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October 2012

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Halloween Candy Spotting 2012

Halloween is the first Holiday in Candy Season. The variety of candy is not quite as remarkable as Easter or Christmas, because most candy is just smaller sizes of single serve products for easy distribution for Halloween trick or treaters. It’s interesting to see what the new and returning products are each year. 

The big trend seems to be seasonal flavor combinations. The notable ones are Candy Corn (now in jelly bean, gum drop, chocolate covered & novelty flavors) and Caramel Apple (lollipops, Milky Way bars, Werther’s hard candies, Sugar Babies).

I haven’t seen much that’s new this year, but I did visit most of the stores in my area to see what’s on the shelves, here’s my hitlist of the highlights:

Brach's Assorted Halloween Mellowcremes

HERSHEY’S
Hershey’s decided to use more neutral fall leaves theming on their packages this year instead of Halloween specific graphics. So don’t expect to find them on the sale shelves after Halloween, as they expect merchants to simply move them on to themed displays for Thanksgiving.

  • Pumpkin Spice Kisses (review)
  • KIT KAT Orange Wafer Bars
  • Reese’s Pumpkins - now in a new orange package instead of purple (review)
  • Cadbury Screme Egg Candy is a green yolk flowing fondant egg.
  • M&Ms White Chocolate Candy Corn

    MARS
    Milky Way Caramel Apple Minis (review)
    Snickers Pumpkin (review)
    Candy Corn White Chocolate M&Ms (review)

    Peanut Butter Kisses

    NECCO

  • Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses (review)
  • Clark Wicked Mix (review)
  • Mellocreme Zombies (I still haven’t found these)
  • Candy Corn

    FARLEY’S & SATHERS (BRACH’S)

  • Brach’s Milk Maid Caramel Candy Corn (review)
  • Brach’s Autumn Mix (review)
  • Brach’s Halloween Mix (flavored mellocreams in holiday shapes) (review)
  • Brach’s Indian Corn
  • Brach’s Mellocreme Pumpkins
  • Bat Dots

    TOOTSIE

  • Blood Orange Dots (Bats) (review)
  • Ghost Dots (Clear)  (review)
  • Candy Corn Dots (Vanilla)  (review)
  • Orchard Mix Caramel Apple Pops (review)
  • Vanilla Tootsie Rolls
  • Caramel Apple Sugar Babies
  • (review) Now available in snack packs for Trick or Treat

    JUST BORN

  • Peeps Chocolate Pumpkins (review)
  • Peeps Ghosts & Pumpkins (I like the ghosts because they’re the only Peeps that aren’t artificially colored.)
  • Mike and Ike Mummy Mix
  • Nestle Butterfinger Pumpkin

    NESTLE & WONKA

  • Butterfinger Pumpkins
  • Spooky Nerds
  • Whitman's Candy Corn Marshmallow
    (They don’t actually make the Whitman’s Marshmallow Candy Corn any longer, but I like the photo too much to not use it this year.)

    RUSSELL STOVER

  • Russell Stover Peanut Butter Candy Pumpkins
  • Russell Stover Coconut Dream Pumpkin
  • Russell Stover Chocolate Marshmallow Pumpkin
  • Russell Stover Dark Chocolate covered Marshmallow Pumpkin (review)
  • Russell Stover Strawberry Cream Pumpkin
  • Russell Stover Marshmallow Pumpkin (milk chocolate) (review)
  • Jelly Belly Candy Corn Jelly Bean

    JELLY BELLY

  • Jelly Belly Deluxe Halloween Mix (review)
  • Jelly Belly Candy Corn Jelly Beans (review)
  • Jelly Belly Giant Candy Corn
  • Jelly Belly Sour Gummi Pumpkins
  • Jelly Belly Fall Festival Mix

  • NOT RETURNING:

  • Hershey’s Candy Corn Kisses (review)
  • Hershey’s Caramel Apple Kisses (review)
  • Mary Jane Wicked Mix (review)
  • Brach’s Gummy Candy Corn (review)
  • So what have you seen that’s new or what’s missing that you’ve been looking forward to?

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 1:04 pm     CandyHalloweenHighlightShopping

    Monday, October 22, 2012

    Chuao Honeycomb & Potato Chip Chocolate Bars

    Chuao Honeycomb 60% CacaoI’m quite fond of Chuao Chocolatier’s bars, which are made in Southern California. The packaging is spare but eye-catching and distinct. I’ve come to know the brand well enough to be able to spot a new bar on the shelf easily because of the color-coding. One that I’d been looking forward to finding is the Chuao Honeycomb 60% Cacao. The bar is a Dark Chocolate Bar with Caramelize Honey.

    I was excited about this bar because Chuao used to make a fantastic item for local Whole Foods markets. It was a thick bar with large chunks of sponge candy (here they’re calling it honeycomb). I haven’t seen it in the market for several years, so I was hoping this bar would be a more widely available version.

    The back of the package has a more enticing bit of marketing copy: The Honeycomb bar is a sweet bouquet of silky dark chocolate and crunchy, caramelized honey. Its pleasing layers of tropical flavors and contrasting textures seduce chocolate lovers like bees to a flower.

    Chuao Honeycomb 60% CacaoChuao uses non-GMO ingredients, including the soy lecithin and the corn syrup for the honeycomb. chuao also sourced their chocolate through a project called Aguasanta Growth Initiative in Venezuela.

    The bar has a wonderful decorative design for its mold. They’re changing their packaging yet again, so keep an eye out for the newer designs. Here’s a peek at the ChocoPod version. (Here’s what they looked like back in 2006 when I first tried them.) While it’s fun to look at, it is a little more problematic for portioning. The bar doesn’t break evenly around the “pod” pieces and of course it’s harder to tell how much of the bar you have eaten. (Besides all of it. That’s easy no matter the shape.)

    There were a few little voids at the bottom where the mold didn’t fill properly and the same on the bottom of the bar where there were bubbles.

    Chuao Honeycomb 60% Cacao

    The bar is deep and toasty. The chocolate has a coffee note to it but is complemented by the burnt sugar flavors of the sponge candy. It’s a clean toffee note, with no hint of butter, just the scorched honeycomb. There are some hints of minerals and an earthiness to it. The honeycomb provides a little texture, though it has a bit of a crunch, it also dissolves quickly, like shards of cotton candy.

    I was hoping for a bit more differentiation between the chocolate and the honeycomb, at least as far as the textures.

    Chuao Potato Chips in Chocolate 41% CacaoIt’s funny that I had to go all the way to Pennsylvania to find a bar that’s made right here in California (and that I’ve been looking for in local stores). But it makes sense that Pennsylvania would be the target market, they’re the folks that make such fantastic pretzels and have innovated so much in the sweet and salty combination. I think I found the Chuao Potato Chips in Chocolate 41% Cacao bar at Wegman’s, and it was even on sale.

    The package says that it’s an Ultra Premium Milk Chocolate Bar with Kettle Cooked Potato Chips.

    The bar is made from all natural ingredients, the potato chips are made with sunflower/corn and/or canola oil and this wrapper does not say anything about GMO ingredients.

    Chuao Potato Chips in Chocolate 41% Cacao

    This is an odd bar. I can’t quite put my finger on it. Part of it may be the inclusions. As you can see from the photo, the bits of the potato chips are quite small, I’d call them potato slivers or shards. So the texture doesn’t allow for a full bite of potato chip, but more of the flavor without the crunch. The chocolate smells milky and has a wonderful, silky melt. The chips are at once light and dense. They have a strong crunch, even for their small size. They’re salty and earthy, with a rooty, potato skin flavor to the that’s common to the kettle cooked variety of chips.

    In both bars I wanted more of the inclusions ... but it’s hard to fault these bars when the chocolate is so good as well. Chuao never disappoints me with their chocolate. I think my favorite bars are still the Chinita Nibs and their Coffee and Anise bars, which are both rather hard for me to find as well.

    Related Candies

    1. Trader Joe’s Milk Chocolate Covered Potato Chips
    2. Eat with your Eyes: Anise & Coffee
    3. Chuao Panko
    4. Chuao Chocolate Blocks from LEGOLAND
    5. Parkside Candy Sponge Candy
    6. Chuao ChocoPods
    7. Chuao Chocolatier


    Name: Honeycomb 60% Cacao
      RATING:
    • SUPERB
    • YUMMY
    • TASTY
    • WORTH IT
    • TEMPTING
    • PLEASANT
    • BENIGN
    • UNAPPEALING
    • APPALLING
    • INEDIBLE
    Brand: Chuao Chocolatier
    Place Purchased: Ralph's (Glendale)
    Price: $3.99
    Size: 2.8 ounces
    Calories per ounce: 136
    Categories: All Natural, Candy, Chuao Chocolatier, Chocolate, Ethically Sourced, 7-Worth It, United States, Ralph's


    Name: Potato Chips in Milk Chocolate
      RATING:
    • SUPERB
    • YUMMY
    • TASTY
    • WORTH IT
    • TEMPTING
    • PLEASANT
    • BENIGN
    • UNAPPEALING
    • APPALLING
    • INEDIBLE
    Brand: Chuao Chocolatier
    Place Purchased: Wegman's (Mechanicsburg, PA)
    Price: $3.99
    Size: 2.8 ounces
    Calories per ounce: 150
    Categories: All Natural, Candy, Chuao Chocolatier, Chocolate, Ethically Sourced, 7-Worth It, United States

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 2:00 pm     All NaturalCandyReviewChuao ChocolatierChocolateEthically Sourced7-Worth ItUnited StatesRalph's

    Friday, October 19, 2012

    Candy Tease: October 2012

    The big announcements for new candies came out earlier this year, but there are still some new products hitting shelves and on the horizon.

    Hershey Kandy KakesName: Kandy Bar Kake:S’mores, Peanut Butter & Peppermint
    Brand: Tastykake
    Description: Tastykake Baking Co. is joining forces with The Hershey Co. to introduce Kandy Bar Kakes, a blend of cake and candy featuring Hershey’s most popular flavors. Kandy Bar Kake varieties include S’mores Kandy Bar Kake made with Hershey’s Cocoa, Peanut Butter Kandy Bar Kake made with Reese’s Peanut Butter and Peppermint Kandy Bar Kake made with York Peppermint Flavor.
    Introduction Date: October 2012
    Notes: I was just in Philadelphia and did pick up some Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes ... and I actually did meet with a rep from Hershey’s but I had no idea these were coming out. Unfortunately they are a regional, limited edition item and not available on the Tastykake.com webstore.   

    Jelly Belly TabascoName: TABASCO Jelly Belly Jelly Beans
    Brand: Jelly Belly Candy Company
    Description: Hot sauce enthusiasts will immediately recognize the pungent taste of red peppers, Avery Island salt and distilled vinegar, coupled with a subtle sweetness – but not too sweet – undertone from the jelly bean itself.
    Introduction Date: October 2012 in bulk - December 2012 in packages
    Notes: According to John Pola, the VP of specialty sales for Jelly Belly,  “Hot is the new licorice.” I really don’t know what that means ... that hot is the new polarizing flavor that only some people will like? Hot candy actually is a pretty hot trend the past 5 years, and Tabasco already has a chocolate, so a jelly bean makes sense.

    Milky Way BitesName: Milky Way Bites
    Brand: Mars
    Description: These unwrapped, pop ‘em-in-your-mouth, bite-sized cubes are a convenient and easier-to-eat format of consumers’ favorite candy bar brands.  MILKY WAY Bites are available in two convenient sizes: 2.83-ounce sharing size and 7.0-ounce and 8.0-ounce resealable stand-up pouches.
    Introduction Date: May 2013
    Notes: The promo info didn’t mention the actual size of these pieces and it’s unclear if they’re a molded item (like the Reese’s Minis are) or if they’re teensy little enrobed nuggets.

    Snickers BitesName: Snickers Bites
    Brand: Mars
    Description: These unwrapped, pop ‘em-in-your-mouth, bite-sized cubes are a convenient and easier-to-eat format of consumers’ favorite candy bar brands. Bites are available in two convenient sizes: 2.83-ounce sharing size and 7.0-ounce and 8.0-ounce resealable stand-up pouches.
    Introduction Date: May 2013
    Notes: I’m actually eager to try these, as I often find a full Snickers bar a little too much, and as they description mentions, they’re easier to eat, especially in situations like snacking at movies or perhaps making a trail mix with nuts and pretzels.

    Dove Mint SwirlName: Dove Mint & Dark Chocolate Swirl
    Brand: Dove Chocolate (Mars)
    Description: Dark chocolate lovers will adore the flavor sensations in the new Dove Brand Mint & Dark Chocolate Swirl. Combining Dove Brand rich, silky smooth dark chocolate with the sensation of cool, fresh mint, this new item delivers an irresistible flavor duo.
    Introduction Date: May 2013
    Notes: I really like the Dove Peppermint Bar, this sounds similar but without any crunchy bits and hopefully available year round.

    Valrhona DulceyName: Dulcey
    Brand: Valrhona
    Description: Dulcey has a blond color and a smooth, enveloping texture. Its lightly sweetened biscuity flavor gives way to lush notes of shortbread with a hint of salt.
    Introduction Date: September 2012 in UK, Early 2013 for North America
    Notes: The bar contains 32% cacao content (cocoa butter) and is packaged for eating as well as ingredient use (sold in bulk as callets). It’s like a toasted white chocolate, less sweet - a caramel chocolate. An early review from Chocablog gives it high marks for quality, but not necessarily something for all chocolate lovers.

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 1:14 pm     CandyNew Product AnnouncementHighlightFeatured News

    Thursday, October 18, 2012

    Snickers Pumpkin

    Snickers PumpkinMars doesn’t have much this year for Halloween, aside from the usual Harvest colors of M&Ms. I was interested to see that there was a new version of the Snickers Pumpkin from the previous time I tried it. (Review here.)

    There are two package types for the Snickers Pumpkin. They come individually wrapped as seen here, or, more interestingly, in a 2 To Go wrapper like the King Size packages. It looks like a regular Snickers bar, but the background is black and has some pumpkins on it. It’s the same price as a King Size bar (which usually has 3.29 ounces in it), but has only 2.2 ounces in it.

    Snickers PumpkinIt’s a nice little portion, about 1.1 ounces it’s half the size of a regular Snickers bar. It’s 2.5 inches long and about 1.5 inches wide at the base.

    The big difference that’s noticeable out of the wrappers is that this is a molded product. The Reese’s Pumpkin is enrobed (coated) where this one is build upside down, with the pumpkin shaped shell created first, then the fillings squirted in and the base of chocolate added last.

    A regular Snickers bar is also a layered product, but ultimately is coated via a conveyer moving under a curtain of chocolate, enrobing the bar. The ratio of chocolate to filling on that bar is such that the filling is the star, the chocolate is a device that keeps it all together. In the Snickers Pumpkin, the chocolate shell is most notable.

    Snickers Pumpkin

    It smells sweet, milky and nutty. The center is soft, but doesn’t have the same caramel chew or plethora of crunchy nuts that a standard Snickers does. It’s overwhelmingly milk-chocolatey, which is fine if you’re into Snickers bars because of the quality of the chocolate. I am not. I find it a bit grainy, overly sweet and lacking a strong cocoa punch. The light touch of salt is good, it’s the only thing balancing out the sugar blast.

    I’ll probably stick to the Minis, which have very little chocolate on them (though not much in the way of nuts).

    Mars is in the process of moving towards 100% sustainable and ethically sourced cacao, but they’re going with their higher end products first, like Dove. The Snickers Pumpkin contains peanuts, soy and milk plus is made on shared equipment with tree nuts and wheat.

    Related Candies

    1. Snickers 3X Chocolate
    2. Snickers Slice n’ Share (1 Pound)
    3. Nestle Butterfinger Pumpkin
    4. Brach’s Peanut Butter and Caramel Pumpkins
    5. Snickers Peanut Butter Santas
    6. Snickers Dark
    7. The Great Pumpkin Roundup
    8. Dove Truffle and Snickers Eggs


    Name: Snickers Pumpkin
      RATING:
    • SUPERB
    • YUMMY
    • TASTY
    • WORTH IT
    • TEMPTING
    • PLEASANT
    • BENIGN
    • UNAPPEALING
    • APPALLING
    • INEDIBLE
    Brand: Mars
    Place Purchased: Walgreen's (Echo Park)
    Price: $.59
    Size: 1.1 ounces
    Calories per ounce: 145
    Categories: Candy, Halloween, Mars, Caramel, Chocolate, Kosher, Nougat, Peanuts, 6-Tempting, United States, Walgreen's

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 2:13 pm     CandyReviewHalloweenMarsCaramelChocolateKosherNougatPeanuts6-TemptingUnited StatesWalgreen's

    Monday, October 15, 2012

    Toblerone Crunchy Salted Almond

    Toblerone Crunchy Salted AlmondAs a kid, a Toblerone bar was a special treat reserved for holidays, partly because they were expensive and partly because they were difficult to find year round. The bar was different from anything else on the market from the shape of the box and the exotic name to the interesting combination of flavors and textures.

    The Toblerone company was bought from Jacob Suchard in 1990 by Kraft and is still made in Bern, Switzerland. The bars are much easier to find now, and easily located any time of the year. Their newest bar released in the United States is the Toblerone Crunchy Salted Almond and features Swiss milk chocolate with salted caramelized almonds and honey and almond nougat.

    Toblerone Crunchy Salted Almond

    Rosa at ZOMG Candy gave the bar pretty high marks, so I was eager to find one in the wild. I spotted them at Walgreen’s over the weekend, though not on sale. It’s $2.99 for the 100 gram (3.5 ounce) bar, which is what I’d expect to pay for something from Kraft that’s in their Green & Black’s range of ethically sourced and all natural chocolate.

    The serving size is 1/3 of the bar, and it would be nice if they just said how many peaks that is (there are 12 in the bar, so 4 is a serving). But I did like the packaging. The snug triangular box protects the bar, even though it’s just in a thin foil wrapper inside. I liked the color and the bold, simple design. The nutrition panel, otherwise, is really easy to read. 

    Toblerone Crunchy Salted Almond

    The look of the bar is the same as the classic milk chocolate bar. Inside I expected to see more almonds, as they’re both in the nougat bits and included as the salted pieces as well. The bar smells milky and sweet. The bite is soft and has a lot more crispy bits in it than I was accustomed to. The chocolate is fudgy and has a lot of milky flavors to it, mostly it holds together the inclusions. The nougat pieces are crispy ... unless they’re a little bigger which may mean that they’re a little tacky if chewed. The almonds are a little larger and have a nice, fresh crunch to them. As for the salt promised, I didn’t really taste it. There’s only 55 mg per serving, so it’s not a liberal dose. Though I can’t say that I perceived it, I will say that this bar seemed less sweet than the standard Toblerone. I actually prefer this to the Classic.

    Kraft and Toblerone have scant information on the sourcing of their ingredients except to say that the chocolate is not Fair Trade on their website in the FAQ section and the the cocoa is sourced from around the world (well, at least it’s Earth chocolate). The bars contain milk, soy, almonds and eggs plus are manufactured on shared equipment with other tree nuts.

    Related Candies

    1. Frey Chocobloc AIR
    2. Milka NAPS Mix (Assortment)
    3. Ferrara Milk Chocolate with Almond Nougat
    4. Toblerone Fruit & Nut
    5. Terry’s Chocolate Toffee Crunch Orange
    6. Toblerone Single Peaks
    7. See’s Awesome Nut & Chew Bar


    Name: Toblerone Crunchy Salted Almond
      RATING:
    • SUPERB
    • YUMMY
    • TASTY
    • WORTH IT
    • TEMPTING
    • PLEASANT
    • BENIGN
    • UNAPPEALING
    • APPALLING
    • INEDIBLE
    Brand: Kraft
    Place Purchased: Walgreen's (Echo Park)
    Price: $2.99
    Size: 3.52 ounces
    Calories per ounce: 155
    Categories: Candy, Kraft/Mondelez, Chocolate, Nougat, Nuts, 8-Tasty, Switzerland, Walgreen's

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:26 pm     CandyReviewKraft/MondelezChocolateNougatNuts8-TastySwitzerlandWalgreen's

    Page 1 of 3 pages  1 2 3 > 

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

     

     

     

     

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    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

     

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    ON DECK

    These candies will be reviewed shortly:

     

     

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