A Cool Candy Thing

All this week I've been researching the history of M&Ms for Snack Facts (you can check out Snack Facts on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook).  It got me thinking about some of the crazy candy machines I've seen featuring the M&Ms characters.  M&Ms are pretty much the perfect candy for a candy machine, and having such colorful characters that are perfect for decorating those machines makes it even better.  I like this machine because it lets me gamble and win every time.

CC

What's Your Best Candy Memory?

Just answer the question, and you could win a whole box of candy goodness from our friends at candycrate.com.  All you have to do is explain to me, and a few Candy Critic officials, that you have the most awesome story from your candy past, and you could win.  It's really simple because you don't have to make it up, I'm sure you have a really cool candy story to share.

Click here to find out how to enter our candy contest.

CC

Stuff I Want To Try

Cracker Jack Butter Toffee popcorn - Frito-Lay - I'm not sure how I feel about "new and improved" Craker Jacks, but I'll give it a try. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

CC

Classic/Creative Candy Advertising

I remember a time when you used to get a really fun prize in the bottom of a Cracker Jacks box.  Today you're almost guaranteed to get something flat like a sticker or a temporary tattoo.  According to news I recently heard they do plan on "improving" the prizes, but I'm curious about how they define "improve".

I found this ad here.

CC

Old Candy Critic Articles - Gum-o-fun Part 2

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 the second part of an article all about some of the prizes that come with your gum.  Last week I posted the first part with a few other gums that I sampled.

So you got yourself a nickel? Well not only are you ready to enjoy a neat gum chewing treat but you may enjoy a little entertainment too. Since you only seem to have one nickel and you can only get one of these treats, the folks at Candy Critic want to help you pick out what could be the most important decision of the next five minutes. We're going to open a new door into a world of bubble blowing fun. You've trusted us with your candy choices, now it's time to take a look at entertainment too. So let's look at which one of these gums is both entertaining and tasty.

Looney Tunes

The Gum

Since we all know that there is nothing natural in these gums, at least they should make them interesting. The gum was white and the taste was kind of flavourless. It tasted like.., it didn’t have any taste at all.

Chew Time : 2:52

The Prize

I love the Looney Tunes characters and the representation in this sticker ain't too shabby. This prize is keeper I’m going to stick it to my sketchbook right now.

Spice Girls

I'm not really sure when the flavour ended with this gum, only because it really didn't start. This gum had the strangest flavour and I didn’t really like it that much. It could have been that my gum was a little stale, or just that the gum had no flavour at all.  It would have been cool if they decided to give their gum some spice instead of just being bland.

Chew Time : 4:07

The Prize

Being a guy in my late 20s (now late 30s), you might think that the idea of having a Spice Girls Sticker would make me feel silly.  I have to admit; I'm going to stick this on my notebook right now. Gotta love the Spice Girls.

WCW Gum

The Gum

Stale, this gum is so stale. The WCW no longer exists, so if you find this gum, it will be stale. It does however taste kind of strawberry-like but the strawberry flavour is a little too fake for my liking.

Chew Time : 4:23

The Prize

Dated, but fun is the best way to describe this sticker. I love getting merchandise from wrestlers that have either passed their prime, or that no one remembers. That's what makes this prize kind of neat, but it may not be for everyone.

CC

Old Candy Critic Articles - Kinder Fun

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 we look at an article I wrote exploring a fun little basket of Kinder treats.

So it's Easter and what's the greatest part about Easter? It’s really one of the best examples for a holiday that brings fun and candy together. This is the time of year that candy has to be fun. If it’s as simple as hunting for chocolate eggs, or a cool and crazy candy in a basket, Easter is all about playing with your treats. So what does the Candy Critic do to celebrate this type of holiday? Well I go to the folks that make "Kinder Surprise" and pick up an Easter fun type basket. Wondering if it's the treat for you? Well look no further as we present; Candy Critic looks at the "Easter Kinder Mix" pack.

Kinder Surprise

Nothing says fun more than the word “surprise”, and nothing is more surprising than the prize you might find in a Kinder Surprise. I say this with much honesty, only because some of the prizes are a little strange. Covered in great chocolate and always filled with cool prizes, this is one of the treats I always go for when I'm in a bad mood. Since Easter is all about making sure you’re in a really good mood this treat fits the bill.

Here's a picture of my prize:

Kinder Choko-Bon

Kinder Choko-Bon is what you might call interesting. As usual the chocolate is great quality, a regular trait in Kinder treats. This one has either a white really light nougat or a white chocolate filling, with little wafer or nutty bits. I like it since nothing is better than a bite into something with a little texture surprise.

Kinder Bar

If you like the chocolate on the ever popular Kinder Surprise then get yourself a whack of these. This is basically the egg without the prize. Well that and it's rectangular not oval and it's not hollow. Okay so it's not really like the egg at all, but the chocolate is great and there's no chance of biting into a prize.

Kinder Hippo

Of all the treats in Kinder collection, this is the only one I've never sampled before. I'm not sure if they're new, but they’re new to me. So here goes… Holy cow, these are great!  It's like a light tasting "Nutella" cream inside a wafer Hippo. How many times in your life can you say, "wafer Hippo"? It's not bad, like all Kinder treats the creamy stuff is high quality and smooth, and everything about it says fun. If you can find a Kinder Hippo, try it out you might like it. My only problem is they appear to be rather fragile, I got two in this Kinder pack, and they were both busted.

As a bonus here's my Hippo getting lassoed by my Kinder Surprise prize:

CC

Last Chance To Enter The Chanuukah House Contest

If you're one of those people that likes to wait till the last minute, then here it is. At midnight tonight we pick our winner.  So if you want to win yourself a free Chanuukah House Kit you better enter right now, you can learn more about the contest here.

CC

You Have This Weekend To Write An Awesome Chanukah Poem

Monday is your last day to enter our Chanukah House Kit contest and maybe walk away with an awesome prize.  If you're the kind of person that likes to craft words into a symphony of beauty and expression, you might have some late nights this weekend. Just remember  we like candy here, and we like the folks at Manischewitz as well, so if you can incorporate either or both into your poem, bonus points will be scored.

Click here to get more details about the contest.

CC

Monday's Candy Links

I have a new obsession with sliced bread, and now I know the origins behind it.

Free sports tickets in candy bars, it's like touring Willy Wonka's factory only with hooligans, hot dogs, and beer.

Are you a kid thinking of stealing candy from a candy shop, well, you suck, and now you'll probably get caught too.

Does marijuana and candy make a good mix, not according to the authorities in San Francisco.

CC

Thursday's Candy Links

What's the future of chocolate, will we be eating it forever?  "Raising The Bar: The Future of Fine Chocolate" is a book that might have a few answers.

Have you ever one a year supply of anything?  How much did they give you?

Here's an interesting infographic about how serving sizes have changed in recent history.

CC

Stuff I Want To Try

Mike and Ike RedRageous! - Made by: Just Born - Why: Because red is a nice colour, and apparently this candy is a prize winner. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

CC

Kinder Truck

Saw a Kinder truck today... Never seen one before... I wonder what kind of prize is inside?

CC

Kinder Joy, A Photo Journal

I was looking around my local grocery store when I came across this Kinder egg that I didn't recognize.  My first guess was that it was a new package for the standard Kinder Egg treat, but I was very wrong.  I decided to photograph my discovery and document it as a photo journal rather than simply reviewing it.  I decided this because frankly this treat is a lot more gimmick than candy if you ask me.

The first thing that baffled me about this treat was the strange tabs.  Remember I was expecting this to be some kind of strange Kinder Egg package.

I eventually pulled pretty hard, and I was shocked when the egg split into two.  At this point I was also pretty sure that I didn't have a regular Kinder Egg on my hands.

I decided to start with the half of the egg with the question marks and the strange paddle.  I removed the paddle and opened up the mystery side.

Inside I got a fairly strange prize.  It appears to be a statue of a chicken.  I haven't been keeping up with my kids movies lately, so I'm assuming a 10 year old kid could probably give me a good explanation.

Next I decided to explore the side marked with the "Kinder" logo.  I peeled back the foil and was pretty much grossed out at the site of two brown balls floating in some kind of white cream.

I assume that the paddle is designed to dig these gross looking balls out of the cream.

I dug away and discovered that there's some kind of brown cream at the bottom too.

Although the treat was strange, and looked really un-appetizing, it actually tasted OK.  I'm not sure the point of these treats, but I'm guessing that maybe it's some kind of alternative to the eggs in places with really hot weather?

CC

If You Live In Ottawa You Could Win Some Free Candy!

My friends at "The Candy Store" in Ottawa and the blog "Fishbowl" have put together an amazing contest with what can only be described as the candy prize of a lifetime.  The prize is a huge basket of candy treats collected from the folks at "The Candy Store" (one of my favorite candy stores in the whole world). Entering is really easy and in no time you might find yourself in sugar bliss.

Click here to learn more.

CC

More Gold Keys Have Been Found

More people that might have access to the Caramilk secret and I have an idea. How about we set up a collection of funds to buy off the person who wins this contest and gets to hold the Caramilk secret. We then take the secret break it apart and each person who contributes gets one part of the secret. Then we could all hang out together... hey who needs the Caramilk secret, who wants to hang out? Here's the word from Caramilk:

"The Second and Third Caramilk Keys have been Found!

Justin Nelson from Edmonton, Alberta or Anne MacEwen from Morell, PEI may become the Protector of The Caramilk Secret — Canada’s most loved and best kept secret! They are the second and third people to find golden keys hidden inside Caramilk bars!

For more than 40 years, Caramilk has vigorously guarded the mystery of how they get the soft, flowing caramel into the Caramilk bar. Now, key-finders Justin Nelson and Anne MacEwen have a one in ten chance to earn up to $250,000† to protect The Caramilk Secret for six months and ensure one of Canada’s most beloved secrets…remains a secret.

The Edmonton Caramilk bar was purchased at a food service vendor and the Morell Caramilk bar was purchased at Jay's."

CC

That's It For The S'mores Contest

I've picked out two winners for the Hershey's S'mores giveaway, and first of all I'd like to thank all of those who entered.

One of the winning entries suggested making s'mores indoors with a creme brullee torch. This idea was brilliant, however I don't actually own a creme brullee torch, so I figured that a barbecue lighter would do the trick...

I was wrong... Yuck! Thanks again to all those that entered, and thanks a whole bunch to the fine folks at Hershey for providing the prizes.

CC

Chocolate Sushi Wins Top Honours

At ISM’s New Product Showcase an innovative candy maker came up with a chocolate sushi selection of treats. Fortunately there is no fish to be found in these munchables; instead it’s a pretty cool range of flavours such as pineapple and mango, just to name a few.

Click here to read more about it.

CC

Paper or Plastic

Today while purchasing a Coke product the store clerk handed me this fun little envelope that had all kind of winning potential. After looking over it quickly I saw that the campaign was all about being environmentally conscious and the prizes where apparently all made up of recycled bottles.

I find it odd to make a prize ticket about environmental awareness out of so much paper. It was a lot bigger than most prize tickets and it had you rip off the top and bottom and it also had a huge black square in the middle. I know that the paper used to make this ticket was recycled but I always thought reducing was more important.

Either way I can’t complain too much because I won another free Coke.

CC

Donate to the “Send a Candy Critic Someplace Nice” Charity

It appears that Cadbury is having a contest where you don’t have to worry about feeling guilty if you win. The idea of the contest is if you win they’ll send the same amount to a charity as well.
Although I guess you can feel guilty anyways. I mean you could give your part to charity as well I guess. And you have to pick a charity and that would leave others out in the cold and that’s not good either. Well I’ve successfully made you feel bad if you win, good luck!

Click here to enter.

CC

Reese Contest

Do you like Dark Chocolate? Do you like Peanut Butter? Do you like things that are round? Well do I have a contest for you. The folks at Reese have generously donated some prizes for me to give away to several lucky readers. The prizes are boxes full of Reese Dark Peanut Butter Cup treats. To win you have to do the following:

Live in the USA.

Be 18 Years of Age or Older (you can get your parents to enter for you).

You must tell me in exactly 3 words why you should get this prize.

If you qualify on the first two and impress me on the third the folks at Reese will be sending a whole box of chocolate peanut butter goodness.

Enter here with your e-mail and your 3 words (I’ll ask for your address and stuff later if you win)

CC