ABOUT

FEEDS

CONTACT

  • .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
  • Here are some frequently asked questions emailed to me you might want to read first.

EMAIL DIGEST

    For a daily update of Candy Blog reviews, enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

CANDY RATINGS

TYPE

BRAND

COUNTRY

ARCHIVES

March 2009

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Ferrara Dark Chocolate Covered Biscotti

imageI literally stopped in my tracks at the Fancy Food Show in January when I saw that Ferrara Pan had a booth. While I love their Atomic Fireballs and Lemonheads, there’s no way they can be considered “fancy.” Little did I know that Ferrara was actually making fancy candy!

They were at the show to introduce their new chocolate panned line which starts with five products: Dark Chocolate Covered Biscotti, Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds, Milk Chocolate Covered Almonds, Chocolate Covered Mixed Nuts (Macadamias, Cashews & Pistachios) and Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans.

I was drawn to one of the more unique items in the line for my first experience with their chocolate: Dark Chocolate Covered Biscotti.

The box is hexagonal in gold foil with an attractive but simple design to it. I finally saw them in the grocery store (for $3.99 for a 6.25 ounce box) which is usually my signal to get it up on the blog.

image

Inside the box is a heavy plastic pouch in a similar but matte gold color.

When I cut it open I was met with a nice smoky sweet aroma of coffee, vanilla and cocoa.

The bits are little dome shaped, shiny dark chocolate nuggets. They’re about the size of a garbanzo bean or hazelnut.

I ate a few when I took the photos and thought they were a little odd, a little bitter, a little gritty.

Then I read the box (which, you know, I probably should) and found out what that was:

Our enticing Dark Chocolate Covered Biscotti delivers an indulgent chocolate experience with cappuccino-infused biscotti drenched in rich dark chocolate.

Oh! That’s real coffee I taste in there! Why didn’t they say that on the front ... possibly even include it in the name of the product?

The biscotti center is rustic, made with oat and rice flour. There’s a slightly salty and malty flavor to it. The crunch is crumbly, but dry and not buttery like some cookie centers (like Twix).

Though the ingredients say that center is coffee flavored, I get it more from the chocolate coating. The chocolate shell is very mild (not a true dark chocolate because it contains some dairy fat). It’s sweet, has a nice melt to it and the proportions keep the flavors on the chocolate end of things.

I had a similar product last year from Albanese Confectionery, their new Cappuccino Biscotti Bites which were milk chocolate, but I’ve never actually seen them in stores or on their website.

For a product available in the grocery store, I thought it was rather well priced for the quality and quantity. The chocolate covered nut mix they have sounds interesting to, since it’s both a mix of dark and milk chocolate and includes the less-common nuts: pistachios, cashews & macadamias.

Nutritionally, I was kind of surprised by these. Yes, they have a fair amount of fat at 11 grams per 40 gram serving (chocolate is like that), but there’s also 2 grams of protein & dietary fiber and only 35mg of sodium.

The other interesting thing about this product that may need some investigation is that they do not contain wheat, just oat flour and rice flour. Though it doesn’t say gluten free on the package, it also doesn’t list wheat as one of the allergens or mention wheat as one of the shared equipment warnings. So for those with gluten restrictions, this might be an interesting line to pursue (please educate me in the comments on how to help by reading the labels). They’re also Kosher.

Related Candies

  1. Trader Joe’s Espresso Pillows
  2. Crackheads
  3. Cookie Dough Bites
  4. Java Twix
  5. Chewy Lemonheads & Atomic Fireballs
  6. Sno-Caps, Goobers & Raisinets
  7. Partying with the Sugar Crowd
Name: Dark Chocolate Covered Biscotti
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Ferrera Pan
Place Purchased: sample from Fancy Food Show
Price: retail $3.99
Size: 6.25 ounces
Calories per ounce: 148
Categories: Chocolate, Cookie, Coffee, United States, Ferrara Pan, Kosher

POSTED BY Cybele AT 8:37 am    

Monday, March 16, 2009

Pete’s Gourmet Confections: Marshmallows

imageSince starting Candy Blog I’ve found there is a wonderful world of marshmallows out there beyond the See’s Scotchmallow.

Pete’s Gourmet Confections does something that I haven’t seen very often: they offer gourmet marshmallows (mallows, as he refers to them) and other handmade confections that are certified Kosher. If you want to see Pete Coyle making mallows, check out this piece from the Food Network (it looks like sticky, sticky work).

I was definitely intrigued when they contacted me, so they sent me some samples of their most popular products.

image

This set of four was a good introduction, it’s their year round product, the Gourmet Assorted Dipped Marshmallows. Each piece is about a one inch cube.

  • Dark Chocolate covered Marshmallow - spongy and soft, a little on the dry side with a nice latexy chew. Fresh and satisfying, but doesn’t leave me feeling full.

  • Dark Chocolate Covered Strawberry Marshmallow - a similar soft and bouncy texture with a kiss of strawberry scent and a faint pink color. There no hint of tartness, just the sweet floral flavors of strawberry. It tastes a lot like sunshine.

  • White Chocolate covered Marshmallow - this is definitely not for those afraid of sweet. Though the marshmallows themselves are mild, the white chocolate is very milky and sticky sweet. It has strong vanilla notes as well.

  • White Chocolate covered Chocolate Marshmallow - the texture of this marshmallow is a bit more dense, it’s not just a touch of cocoa in here for color. The cocoa flavors don’t really infuse the marshmallow so much as temper it to be less sweet and a little on the smoky side (maybe even a touch on the salt side). The white chocolate, though, bumps it back up with a dose of sugar.

  • imageBut chocolate covered handmade marshmallows, that’s been done, right? What bowled me over was the look of the Easter version, these beautiful chocolate dipped eggs.

    Pete’s Gourmet makes two different versions for Easter. The ones shown here are the Ukrainian Easter Eggs.

    Ukrainian Easter Eggs (Pysanka) are a folk art tradition characterized by geometric & stylized patterns made in the process of wax-resist. As a kid I loved making ornate Easter eggs and learned to blow them (make a small hole in either end of a raw egg, take a long pin or needle to pierce the yolk and then blow into one end to force the “scrambled” egg out into a bowl). The empty egg was then ready to be decorated. The traditional Ukrainian style is quite involved. Designs are laid onto the shell using melted wax, then the egg is dyed, more patterns are put on with wax, so that the lines and shapes are different colors. The final background colors after many layerings of dye are nearly black.

    imageThen the egg is carefully heated with a flame to melt the wax, and wiped off to reveal the colors beneath (and gives the egg a bit of seal and shine).

    These marshmallow eggs bear some of those designs on dark and white chocolate transfers.

    The Ukrainian mix of eggs come in Vanilla, Lemon and Strawberry. There was no key with them, and I think I gave away my lemon one, so I didn’t really get to try anything new here from the regular square version.

    image

    The Modern Chocolate Marshmallow Easter Eggs version is a spring pastel mix of flowers, waves and patterns. These are also white or dark chocolate - all over the classic vanilla marshmallow.

    What I enjoyed, about this format was that they’re not nearly as thick as the squares. These varied but were generally about one half to three quarters of an inch thick. There was more chocolate per bite than the squares, so the marshmallow to chocolate ratio varied (depending one whether I was at an edge).

    They’re also just stunning, everyone whom I’ve showed them to has admired them and also found them just as tasty as they look.

    The other amazing thing is the price. For a handcrafted confection, I was surprised to see on their website that they were only $12.99 for a box of 12. Each marshmallow is about

    two

    one ounce and over two inches long.

    imageOne other item I have to mention is the lavender marshmallow. (I have a chocolate piece here much like the squares.) It’s available as a flower-shaped pop which must look as amazing in person as the eggs do.

    The marshmallow has a wonderful dark floral flavor of lavender (which reminds me a lot of rosemary). It balances the roasted notes of the chocolate and the sweet marshmallow so wonderfully, it’s like it’s holding hands with both of them. I’m now driven to distraction thinking about all the other floral/herbal flavors that could be infused into marshmallows: rosewater, orange blossom, lemongrass, bergamot, pistachio and even violet.

    Again, at $10.99 for 12 pops (less than a dollar each), they sound like an incredible deal and would make wonderful favors or party decorations.

    imageThe packaging isn’t as modern and chic as some other gourmet artisan folks, they’re simple foil-type boxes with either a similar lid or a clear plastic lid (like the one show at the top) with the company sticker on it. But hey, I don’t need fancy boxes if the candy is good and it does its job of keeping the candy fresh & whole. This was fresh, extremely well priced, attractive and for those seeking Kosher marshmallows, it’s just the ticket. 

    If you’re eager to order, there’s a random coupon deal right now if you click on the little logo at the bottom of the home page.

    Related Candies

    1. Elmer’s Toasted Marshmallow Eggs
    2. Little Flower Candy Co
    3. Peeps Monster Mash Ups
    4. Caramel Previews: Mitchell Sweets & Caramoos
    5. Idaho Spud
    6. The Saga of the Valomilk - Review
    Name: Chocolate Covered Marshmallows & Ukrainian and Modern Easter Marshmallow Eggs
      RATING:
    • 10 SUPERB
    • 9 YUMMY
    • 8 TASTY
    • 7 WORTH IT
    • 6 TEMPTING
    • 5 PLEASANT
    • 4 BENIGN
    • 3 UNAPPEALING
    • 2 APPALLING
    • 1 INEDIBLE
    Brand: Pete's Gourmet
    Place Purchased: samples from Pete's Gourmet
    Price: varies
    Size: varies
    Calories per ounce: varies
    Categories: Chocolate, White Chocolate, Marshmallow, United States, Kosher, Easter

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:06 pm    

    Friday, March 13, 2009

    Sugar Coated Fennel

    Candy Coated Fennel SeedsI spend a lot of time on Candy Blog looking for and reviewing the newest candies.

    That’s kind of sad for the oldest candies.

    Today I’ve got Candy Coated Fennel Seeds. From reading Sweets: A History of Candy by Tim Richardson, some of the first candies are still produced today. Those are the panned nuts and seeds.

    The process is simple, a syrup of liquid sugar is drizzled over a bit that forms the center (in this case a fennel seed). After each layer dries, another is added. The most famous version of this is the Anis de l’Abbaye Flavigny, which creates a huge peanut sized pastille. In this instance the fennel seeds are coated with a little crunchy shell, like an M&M without the chocolate.

    Candy Coated Fennel

    This variety is made by Al-Karawan based in Amman, Jordan (you know, Jordan, the place they named Jordan Almonds after). My mother picked it up for me at her local deli.

    The summer before I went off to college I worked at an herb shop where I packaged up bulk products, including a version of this. I admit that I would sneak a spoonful when doing the little baggies. I might add that fennel is supposed to be a digestive aid, easing indigestion and suppressing appetite. It also freshens the breath. I usually see this stuff at Indian restaurants where you usually encounter a bowl of mints.

    Candy Coated FennelThe colors are bright pastels: pink, green, yellow, blue and lavender. The size of the pieces varies greatly, some are tiny little spheres (with nothing inside) and others are the size of sunflower seeds.

    The bag smells sweet and like a light anise. For those who are familiar with fennel, it does have a distinct, fresh anise flavor to it (licorice).

    The sugar coating is sweet and crunchy and gives way to the seeds pretty quickly. The seeds are soft and fibrous for the most part. They have a light fresh flavor to them, soft anise mixed with some woodsy notes of beets, vanilla and root beer.

    It’s kind of an odd candy. I find it very refreshing, though not terribly filling. It’s certainly pretty. For something exotic, it’s not that expensive (this bag had a price tag of 99 cents on it) for four ounces. For the most part it’s well made, but the bottom of my bag did contain a bunch of little bits that either didn’t get the full color treatment or were just single candy layered on a thread of fennel instead of a full seed. A little sifting might have eliminated that.

    Al-Karawan lists Sugar Coated Cardamom on their site, now that sounds like something I’d like! The panning process is used on lots of other unlikely foodstuffs as well, like chick peas (garbanzos) and more traditional ones like almonds & pistachios.

    Related Candies

    1. New Flavors: Skittles Sour & Wonka Runts
    2. 3400 Phinney: Fig, Fennel & Almond and Hazelnut Crunch
    3. Romanego Dragees, Cordials & Fondants
    4. Confetti & Agrumetti
    5. Sugar Babies
    6. Gold Mine Gum
    7. Anis de Flavigny
    8. Treat Trip: Jelly Belly Factory
    Name: Sugar Coated Fennel
      RATING:
    • 10 SUPERB
    • 9 YUMMY
    • 8 TASTY
    • 7 WORTH IT
    • 6 TEMPTING
    • 5 PLEASANT
    • 4 BENIGN
    • 3 UNAPPEALING
    • 2 APPALLING
    • 1 INEDIBLE
    Brand: Al-Karawan
    Place Purchased: gift from Mom
    Price: $.99
    Size: 4 ounces
    Calories per ounce: 100
    Categories: Licorice

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 10:41 am    

    Thursday, March 12, 2009

    Reese’s Crunchy (Limited Edition)

    Reese's CrunchyThis is the third time I’ve bought the Limited Edition Milk Chocolate Reese’s Crunchy Peanut Butter Cups.

    I faithfully photographed the first package, but then ate them.

    The second one, well, that was a King Sized version that I didn’t photograph, but then ate and realized that the proportions were different.

    Then yesterday I was browsing my local 99 Cent Stores (yes, two of them, as they are less than a block apart and carry different stuff), I saw boxes and boxes of these. Since the expiration says 9K (November 2009), I figured they were well worth the 39 cents just so I could get these off my chest.

    Reese's Crunchy Cups

    Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups made with crunchy peanut butter are not new. I remember them from the 90s and found this wrapper on Brad Kent’s site. Apparently they were also available in Canada, according to this wrapper on Mike’s Candy Bar Wrappers. This version is not to be confused with the Limited Edition Reese’s Big Cup with Nuts, which had whole nuts, not crushed ones.

    They look, pretty much, like regular Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Fresh and nutty smelling, the tops were pristine on my most recent purchase (no oily puddles).

    The chocolate is sweet and cool on the tongue, the peanut butter is immediately salty. The texture is the same as the regular cups except there are some big chunks of peanuts mixed in.

    Most peanut butters are offered as either smooth or chunky, so it’s a natural evolution that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups would come that way as well.

    I liked these, I think they should be a regular item, but at the moment, if you have a 99 Cent Only Store the price is pretty darn good for fresh product. When those are gone, we can just wait for yet another limited edition or seasonal introduction. (I am kind of curious to try this crunchy style with the Easter favorite, the Egg.)

    Other more timely reviews: Gigi Reviews, Candy Addict, Hanna Aronovich, The Chocolate Traveler and ZOMG Candy.

    Side note: I saw a oodles of the now hard-to-find Reese’s Bars at the Fairfax & 6th 99 Cent Store.

    Related Candies

    1. ReeseSticks (Revisit)
    2. Whoppers Reese’s Peanut Butter Flavored Candy
    3. Reese’s Select Clusters
    4. Reese’s Pieces
    5. Elvis Reese’s Peanut Butter and Banana Cup
    6. Factory Fresh Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
    7. M&M and Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Eggs
    8. Reese’s Crispy Crunchy Bar
    Name: Limited Edition Reese's Crunchy Peanut Butter Cups
      RATING:
    • 10 SUPERB
    • 9 YUMMY
    • 8 TASTY
    • 7 WORTH IT
    • 6 TEMPTING
    • 5 PLEASANT
    • 4 BENIGN
    • 3 UNAPPEALING
    • 2 APPALLING
    • 1 INEDIBLE
    Brand: Hershey's
    Place Purchased: 99 Cent Only (Miracle Mile)
    Price: $.39
    Size: 1.5 ounces
    Calories per ounce: 140
    Categories: Chocolate, Peanut Butter, United States, Hershey's, Reese's, Kosher, Limited Edition

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 10:16 am    

    Wednesday, March 11, 2009

    Hershey’s March Madness - Candy Giveaway

    imageHershey’s is promoting their tie-in with March Madness (some sort of college basketball championship) and I have two (2) prize packages to give away!

    The prize is a ball & mini basketball hoop and net that hangs on a cubicle or trash can (enhancing America’s productivity in this economic downturn), and lots of Hershey’s product (Kit Kat, Reese’s, Pay Day).

    To enter simply send me an email to candybloggiveaway @ gmail.com with Basketball and Chocolate somewhere in the subject line. (You’re creative, come up with the rest, flattery isn’t necessary but certainly welcome.) Winners must be 18 or older and must have a USA address. Winners will be drawn at random from eligible entries (one per person). Deadline for entry is Sunday, March 15 at 10 PM Pacific.

    For everyone else, Hershey’s is running a huge promotional tie in with March Madness, look for info on marked packages of Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars, Hershey’s Milk Chocolate with Almonds Bars, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Almond Joy Candy Bars, Kit Kat Wafer Bars and PayDay.  The game runs through July 31, 2009 (winners get to go to the 2010 Final 4 or win other prizes). More on their special website.

    Fine print: Emails not directed to candybloggiveaway @ gmail.com will be rejected. I will only share winning email addresses with Hershey’s PR folks (who will be doing the shipping) and will not use them for any other purpose. Winners must respond via email within 48 hours of notification, otherwise a new winner will be drawn. Do not send me your physical address unless you’re notified of winning.

    UPDATE: I drew two winners (Jessica & Sheila) and the packages are being shipped out today. Congratulations!

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 1:01 pm     CandyFeatured NewsFun Stuff

    Page 3 of 5 pages  < 1 2 3 4 5 > 

    Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.

     

     

     

     

    Facebook IconTwitter IconTumblr IconRSS Feed IconEmail Icon

    COUNTDOWN.

    Candy Season Ends

    -2547 days

    Read previous coverage

     

     

    Which seasonal candy selection do you prefer?

    Choose one or more:

    •   Halloween
    •   Christmas
    •   Valentine's Day
    •   Easter

     

    image

    ON DECK

    These candies will be reviewed shortly:

     

     

    image