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November 2007

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Junior Mints Peppermint Crunch

Peppermint Crunch Junior MintsI was really excited about the idea of Peppermint Crunch Junior Mints. Then I started reading the package and somehow it was pushing all my irritation buttons.

First, the description: Real Junior Mints (tm) made with a real candy crunch. Are there fake Junior Mints (tm) out there ... is this an issue? There are other dark chocolate peppermints out there, sure, but is there anything that’s trying to occupy the Junior Mints (tm) niche? What makes them Junior Mints anyway? Is it the dark chocolate and flowing fondant? Because the Junior Mints Deluxe had the Junior Mints name. So it’s not size or proportion.

Peppermint Crunch Junior Mints

The thing I have the real hangup on is the “CRUNCH!” that they advertise. The little image on the box shows what looks like a Starlight mint, which is basically a hard candy with peppermint flavoring ... they’re good crunched up and put in things (see my list o’ uses for Candy Canes). At first I though they were nonpareils, which are little spheres of sugar found on SnoCaps.

But on closer examination they weren’t. They’re too irregular. So I read the ingredients: Sugar, Semi Sweet Chocolate, Corn Syrup, Flaked Corn, Yellow Corn Flour, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Corn Starch, Confectioner’s Glaze, Modified Food Starch, Peppermint Oil, Invertase, Invert Sugar Syrup, Artificial Color (Red 40) and Corn Syrup Solids.

In an effort to figure out what these nibbles are, I’ve boldfaced those ingredients that are not found in regular Real Junior Mints (tm). Seems like we have some red polenta or something. Definitely not crushed Starlight Mints (like those little candy flakes on the Peeps Peppermint Stars). One thing I’m quite sure of, they’re not that tasty. They don’t dissolve like a bit of candy crunch should, but they do remain crunchy no matter how long you roll them around in your mouth!

They just don’t look that good. They look like they fell in something. I like traditional Junior Mints, they’re pretty! Usually so slick and dark, these are lumpy and malformed. The taste is pretty much the same but the crunch isn’t crunchy enough, doesn’t add any pep to the whole thing. If it was real candy (you know something that you’d actually buy and eat separately ... tell me you’d eat flaked corn, yellow corn flour, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil and corn syrup solids!) then I think they’d have something. I haven’t been particular fond of the other versions of Junior Mints so far: Pastel, Inside Out or Heart Shaped (only because the red ones tasted weird). I think I’ll just stick with the Real Junior Mints from now on.

Nicole of Baking Bites reviewed them earlier this month.

Related Candies

  1. Dove Promises (Caramel & Almonds)
  2. York Mints
  3. Recipe: Peppermint Stick Layer Cake
  4. Chocolate Filled Candy Canes
  5. The Mint Kisses: Chocolate Mint & Candy Cane
Name: Peppermint Crunch Junior Mints
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Tootsie
Place Purchased: sample from All Candy Expo
Price: retail $1.00
Size: 4.75 ounces
Calories per ounce: 120
Categories: Chocolate, Fondant, Mint, United States, Tootsie, Limited Edition

POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:47 pm    

Monday, November 26, 2007

Parkside Candy Sponge Candy

Parkside Candy Sponge CandyOne of the regional candies that I haven’t reviewed here before is Sponge Candy. Sponge Candy is best known in the Buffalo, NY area. The history of Sponge Candy is kind of murky, but variations of it exist in in Australia (Violet Crumble or simply Honeycomb), Cinder Toffee (UK), Sea Foam (Pacific Northwest) and Molasses Puffs (St. Louis area).

Sponge Candy is basically a hard candy, just boiled sugar and corn syrup, but just as its taken off the heat some baking soda and vinegar is added to foam it up as it cools.

Sponge Candy

The resulting block of frothed sugar is mostly air. It’s a strange and very light hardened sugar that smells lightly of molasses or caramel (though there is is no butter or molasses in most versions). Think of it as the candy version of pumice.

The Sponge Candy I got is from Parkside Candy, which looks like a charming, classic ice cream shop in Buffalo. They a few versions of their Sponge Candy including milk chocolate covered and orange, but I chose the classic Dark Chocolate Covered Sponge Candy.

The pieces varied slightly in shape and size, but all were about two bites and 1.5” square. The chocolate enrobing was thin and in good proportion to the honeycombed sugar foam.

The sugar center had a nice smoky note to it with a little salty hit (even though there was no salt listed on the ingredients it might have come from the sodium bicarbonate). It melted nicely on the tongue or could be quickly chewed (though it gives off a strange sound like crunching styrofoam).

There were a few pieces at the bottom of the box where either there was a gap in the coating or it broke. This allowed moisture to get into the sponge, which deflated it. It creates a tacky, sticky texture and while I’d eat it, just out of curiosity, it’s not a selling point. I’ve also had Sponge Candy from a local shop in Los Angeles called Littlejohn’s. It’s a very different texture (and might actually be called Honeycomb), but similar burnt sugar flavor with a thicker chocolate coating.

Overall, I like the stuff. The one pound box is substantial. I felt satisfied after two or three pieces and I know that weight-wise that was a pretty small portion. I liked the texture and strong flavor much better than the Violet Crumble, and it doesn’t hurt that this was nice semi-sweet chocolate on the outside.

I paid quite a bit for my one pound box at The Candy Store, $25 actually. It’s only $16 on Parkside Candy’s website ... but I also didn’t have to pay for shipping. A smaller sized box would have also suited me better, but luckily I’ve had guests over the Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend to help me out with the box.

See G’s review of Fowler’s of Buffalo Sponge Candy.

Related Candies

  1. Mary Jane’s Bread Pudding
  2. Walkers Nonsuch Toffee
  3. Eat-More
  4. Violet Crumble
Name: Sponge Candy (Dark Chocolate)
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Parkside Candy
Place Purchased: The Candy Store (San Francisco)
Price: $25
Size: 16 ounces
Calories per ounce: unknown
Categories: Chocolate, United States

POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:59 pm    

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Guittard Akoma Fair Trade Chocolate Chips

Guittard Fair Trade ChipsOne of the great new products I picked up in San Francisco last weekend was the new Akoma Extra Semisweet Chocolate Chips from Guittard. They’re Fair Trade certified from beans sourced from West Africa (one of the hotspots of poor working and wage conditions for plantation workers).

Unlike the standard Guittard semisweet chips, these are 55% cacao ... just a smidge darker than the usual chips. They come in a sassy metallic pink package instead of the also-easy-to-spot gold package for regular Guittard Dark Chocolate Chips.

image

The chips have a nice rounded chocolate flavor. Some strong berry notes, a little light smokiness and a good creamy melt. They maintain their shape when baked, as all good chips do. The ingredients are pretty simple as well: cacao beans (fair trade certified), sugar, soy lecithin and real vanilla.

I haven’t seen them in stores in Southern California yet, but you can definitely buy them at Chocosphere for the same price as their regular chips. So good fuzzy feelings for Fair Trade and still a decent price.

orangebreadpuddingMy choice to make something with these for Thanksgiving was a Cardamom, Orange & Chocolate Bread Pudding.

  • Peel of 1 large orange (about 1/4 cup)
  • 10 cardamom pods
  • 1 Loaf (16 ounces) of dried Bread (Brioche works best)
  • 4 cups of milk
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/3 cup of Cointreau or similar orange liqueur
  • 2/3 cup of sugar
  • Dice the peel of the orange and place in a microwave safe cup with 1 cup of milk with five crushed cardamom pods. Microwave until warm, stir and let sit for 30 minutes, then stir again and heat again. This can be done a day ahead of time and refrigerated (this will make the orange peel especially soft).

    In a sauce pan put the 1 cup of pre-made milk mix (dig out the cardamom pods) along with the other 3 cups of milk, sugar and the loosely beaten eggs. Clean and crush the cardamom in a mortar & pestle. Add to the mix, warm over low heat.

    Put half of the bread into the bottom of the baking pan. Add half of the milk/egg mixture to the pan. Stir to combine and get the bread soaked. Take half of the chips and cover the egg/bread mixture. Then put the rest of the bread into the saucepan to get it completely wet. Add that to the top of the baking pan. Sprinkle more chips on top.

    Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes. The pudding will pull away from the sides when done and the center won’t move. It’s a pretty dry bread pudding, so try it warm with a little milk or perhaps some ice cream or whipped cream.

    Related Candies

    1. Mary Jane’s Bread Pudding
    2. Elvis Reese’s Peanut Butter and Banana Cup
    3. Chocolate Hellfire Chip Cookies
    4. Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews
    5. Panda Bars

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 7:55 pm     CandyRecipesReviewGuittardChocolateUnited StatesFeatured News

    Saturday, November 24, 2007

    Caramel Texture Poll Results

    imageIt’s odd how different caramel can be and still be called caramel. I’m pretty keen on the firm and chewy stuff, I really like a pure emulsified texture as well. I voted for that one.

    I was outvoted. That’s okay any soft and flowing kind is good too, if it has a nice burnt sugar and butter flavor. I’ll even eat something so hard and tacky that it threatens dental work (Sugar Daddy).

    It’s amazing that something so simple can be so tasty!

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 6:20 pm     CandyPolls

    Friday, November 23, 2007

    This Week in Candy - Thanksgiving

    DSC01436A little belated Thanksgiving to all my readers. I’m so pleased that you come by and visit and leave such great comments. I enjoy sharing my candy and I’m thankful that I’m not alone with my passion.

    Last week I had the opportunity to share lots of my candy with some wonderful and dedicated writers who spent part of National Novel Writing Month raising money on our behalf. Though I missed my fundraising targets, I’m so happy that everyone else was able to hit theirs. I hope I more than made up for it with a super-duper-deluxe Candy Buffet.

    I took about 100 pounds of candy with me (though not all of it was on display) and put it in a variety of vases and glass containers I’ve gathered over the years. The individual candies included: Brach’s Orange Slices, Brach’s Butter Toffee, A&W Root Beer Barrels, Butterscotch Disks, Ice Blue Mints, Cinnamon Disks, Filled Strawberries, Milk Maid Caramels & Milk Maid Royals, Brach’s Salt Water Taffy, Koppers Chocolate Covered Almond Jewels, White Chocolate Pearlescent Almonds, Koppers Milkies and Koppers Mint Lentils and finally some mini Gummi Bears (the most popular of all).

    It’s an odd relief to get rid of so much candy all at once. Especially to folks who actually want it.

    I’ll have more, probably in the New Year, about what I’ve learned about candy buffets, including how to present them, ideas for packaging and design and how to figure out how much candy you’ll need.

    While I’d love to go on about the trip or do a review today, it’s late and I’ve been visiting with family and friends from out of town (and still trying to get back in the game on my novel).

    So here’s the week in review, short as it was:

    Monday: Brach’s Soda Poppers (6 out of 10)

    Tuesday: Ice Cubes (5 out of 10)

    Wednesday: Hotel Chocolat Crostini Fruit & Nut Slab (7 out of 10)

    Thursday: Licorice Assortment (7 out of 10)

    Average for the week: 6 with 25% chocolate content.

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 8:27 pm     CandyFeatured News

    Page 1 of 7 pages  1 2 3 >  Last ›

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