing news of chocolate companies developing better non-melting chocolate, do people really want this?  Isn't the fact that chocolate melts one of its benefits?

Are there really people out there that believe that sugar free gum is "good" for you?

See's Candy has recalled it's chocolate covered raisins. Why?  Well they may contain nuts or eggs. So I guess if you're OK eating nuts or eggs you can pretty much ignore this.

Here's a sugar substitute that I can get behind, dried fruit powder.

Mars launches egg-less Snickers bars in India... Wait a minute, Snickers bars have egg in them?

Is "birthday cake" a flavour?  What flavour is it?  I'm thinking vanilla cake with a little extra happiness.

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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Old Candy Critic Articles - Coke and Pop Rocks

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 is part two of an article I wrote about what to pair with your Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. 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 answer one of the ultimate candy questions... What happens when you mix Coca-Cola and Pop Rocks. 

For your benefit we have done this experiment twice: Once by mixing Pop Rocks and Coke in a glass and videotaping it.  In the second experiment I simply eat the pop rocks and coke and pray I don't die. The first experiment allows you to see what horrible things are happening inside my body.

We shall first examine the results from in the glass.

We started off by filling the glass with one full packet of Pop Rocks. Pink seemed appropriate. The initial popping and explosion of liquid was rather shocking, but it calmed down quickly and continued to pop with all the ferocity of a bowl of Rice Krispies. Minutes later, it just fizzled out completely.

The smell of the “beverage” afterward was rather horrible, and after one sniff I decided that maybe taking a sip was a bad idea.

Next, we take a look at what happens when you (or in this case me) consume this kind of concoction directly.  We started off by filling my mouth with one full packet of Pop Rocks, blue was all we had left.

Putting a whole bag of Pop Rocks in your mouth is not really my idea of fun… No wait a minute, it is. Instantly my mouth was transformed from your average everyday mouth into a party of popping and fizzing.  After adding a little of the brown bubbly goodness into the mix I soon discovered that my biggest problem might be the fizz trying to escape from my mouth. Let’s just say, the party got out of hand.

I was keeping it in my mouth for the benefit of the photos, but eventually I did have to swallow what didn’t shoot out of my mouth when I tried to close it. Whenever I tried to close my mouth my cheeks would inflate, thus spewing what appeared to be green foam from my mouth. This did make it difficult to swallow but eventually I managed.

Thinking the worst was behind me, or at least safely inside me, I started to relax. Then, I felt the rumblings of a ball of gas in my stomach that kept getting bigger and bigger. In fact, it’s still there and it’s not feeling too hot right now. My stomach that is; I’m sure the gas is fine.

So now I wait. I’m either off to the hospital, going to burp myself senseless, or just drop dead. I’ll let you know tomorrow.

Day 2 part 1 (the first 12 hours)

I'm not dead if that means anything. I'm pretty sure at this point that I'm not going to die as a result of the Pop Rocks and Coke mix. I did feel really bloated for a while after, but nothing the occasional belch couldn't deal with. It's only been about 12 hours since I did it and they say that it takes about 24 hours for your “system to clear out”, so let's see how I do.

Day 2 part 2 (the 24-hour mark)

Well, it’s not really the 24-hour mark; I was watching a movie and I lost track of the time, sorry. No matter, I’m feeling fine and the gas has subsided. It appears that lady death has decided to pass me by, this time. So ends the horrible rumour that coke and pop rocks are a deadly combination.

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Thursday's Candy Links

There's a big war brewing about who owns the rights to certain candies, Lindt seems pretty upset at some of the copy cat treats out there.

Pop Rocks wants to officially dispel the myth about what happens when you eat Pop Rocks and Coke.  (on a side note, I did posted an article a few years back where I did this and I'm still alive, so give it a try)

Boing Boing posted some photos of what I can only describe as the grossest looking cake pop ever.

Thinking of getting into competitive eating?  You might want to lose a few pounds first.

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Friday Candy Video - Never Too Old For Candy

This is proof positive that you're never to old to try new candy.  So put down your scotch mints folks and pick up a package of Pop Rocks.

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Valentines Links... Part 3

Pop Rocks will let you send a free e-card this Valentines Day, my favorite, "You Rock".

Bazooka UK is launching special ring pop for lovers, it's in the shape of a heart.

According to many experts on the subject of the perfect gifts for Valentines Day, chocolates and flowers are still the most popular.

You can buy your loved one a box of chocolates approved by the Queen of England, that's pretty cool.

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Grape is Back

Do you remember eating grape Pop Rocks when you where a kid?  As it turns out they discontinued them a while back, but don't worry.  They're bringing them back to help celebrate their 35th anniversary.  A better gift I could not imagine.

Click here to read more about it.

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How To Make Your Own Poprocks

I'm kind of lazy, so I'm not sure if I'll actually ever get around to making my own Pop Rocks.  I figure since they're not that expensive it might be easier just to go out and buy my own.  However if I decided that it was worth the effort, Boing Boing posted a quick how to make your own Pop Rocks guide.

Click here to check it out.

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Party In My Tummy

This video doesn't have any direct relation to candy, however it does describe the feeling I get when I eat a bag of Pop Rocks.

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Interview With a Chocolatier

I always love simple interviews with chocolatiers and fine candy makers.  It's so interesting to hear about where their inspiration comes from and how they do some of the cool candy tricks they do.  In this interview with Chocolatier Oriol Balaguer, I was particularly fascinated to hear about his Pop Rocks chocolates and how he got them to work.

Click here to read the full interview.

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