Candy In the Media

This DIY cotton candy machine is pretty bad ass.

CC

Candy In The Media

The modern sugar shack is a pretty high tech place.

CC

Have The People At Oreo Gone Mad?!!

When I was a kid there was one kind of Oreo, it had chocolate cookies and a white icing center. At some point in my childhood the Oreo Double Stuff was introduced with the idea that there was twice as much cream as there was before. This was to be Oreo's first foray into changing their cookies, as well as into some controversy. There was a theory that Oreo simply reduced the amount of cream in their classic cookie, and the more expensive double stuff was in fact just the old version of the regular Oreo.

Slowly Oreo started to add more versions of their cookies onto the market. Golden Oreos are an Oreo with vanilla cookies instead of chocolate. Uh-Oh Oreos were a vanilla cookie with a chocolate cream center. Most of these variations used either chocolate or vanilla cookies and chocolate or vanilla cream. At this point things weren't out of hand, chocolate and vanilla seemed like an area where Oreo could venture safely.

Somewhere between 2006 and 2010 things seem to have fallen off the rails. As usual it appears to have originated in either Japan or Canada. Both of these countries are often the source of strange flavored things becoming the norm in the western world. You can always reference potato chips in Canada and Kit Kit bars in Japan for a better idea of the phenomenon. Canada often introduces not extremely strange versions, but slightly different flavours to the American market, it's easy with their close proximity to the USA. Japan on the other hand is legendary for their extreme flavour varieties of classic treats, and on the Internet these crazy flavours slowly find their way into American homes.

By 2010 it appears that the western world had jumped on board the freaky Oreo cookie bandwagon and things have been getting weirder and weirder ever since. It seems that the folks at Oreo have been given cart blanch and can pretty much come up with any flavour choices they want. Gone are the days when chocolate and vanilla are the only two flavours allowed. Today it seems that Oreo cookies come up with some kind of crazy new cookie every month. Pumpkin spice, blueberry pie, and orange creamcicle are just a few examples of some of the limited editor flavours we've seen so far.

But much like the introduction the double stuff cookie, these varieties have stirred up a bit of controversy. In my circle of friends the Oreo fireworks cookie (an Oreo with pop rocks like candy in the icing) was the topic of a huge debate. Some calling it a travesty of nature, others calling it the greatest thing ever created. Then there was the Oreo Peeps debacle, something that affected me personally. These Oreo cookies made headlines when it was found out that the pink colouring of the icing caused a certain colour shift in a solid biological function.  Yup, it made your poop pink.

I had already eaten a few of the cookies before I learned about this, but I didn't check my bathroom colours at the time. Fortunately I had more than half a bag left when I did learn about this issue, and I can tell you that the story was true... And a little disturbing. While this was the big story that broke about these cookies, the thing I found odd about the Oreo Peeps was what they did to your mouth. I realized that every time I ate a few of these cookies, I would spit up pink every time I brushed my teeth, for a few days.  So even if it was 2 or 3 days since eating them I would find that when I brushed my teeth I would spit out pink.

Oreo is on the edge of crossing over into dangerous territory with these crazy flavour, a line that's been crossed by a few candy companies trying to ride the wave of crazy flavour varieties. After that line is crossed, few survive. This line is crossed when a company has obviously run out of logical ideas when it comes to flavours. After this point these companies start to "get creative" and often weird for the sake of being weird. Kit Kat has weathered this storm and built an industry on their strange flavours, but a few other candy companies have fallen down that hole and not done well. The true indication of this is when Oreo decides they want to try savory flavours instead of sweet.

When you cross that line, you may find that some of your die hard fans have fallen out of favour. The news release about your new wacky flavour doesn't get the rush to the stores, but instead gets ridicule or a ho-hum type reaction. While the debate among my friends rages about whether or not Oreo has jumped the shark with these wacky flavours, I've found myself on the side of enjoying them. I've enjoyed the creative ideas, I've even enjoyed the flavour of most of them. So far Oreo, I'm on your side, but be careful. One day I may not rush out the store to try your latest creation.

CC

Candy In The Media

It's almost as beautiful to watch this candy get made as the candy results at the end.

CC

Candy In The Media

The mystery of the Dum Dums mystery flavour revealed.

CC

It's a Special Dorito Review On Candy Critic

If you don't think that shape has any effect on what you eat, the folks at Doritos are trying to prove you wrong. Did they succeed, well you'll just have to read this new review to find out.

CC

Let Us Drink To My Childhood With New York Seltzer

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with New York Seltzer.  My two flavours of choice were Root Beer and Black Cherry.  I couldn't get enough of this clear pop.  I got hooked on the stuff from my sister.  She was three years older than me, and I think she was in 7th and 8th grade while I was still in 4th or 5th.  She discovered this stuff with her cool friends, so I figured I wanted to drink what the big kids were drinking. I can tell you that the marketing certainly didn't attract a kid of my age.  At that age all of my sweet stuff had to bold, bright and outrageous.  New York Seltzer was classy, subdued, and clear. The thing is, once I took a sip of this crazy drink I was hooked.  Sure the appeal of being like the big kids got me interested, but something else got me hooked.

I think the first thing that fascinated me about New York Seltzer was the fact that it was clear.  In my childhood mind I couldn't figure out how something that was clear could have flavour, except maybe 7up. New York Seltzer didn't just come in lemon\lime, it came in all kinds of flavours, and none of them should have been clear.  It boggled my mind enough that it made want more.  This is also likely why the root beer flavour was one of my favourites since root beer should never be clear.

The thing about all good things is that they must come to an end.  I'm not sure when New York Seltzer disappeared, but as a teenager it certainly wasn't a thing. As many things do, New York Seltzer became a memory for me, and something I never thought I would get to drink again. The thing is, while I still remember my fascination about the fact it was clear, I can't really remember why I liked drinking this stuff. Was it a unique flavour, was it sweet or not, how did it feel going down?  I just couldn't remember anything specific about this drink that I was totally obsessed with.

Then a few months back I was wondering through a 7-11 in Toronto (as one might do), and I came across something I never thought I would see again, a selection of New York Seltzers.  I was face to face with a part of my childhood that I never thought I would see again. You might say it was like seeing Mickey Mouse at Disney World again, but imagine you not only saw Mickey, you saw him again as a child.  It had been so long since I tasted New York Seltzer that I couldn't remember why I liked it so much, all I remembered was happiness.

The two problems I had facing this selection of sodas were as follows. First of all they were expensive, and while I was keen on remembering my childhood, I was also feeling pretty bad for paying more than 3 bucks for a tiny bottle of soda. The second problem came about with picking a flavour. I only wanted to buy one bottle since it was so expensive, but I wanted to make sure that I got a flavour I would enjoy and would bring me back some of my youth.  I was obviously torn between root beer and black cherry.  I remembered black cherry being my sister's favourite, and so I figured it was likely the flavour that I first tried, and the flavour that hooked me in the first place.  So black cherry it was.

It's taken me more than a month to get the courage to open this bottle up.  I've been thinking about it a lot, but unable to find the right time to drink it.  Should I wait for a special occasion, or wait till I was alone. I wanted to remember this, and have the ability to think about it as well.  I wanted to remember why it made me so very happy.  After a great deal of debate in my head, I decided that this week's taco night was the perfect time.  It wasn't a very special night, but it is one of our favourite meals that we have.

I opened the bottle, took a couple of pictures (for this blog) and took my first sip.  It was very interesting.  I began to remember this drink all over again, and I think I found out why I loved it so much. Granted the fact that it was very flavourful and clear did interest me, Pepsi Clear pretty much made this not as interesting as it used to be.  There were two things that really appealed to me about this drink.

First of all the flavour, it's not too sweet at all.  In a world where sweet and drinks are often tied together, it's nice to have a drink that isn't super sweet at all.  It was a deep cherry flavour, and that flavour was allowed to shine without being covered in sugar. But the thing that hit me off guard was the bubbles, the tiny, tiny bubbles. I've never had a carbonated drink with bubbles like this. The only way I could describe them is to say they're little. They tickle the throat like no other bubbles, and they left me wanting more.

Unfortunately for me, I don't have a 7-11 near my house right now, and it looks like I won't be near a Canadian 7-11 for a few years now.  I fear that I may never have an opportunity to try it again. I'm not sad at all though, because I can look back at this blog and remember, I can remember how it felt to drink it, and I can remember a slice of my childhood once again.

CC

It's A New Episode Of Junk Fud On The Road

This episode of Junk Fud On The Road is a special episode all about truck stops.  Allison and I go on a lot of road trips, and we always like to stop at truck stops or any kind of highway oasis. In this episode we talk about the good and bad when it comes to highway foods. Best (or worst if you're talking about sound quality) of all, we recorded the whole episode while on the road.

Click here to listen to past episodes of Junk Fud, and click here to follow us on Sound Cloud.

CC

Candy In The Media

Ice cream as a metaphor for sexuality... it's tasty and kind of sexy too.

CC

We've Finally Reviewed Jelly Beans

Why did it take us so long to get around to reviewing jelly beans? Frankly we're not really sure, but here we are with many years of writing candy reviews below our belt and only now have we done this review.

Click here to find out why it was so hard, and what we think about these bean shaped candies.

CC

We've Reviewed A Number Of Hershey Bars, And Here's Another One

It's not that I don't like Hershey bars, they've just never been my favourites.  I know this is sacrilege to some, but there's just better chocolate out there. I'm just not on the Hershey bandwagon, but I'll keep trying their bars as long as they keep making them.

Click here to read our latest Hershey review, the Hershey Cookie+ Caramel.

CC

Candy In The Media

Who knew there was so much backstory to the banana?

CC

We Just Posted A Bubbaloo Magic Candy Review

I was inspired to post this review because I was going through my candy stash and looking at what I need to photograph, review, or throw out (sometimes I just can't eat all this candy, I'm only human).  While checking what I had to post, I thought, why not post a new review as well. That's what this summer of random reviews is all about!

Click here to read the new Bubbaloo Magic candy review!

CC

It's The First In Our Random Summer Candy Reviews

Back when I started this blog I used to post new reviews whenever I wanted, or whenever I had one to post.  Then I started to notice that I didn't post reviews for weeks at a time. I decided then to post regularly, once a week. This summer I'm going to be super busy, and I wanted to loosen up a bit on the schedule, so I've decided to try random candy posts again. This time however I'll guarantee at least one review a week. This likely means I'll often post more than one review a week.  I'll keep this up throughout the summer and see how it goes.

This particular review was pretty disappointing for me. You'd imagine that a bar with the name symphony would sing in your mouth. Instead it was just a collection of sour notes.

Click here to read the review.

And make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well.

CC

Candy In The Media

Watching giant marshmallow candies get tortured is remarkable interesting.

CC

We Just Posted A New Episode of Junk Fud On The Road

In this episode Chris and Allison talk about Lithuania.  While Lithuania had a few interesting food finds, this episode of Junk Food On The Road went off on a few non-food tangents. This is most likely because we recorded this episode so many years after visiting Lithuania, so we likely forgot a few details.  Either way there's certainly a few food related stories, including the time Allison was defeated by a piece of meat.  So have a listen and make sure to like and follow us on YouTube or SoundCloud to keep up with all our new podcasts.

Click here to check out old episodes of Junk Fud.

CC

This Week In Candy... Maybe Our Last

Don't worry, I'm not ending candycritic.org, I'm just not going to be posting any more "This Week In Candy" posts on this blog. I'm not sure if this is a permanent thing or not, but this summer is super busy and I haven't had the time or ability to keep this up.  I also know for a fact that I would have been missing a few more This Week In Candy posts in the future. So rather than continue to post these late every week (or not at all), like this one is, I've decided to give it a break.

Instead I'm going to focus on write a few editorial like posts that will go up randomly here on the blog.  I'm also going to focus on our podcast and YouTube shows. I'll continue to post about the new episodes we do here on this blog. We'll also continue to post Candy in the Media every Friday.  As for reviews, I think I might go back to a random format for posting new reviews. That means I'll post a new review whenever I feel like it.  I can promise at least one review a week, but sometimes we might have more. I'll make sure to post a link to the new review on this blog as well, but you can also see them on our Facebook and Twitter feed as well.

We may bring back This Week In Candy later on, we'll see how things pan out.

Just to keep things consistent for our last This Week In Candy post, we'll be posting this week's new candy review here. The one thing I can't figure out about this week's new review is weather or not it's actually a candy or a if it's an ingredient.  Click here to read about it, and let me know what you think.

CC

Candy In The Media

This was beautiful to watch, however I did shed a tear for all of the lost candy.

CC

This Week In Candy

Well summer is upon us, and s'mores are once again making a comeback. In general I like s'mores, they take two things I love, gram cracker and chocolate, and something I only like toasted, marshmallows, and turn them into something fun. I've seen all kinds of s'mores variations and machines this year, including the one above, but nothing really beats the classic made on a campfire in nature. Summer is a strange time for candy, since most candy melts in the hot sun, but somehow we managed to create a sweet treat that makes sure we can still enjoy some chocolate, and uses heat to its advantage.

You may have noticed a lack of "This Week In Candy" last week, this was in great part because of the insanity we had going on here during Canada Day and eventually the 4th of July. I think we're back on track for now, however I see more disruptions in the future this summer. We have two epic adventures happening this summer, one of which is going to change things a lot here at candycritic.org. I always here stories of the long slow summer, but I rarely seem to live it, it's always chaos at our house. The good news for any of you following along on Twitter and Facebook is that you can keep up with out adventures this summer.

This week is hopefully going to be filled with editing and recording episodes of Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!!, and Junk Fud On The Road. Next week we'll post an episode of Junk Fud On The Road, and later an episode of Chris, Why Would You Eat That?!! We're also working on a few episodes of In Hindsight that we'll post later in the summer.

This week's new review is of a classic bar, but a classic bar with a twist.  In general I shudder when I have to eat a classic candy with "a twist", but this one wasn't all bad.  Click here to find out why the Snickers bar can be crispier, but maybe it's not necessary.

Candy In The Media

This might be the best TED video ever.

CC