Candy and Dessert

 Is there a difference between a candy and a dessert? Can you eat a candy for dessert and can you eat a dessert when you would normally be eating candy? This week's review features a candy that's supposed to taste like a dessert, and that's not uncommon. There was a time in history when people didn't eat candy, and only ate dessert. It's a weird thing to think about, but I guess I'm a weird person.

Check out my latest candy/dessert hybrid candy (or dessert) review.

Looking Back at the Mac

 It's been such a long time since I've had Macintosh Toffee and I was wondering if anything other than the package had changed.

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Boring Candy Is Hard To Write About

Probably the biggest challenge I have with this website (candycritic.org) is writing about unimpressive candy. Unimpressive candy for me is neither really good or really bad, it's just fine. Sometimes a candy is simple, and kind of boring, but also not that bad either. I will often find myself restarting the writing process several times when writing a boring candy review. I'll try desperately to find an angle or a feature that's worth mentioning, but sometimes it's just not there. What makes it even worse is I don't have any reason to tell you not to eat the candy either. It's average candy, and it's the bane of every candy reviewers life.

Check out my latest candy review of a treat that's perfectly fine, but nothing impressive either.

Be sure to check out my Facebook, Instagram the Twitter right now as I'm going to be posting lots of bonus review over the next little while.

You can also pick up my book(s) all about the history of candy and snacks. It's called Snack Facts.

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Toffee For Christmas

This candy made me think about traditional candies all over the world. I wonder what sweet treats people in Australia eat for Christmas. I know about the barbeque and the various desserts, but what about the sweet treats that are put in stockings and such. Also, what about the other parts of the world that celebrate Christmas, what do you give/get this time of year? I really should look into this and maybe write something up, maybe even a book.

Check out my latest review that's apparently traditional, but not for me.

Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter too.

Make my holiday season even brighter by checking out my Patreon.

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Chocolate Makes Me Think Of Home - Toffee & Nib "70% Cacao"

This week I've been thinking about Canada, the place where I was born and lived most of my life. This weekend I also pulled out my list of "classic candies I have not reviewed" and it made me think. First of all it reminded me that I haven't updated this blog with a new post about "Classic Candies I Haven't Reviewed And Why" lately. It also reminded me that I'm likely going to be going home fairly soon, and while its a little different than the home I left, I'm hoping that some of my creature comforts are still there, and I'm really looking forward to eating and Oh Henry bar, or a Vachon cake.

Click here to read the review that reminded me of home.

Also be sure to follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to keep up with our upcoming Snack Facts project.

You can also get a ground floor introduction to Snack Facts by following us on Patreon.

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Cooking Up Some Toffee With Boxcar - Another Sweet Place That's Open For Business

We have yet another great sweet company to check out today. For the next little while, we’re going to look at sweet places that can still bring a smile to your face. Today we’re looking at a candy company out of the good old US of A.

Cooking With Boxcar might seem like an unconventional name of a place to get homemade toffee, but don't let the name fool you. These guys make classic toffees, and John (AKA Boxcar) has a pretty deep Italian cooking family history to make sure he's doing it right.

During these difficult time, Cooking With Boxcar has continued to stay open to make sure anybody craving a crunchy bite of toffee isn't denied. They even have some interesting deals on right now for Mother's Day.  Since they deliver almost anywhere in the USA, make sure to check out cookingwithboxcar.com if you need some crunchy sweet fun right now.

(ED – This is not a paid advertisement, we here at Candy Critic want to help the local candy shops in this very difficult time. If you’re feeling down, and you need a little sweet treat, make sure to visit the website of your local candy shop, and consider placing an order, many are still open for curbside pick up or delivery. If you run a small sweet, snack or dessert shop, let us know, we’ll be happy to feature you on this blog and on our social media to let people know you’re still open for business.) 

This Week In Candy

Good morning all.  It's another week of sweet tooth fun here at candycritic.org.  It's also another week of review-a-thon fun with our on going review-a-thon-a-thon.  A regular review-a-thon is a week were we'll post a new review every day for a week, a review-a-thon-a-thon is where we post new reviews every day for 4 weeks.  Last week was fun reviews of gummy treats, this week we're featuring a particular candy, Original Champion toffees.  These are toffees that we collected on our trip to Southern Africa, and we just haven't gotten around to posting these reviews since.  There are 5 different flavours of Champion Original Toffee, and we've reviewed each and every on of them.

This week we'll also be posting a new episode of our "hit" YouTube show, Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!!.  This week I sample a sugar coated nut that although weird, wasn't as gross as I thought it would be.  This is a problem I've thought about on this show.  Since everything I sample on Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!! is something I've never eaten before, what happens if I like it.  This week's treat I could hardly call something I "like", but it wasn't too bad.  We've got a few more treats, snacks, and general foods coming up, and we're also thinking about inviting special guests for future episodes.  Make sure to follow us on YouTube so you'll know exactly when we post a new episode, as well as new episodes of our podcast Junk Fud.

Allison and I are also planning another adventure, an adventure that might have an on the spot episode of Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!! I don't want to say where we're going yet, but I will tell you that it's a place with very polarizing foods.

This week on Snack Facts, our Instagram feed, we're looking at Japanese candy.  Probably one of the most popular nations for producing weird candy, Japan has changed the way we think about snacking.  Make sure to check back every day this week for a new fun Japanese candy fact.  You can follow Snack Facts on our Instagram feed, as well as our Facebook page and Twitter feed.

As mentioned above, this week's new review is the first in our Original Champion Toffee review-a-thon.  Today's flavour is pretty strange as toffees go, and it didn't really work out.  You can click here to read why this candy didn't really work, and follow us on any of our social media sites to keep up with this week's review-a-thon. (Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Google +, and Pinterest)

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Swedish Bar "Bork, bork, bork!!!"

This particular bar was a gift from a friend of mine named Alex.  Alex is the most Swedish guy I know, also one of the most kind people I know.  He gave me this bar even after I asked him what he thought about the Swedish Chef.  I'm sure the Swedish people are smart enough to know that it's a parody, and might even find him funny, but I'm also sure that they're sick of North American's asking them constantly about him.  But Alex is a good guy, and he still gave me a fun bar to try, even though I actually said "bork, bork, bork" to his face.

Click here to read the new Swedish review.

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It's National Butter crunch Day!!!

If I was to ask you to identify what "Butter crunch" was, could you do it?  It's not really a popular name for a treat that's extremely popular.  I think butter crunch is pretty much the same thing as peanut brittle, only you're not locked down with the kind of nut you choose.  More importantly butter crunch seems to allow for a chocolate topping, although I'm not sure if it's mandatory.  I wonder if the stuff inside a Butterfinger, Crispy Crunch, or Skor Bar can be considered butter crunch?  If so, then how does Toffee fit into the equation?

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Old Candy Critic Articles - Toffee Trouble

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 look back at my first ever candy related injury.

I get countless e-mails from people asking me how I got a job as the Candy Critic, and how they too could be one. Well it’s a simple answer, I made the job up, and you could do it too, just be too oblivious of the world to realize it’s not a real job. People also generally tell me that my job is the best, and the most fun job in the world; to those people I dedicate this particular article.

Tonight I decided to have myself a little Toffee, it’s an upcoming review purchased by Allison in Calgary from a shop that imports all kinds of treats from the UK. A company called Walkers makes it, but to be honest the details of the snack aren’t really that important. What is important is I have just received my first on the job injury.

While breaking off a piece of this very tasty toffee (a bit of force was needed) I cut my hand. Sure it only looks like a little scrape, but I am a bit of a wuss and now my hand hurts.

One of the reason I got into the candy reviewing business was I thought it would be all fun and games. Well I was wrong, now it’s serious.

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A Candy Gift Turns Into This Week's New Review

Earlier this week I told you about the great gifts I received from my friends Alex and Efi, well today I'm reviewing on of their treats.  I chose to review the Daim Rocks because of the name.  After all, I'm a big fan of Daim, and to say they "rock" is appropriated in my book.

On a side note, today is also National Chocolate with Almonds Day!!!

Click here to read the latest Daim review.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Dark Coconut Toffee  - Alter Eco Foods - I'm craving toffee right now. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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A Look At Our Friends At Toffee Creations

I came across this little blurb about our good friends at Toffee Creations.  It's interesting to read about how small companies make their treats, how they started, and how they're doing now.  I've tried a few of their Toffee's and I recommend you give them a try.

Click here to read the blurb.

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Candy Family Recipes

I love reading articles about people who take their family candy recipes and turn them into a business sharing these treats with the whole world. It does however make me a little sad, see my family doesn't have any candy traditions to make at home. We simply went out for our sweet treats and pretty much never made them at home. Occasionally we'd make cookies at home but they where often just out of a cook book, or from a can.

Click here to read about one such family.

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I Love a Good Flavour Combination

It appears that Nicole Greene has come up with one. The mix is simple yet clever, toffee and pretzels. It looks a little strange, but I imagine that the salty taste of the pretzels and the sweet toffee will be just excellent.

Click here to read more about this new combination.

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You Can Own Sweets?

After reading this article I was shocked... Not at the results of the legal battle, but at the idea that anybody can own a recipe for a candy. I thought that's why so many candy companies stay so secret with their ingredients and methods, because recipes are on the open market. I could be wrong, since I'm no lawyer, but it makes me think a little about how this business works.

Click here to read more.

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Toffee Makers Story

This article is a great story about a woman who made toffee for friends and then turned it into a small business. We need more small business in the candy world if you ask me.

Click here to read the story.

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Mack Problems

I recently got a message from Albert who asked about Mackintosh Toffee Bars:

"Do they still sell it? Where can I buy it?"

My response (to him, and anybody else wondering):

I'm having the same problem finding it as of late myself. I've done some searching for it at my favorite candy stores (as well as overpriced stores that I don't really care for) and no luck. I did a little digging and I got this response from Nestle:

Q. Why am I having difficulty finding MACKINTOSH’S TOFFEE?

Mack Toffee is a Nestle original, loved by Canadians, and we are always looking for the best way to ensure the highest quality in our products. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we have a temporary delay in availability that has made it difficult to find The Mack Toffee bar. We recognize its heritage and popularity in Canada, and we are working hard to begin shipping Canada's favourite toffee product as soon as possible. In the meantime, we encourage you to substitute the Mack Toffee 170g cello bag, which is available as usual at most mass merchandisers and grocery stores.

Hope this helps out.

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Spring Time Review

Here in Canada, and in many Southern US states maple sugar is starting to run. Those out there you consider themselves to be maple syrup connoisseurs know that a fresh maple sugar is far more tasty than an older maple syrup. There’s also some debate about types of syrup, however I’m fairly certain that the light or dark are equally tasty. However if you ever get the chance to lick the bottom of a maple sugar boiler after the day long boil you will not be disappointed. You might want to wait till it cools a little though.

Click here to read the review.

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Fruit is fun.

I think I really love fruit because it has such a close tie with candy. The only thing that might be even more related might be nuts. Fruit however can be used in so many ways to accent, flavour, and colour candy that it blows my mind. I always love getting new treats that use fruit in a new (at least to me) way. This review is just that, it also uses one of my favourite fruits of all times. As you would imagine by this post, me second favourite food, after candy, is fruit.

Click here to read the review.

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