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October 2013

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Halloween Candy Spotting 2013

When a candy season comes around, I take special interest in what’s new, what’s returning and trends on the store shelves with holiday candy. Here’s the 2013 Halloween shopping roundup.

Brach's Halloween Mellocremes

Last week I was invited to participate in the Nosh Show podcast, we’re talking about candy and a bit about Halloween candy. You can listen to the Nosh Show:


TRICK OR TREAT
I haven’t decided what I’m giving out for Halloween yet this year. I’m planning to make use of the leftover Jolly Rancher Caramel Apple and Charms Candy Corn Lollipops from my reviews and probably some Airheads, since the kids in the neighborhood seem to like those. As for the chocolate items, I don’t know yet. Last year I gave out Unreal Candy, which is ethically sourced and uses natural ingredients. I’d like to find another chocolate candy that is certified (not using child slaves), but it’s hard to find candy items for kids that are well priced (we have about 40 kids visit) and also of actual interest to kids.

HERSHEY’S
I didn’t see any new items from Hershey’s this year for Halloween, but most of the old favorites have returned.

  • Pumpkin Spice Kisses (review)
  • KIT KAT Orange Wafer Bars
  • Reese’s Pumpkins (review)
  • Cadbury Screme Egg Candy is a green yolk version of the fondant egg for Easter
  • M&Ms Pumpkin Spice

    MARS
    Mars also seems to be playing it safe, with only a few new items and returning items, but mostly Halloween themed regular items.

  • NEW: Pumpkin Spice M&Ms - a Target exclusive this year (review)
  • Milky Way Caramel Apple Minis (review)
  • Snickers Pumpkin (review) also comes in Snickers Squared Peanut Butter version
  • Candy Corn White Chocolate M&Ms (review)
  • Mary Janes

    NECCO
    Necco always seems to list some interesting things, but I never see them in stores.

  • NECCO Batwing Wafers - like conversation hearts except shaped like bats and cinnamon flavored
  • NECCO Mummy Hearts - like conversation hearts except they’re marshmallow, hot chocolate, grape and candy corn flavored with ghoulish phrases
  • Skybar Zombie Food - milk chocolate brains, hearts and feet filled with red caramel
  • Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses (review)
  • Clark Wicked Mix (review)
  • Brach's S'mores Candy Corn

    FERRARA CANDY (Includes FARLEY’S & SATHERS and BRACH’S)
    There have been some big changes in these companies over the years. In the past 10 years alone Brach’s has been sold, sold again and now acquired through the Ferrara Pan acquisition of Farley’s and Sathers last year. Brach’s candy corn, one of their iconic candy products, moved production to Mexico about 2 or 3 years ago and I don’t think it tastes the same any longer. But I have high hopes for the new company making the most of each of the candy brands in its division and perhaps even improving the quality.

    That aside, Brach’s seems to be their only brand with seasonal candies, though Lemonheads and Trolli Gummis are available in treating packaging.

  • NEW: Brach’s S’mores Candy Corn (review)
  • 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 - Blood Orange

    TOOTSIE
    Tootsie has been making some great Halloween candies for years. I’ve always enjoyed Tootsie Pops but their newer introductions feel fresh but still like modern classics.

  • 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) Available in snack packs for Trick or Treat

    Peeps Spooky Cats

    JUST BORN
    Just Born makes a few varieties of Peeps for Halloween and some Hot Tamales and Mike and Ike for treating.

  • Peeps Chocolate Pumpkins (review)
  • Peeps Ghosts & Pumpkins (I like the ghosts because they’re the only Peeps that aren’t artificially colored.)
  • Peeps Chocolate Mousse Flavored Marshmallow Cats
  • Chocolate Dipped Peeps Orange Chicks in Milk & Dark Chocolate
  • Peeps Snack Size - individually wrapped small Peeps for Halloween trick-or-treating
  • Mike and Ike Mummy Mix and Vampire Variety
  • Nestle Butterfinger Pumpkin

    NESTLE & WONKA
    Wonka had a hug flurry of innovative products for a few years, but has settled back into treat packaging without much in the way of seasonal specific flavors/iterations.

  • Butterfinger Pumpkins
  • Spooky Nerds
  • Spooky Nerds Rope
  • Russell Stover Giant S'mores Bar

    RUSSELL STOVER
    I’m always fond of Russell Stover’s pumpkins, since their holiday candies are really the only time I buy the brand. There are a few new ones this year that are in line with Russel Stover’s strengths.

  • NEW: Russell Stover Big Bite Caramel Apple (review)
  • NEW: Russell Stover Big Bite Caramel Apple with Peanuts (review)
  • NEW: Russell Stover Pumpkin Pie (review)
  • NEW: Russell Stover Red Velvet Pumpkin (review of Santa version)
  • Russell Stover Strawberry Cream Pumpkin
  • Russell Stover Coconut Dream Pumpkin
  • Russell Stover Chocolate Marshmallow Pumpkin
  • Russell Stover Dark Chocolate covered Marshmallow Pumpkin (review)
  • Russell Stover Extra Crunchy Peanut Butter Pumpkin
  • Russell Stover Marshmallow Pumpkin (milk chocolate) (review)
  • Starburst Original Fruit Flavored Candy Corn

    WRIGLEY’S
    I didn’t see much new from Wrigley’s. I think they’re hiding from trick-or-treaters because they’re afraid they’ll get egged over the Lime to Green Apple Skittle switch. Their brands include Life Savers, Starburst and Skittles plus some gum brands that I rarely see in trick-or-treat packaging.

  • Starburst Candy Corn (review)
  • Jelly Belly Mellocremes

    JELLY BELLY
    Jelly Belly is a bit too upscale for trick-or-treat candy. But it’s fun for gifting or setting out for parties.

  • NEW: Vile Villains Jelly Belly Mixes - single serve packages featuring Disney villains with their own flavors. Seen in the store: Captain Hook (treasure chest mix) and Snow White’s Evil Queen (a mix of apple flavors)
  • 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
  • DSC02135r

    OTHER COMPANIES:

  • Pop Rocks Pumpkin Patch Orange
  • TicTac Bewitching Blend - I couldn’t figure out what flavors they are, but they’re orange and green, so let’s say Orange and Green Apple.
  • Halloween Candy Mega Buttons - you know those strips of paper with dried candy on them, there’s a giant version and now a Halloween version on black paper with grape, candy corn, green apple and mystery flavors.
  • Trader Joe’s Ghoulie Gummy Tummies Pumpkins & Spiders
  • Sixlets come in trick or treat packaging with orange and black colors. One of the few that’s gluten free.
  • Candy Corn Kisses

    NOT RETURNING:

  • Russell Stover “Day of the Dead” Skeletons (review)
  • Russell Stover Peanut Butter Candy Pumpkins
  • Hershey’s Candy Corn Kisses (review) and Caramel Apple Kisses (review)
  • Mary Jane Wicked Mix (review)
  • Brach’s Gummy Candy Corn (review)
  • Halloween Lifesavers Gummies Spooky Shapes
  • Have you seen anything new & exciting in stores this year? What are you planning to give out to kids, if they come to your house?

    Related Candies

    1. M&Ms Pumpkin Spice
    2. Starburst Original Fruit Flavored Candy Corn
    3. Halloween Candy Spotting 2012
    4. Limited Edition Milky Way Caramel Apple Minis
    5. M&Ms White Chocolate Candy Corn
    6. Halloween 2010 Product Run Down
    7. Halloween Dots: Bat, Candy Corn & Ghost

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:34 pm     CandyHalloweenHighlightShopping

    Monday, October 7, 2013

    Charms Candy Corn Pops

    Charms Candy Corn PopsI knew there were some new lollipops out these year, so I’ve been on the prowl in the Halloween aisles. I found the Charms Candy Corn Pops at Wegman’s in Mechanicsburg, PA. I didn’t necessarily want a huge bag of them, but they weren’t sold individually like the seasonal Blow Pops.

    It’s a simple concept, they’re lollipops with three layered colors that tastes like candy corn. What does candy corn taste like? Something like buttered honey. Or honeyed butter.

    If you’re a fan of candy corn but can’t eat it because it often contains gelatin or egg whites, you’ll be happy to hear that this may be vegan, as long as you’re good with processed sugar. The Charms lollipop line is also peanut free as well as gluten free, tree nut free and egg free.

    Charms Candy Corn Pops

    I’ve always liked the size and shape of Charms lollipops. They’re wide and flat but rounded. They’re experts at combining flavors in the pops, I often enjoyed the Sweet & Sour pops as a kid. Though this one is different colors, I could detect no difference in the flavor for any of the three colors: orange, yellow and white.

    For the most part this was a mild butterscotch lollipop. I welcome that, it wasn’t overly buttery flavored, it has a mild hint of salt and a dense texture without any voids that can create sharp spots.

    They’re not the most exciting lollipops in the world, but quite good. I was disappointed that the layering was actually stacked, they were more randomly swirled. The one in the photo is about as close as I could get to the vertical stack of candy corn. (Well, if you stand it up on its end.) I hear there’s a Blow Pop version of this, too, but I’ve only been able to find the Caramel Apple Blow Pop (review soon).

    Related Candies

    1. Jolly Rancher Caramel Apple Lollipops
    2. Lollipops at The Candy Store at Target
    3. 6 Candy Corn Candies That Aren’t Candy Corn
    4. Tootsie Caramel Apple Pops
    5. Flix Sour Gummy Pop Corn
    6. Pumpkin Pie Gourmet Candy Corn
    7. Hammond’s All Natural Lollipops
    8. Charms Blow Pops & Zip-a-Dee


    Name: Charms Candy Corn Pops
      RATING:
    • SUPERB
    • YUMMY
    • TASTY
    • WORTH IT
    • TEMPTING
    • PLEASANT
    • BENIGN
    • UNAPPEALING
    • APPALLING
    • INEDIBLE
    Brand: Tootsie
    Place Purchased: Wegman's (Mechanicsburg, PA)
    Price: $2.49
    Size: 11 ounces
    Calories per ounce: 101
    Categories: Candy, Halloween, Tootsie, Hard Candy & Lollipops, Kosher, 7-Worth It, United States

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:35 pm     CandyReviewHalloweenTootsieHard Candy & LollipopsKosher7-Worth ItUnited States

    Thursday, October 3, 2013

    Original Beans Piura Porcelana and Esmeraldas Milk

    Original Beans Piura Porcelana 75%Original Beans is a small chocolate company that starts with carefully selected, direct-purchased beans and makes them into single-origin bars. They take special care with all aspects of the sourcing, manufacturing and packaging, as their name might imply. The bars are not easy to find in the United States, but luckily a very good chocolate source has developed walking distance from my office, so you’ll be seeing more of these interesting finds in the coming months and years.

    The selection of bars from Original Beans is very small, but quite specific. I chose to review their Original Beans Piura Porcelana 75% as my first. You can read up on the Peruvian Porcelana beans on the Original Beans website and on other chocolate aficionado sites. The history of chocolate is fascinating and many people have become interested in the generic diversity of the trees and their distribution. The Porcelana beans, as a variety of Criollo, are characterized by their white color and distinctive flavor. They’re quite rare and grown in a few small areas in South America, so single origin bars are not common and often limited editions.

    The bar features all organic ingredients and is made only exclusively with white Criollo cacao from the Pirua River Valley in the Peruvian Andes. The cacao is 75% and the package says that it’s a 22 hour conch. The ingredients list is simple and short: Direct-trade cacao beans, cacao butter, cane sugar. There’s no soy and it’s vegan and gluten free.

    The tasting notes for the bar online are: Vibrant, luscious with kumquat, lime, apricot, raspberry flavours and notes of toasted pecan; wonderfully balanced acidity and lingering finish.

    Original Beans Piura Porcelana 75%

    Though the beans are white, the chocolate is brown. The fermenting and roasting of the beans makes them indistinguishable at first glance from any other bean.

    The bar is simply and beautifully molded. The segments have a great snap and neutral medium-brown color. The scent is mild, it has some smoky vanilla notes

    The flavor is an interesting balance of acid like citrus and tannins, for the most part the flavors I got were black tea and roasted nuts. The texture was smooth and has and excellent melt and lack of grit. It still has a bit of a dry finish that’s sharp from the tannins.

    I loved this bar, this is the third one I’ve eaten, I bought the first two over the summer but found they weren’t doing well in the heat so I ate them and waited for it to cool off to do a proper review. The flavor is not too intense but still very satisfying after three or four squares. The cocoa butter balanced out the clean but sweet sugar to make it very munchable for a high cacao bar.

    Original Beans Piura Porcelana 75% & Esmeraldas Milk

    The next bar I picked for review is Original Beans Esmeraldas Milk, which is a 42% cacao bar with a touch of fleur de sel. Like the dark bar, it’s made with organic ingredients. From the photo above you can see that it’s a dark looking bar for milk chocolate, but compared to many commercial milk chocolate bars, I’m inclined to call it a dark milk.

    Original Beans Esmeraldas Milk 42%The beans for the Esmeraldas Milk is from the Esmeraldas Rain Forest of Ecuador. The conch is 16 hours, according to the package.

    Original Beans is in The Netherlands, and the packaging is largely in Dutch (though the website also in English) while the chocolate is made in Switzerland.

    The ingredients list is a little longer than the dark bar, but still short: direct trade cacao, sugar, cocoa butter, milk and sea salt. The tasting notes suggest: Exceptionally velvety with salted caramel, hints of summer red fruits and spice.

    The Original Beans website has a feature where you input the batch code from your bar into their website that says:

    Enter the tree tracking number on your Original Beans chocolate here. See where your chocolate comes from and follow our ongoing conservation efforts in your chocolate’s rainforest of origin.

    Unfortunately that feature just takes you to the same page you could browse to based on the name of the chocolate bar. For true transparency and education, I kind of wanted specifics about the harvest that made my bar. What was that year like? Were there special issues that would distinguish that vintage from the previous year or the coming year? Or even just things like how many pounds of beans were harvested, how many bars were made in that batch.

    Original Beans Esmeraldas Milk 42%

    The bar has a roasted, caramelized scent that has a bit of a cheese note to it, something a little more savory. The melt is great, it’s soft and fudgy without feeling too sugary or sticky. The flavor has molasses notes, maybe even a little fennel but a lot of milk. The hint of salt does keep it from tasting too much like sugar, but it doesn’t jump out. There’s a sharpness to the bar, again, that powdered milk cheese-ness that doesn’t quite satisfy me. I’m not a big fan of the powdered milk flavors in some milk chocolates; it’s a personal preference, not an indication of quality.

    I also tried the Bolivian Beni Wild Harvest bar, as I was a big fan of Lillie Belle’s Wild Thing, also from wild beans, but found the 66% far too sweet for me.

    Related Candies

    1. Kauai Chocolate Tour plus Nanea & Madre Chocolate Bars
    2. Soma Black Science Carenero Superior
    3. Madre Chocolate: Dominican, Jaguar & Rosita de Cacao
    4. Amsterdam on Foot: Three Chocolate Shops
    5. Amano Dos Rios 70% Chocolate
    6. Lillie Belle Farms: The Wild Thing
    7. Amadei
    8. Stainer: Peru & Bianco


    Name: Piura Porcelana
      RATING:
    • SUPERB
    • YUMMY
    • TASTY
    • WORTH IT
    • TEMPTING
    • PLEASANT
    • BENIGN
    • UNAPPEALING
    • APPALLING
    • INEDIBLE
    Brand: Original Beans
    Place Purchased: Monsieur Marcel (Farmers Market)
    Price: $8.00
    Size: 2.469 ounces
    Calories per ounce: 161
    Categories: All Natural, Candy, Chocolate, Ethically Sourced, Organic, Single Origin, 9-Yummy, Switzerland


    Name: Esmeraldas Milk
      RATING:
    • SUPERB
    • YUMMY
    • TASTY
    • WORTH IT
    • TEMPTING
    • PLEASANT
    • BENIGN
    • UNAPPEALING
    • APPALLING
    • INEDIBLE
    Brand: Original Beans
    Place Purchased: Monsieur Marcel (Farmers Market)
    Price: $8.00
    Size: 2.469 ounces
    Calories per ounce: 162
    Categories: All Natural, Candy, Chocolate, Ethically Sourced, Organic, Single Origin, 8-Tasty, Switzerland

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 3:22 pm     All NaturalCandyReviewChocolateEthically SourcedOrganicSingle Origin8-Tasty9-YummySwitzerland

    Tuesday, October 1, 2013

    Bonomo Taffy Nibbles: Vanilla and Banana

    Bonomo Taffy NibblesBonomo Turkish Taffy is one of those great comeback stories in the candy world. The company is now bringing back one of its more obscure products, Bonomo Taffy Nibbles which were made briefly from 1966 to 1972, when the equipment used to make it was damaged in a flood and never repaired.

    The revived version comes in two varieties, Vanilla and Banana. They are small bites of soft taffy covered in milk chocolate. Though they are an old product, the timing of their reintroduction coincides with the current trend of morselization, that is, making candy bite sized.

    I heard they were coming back and had some samples earlier this summer, but found the packages I’m reviewing while on vacation last week in Pennsylvania. They’re a nicely sized portion of 1.5 ounces.

    Bonomo Vanilla Taffy Nibbles

    The Vanilla Taffy Nibbles are nicely formed and coated. They’re a bit like Milk Duds, except they’re made with real chocolate and instead of caramel, it’s a nougat-style taffy.

    The chew is soft and a bit airier than the crack & chew bars. The flavor is mild, not quite the soft vanilla notes that I get from the taffy bars, but still a pleasant chew. There’s a faint whiff of amaretto or some other flavor in it. The chocolate is sweet and creamy without being too waxy or sticky. Overall, I found them fun to eat, though I’d probably prefer to mix them in with something else.

    Bonomo Banana Taffy Nibbles

    The Bonomo Banana Taffy Nibbles are pretty much everything I want in a banana candy. The chew is soft, the banana is light and though artificial it’s still satisfying and not too caustic. The chocolate is decent and the pieces are a great size with good proportions.

    Bonomo’s Taffy Nibbles are what I always felt Charleston Chews should be. They reminded me of the Swedish candy called Polly, which is a little nugget of rum nougat covered in chocolate. Now that they’re back, I hope they become easier to find, because they do fit a wonderful niche in the candy world. They’re a great movie candy and I’d like to see more flavored centers and maybe some dark chocolate if they become popular.

    The candies contain milk, eggs and soy as well as confectioners glaze (shellac) and are made on equipment that also processes peanuts, tree nuts and wheat.

    Related Candies

    1. Dewar’s Chews
    2. Sockerbit Swedish Candy Selections
    3. Bonomo & Doscher Banana Taffy
    4. Bonomo’s Turkish Taffy - Chocolate, Vanilla & Strawberry
    5. Mini Charleston Chews
    6. Look! and Big Hunk
    7. Doscher’s French Chew Taffy
    8. Tootsie Roll Mini Chews


    Name: Taffy Nibbles: Vanilla and Banana
      RATING:
    • SUPERB
    • YUMMY
    • TASTY
    • WORTH IT
    • TEMPTING
    • PLEASANT
    • BENIGN
    • UNAPPEALING
    • APPALLING
    • INEDIBLE
    Brand: Bonomo
    Place Purchased: Candy*Ology (Lititz, PA)
    Price: $1.49
    Size: 1.5 ounces
    Calories per ounce: 127
    Categories: Candy, Morselization, Bonomo, Chews, Chocolate, Kosher, 7-Worth It, United States

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 1:15 pm     CandyMorselizationReviewBonomoChewsChocolateKosher7-Worth ItUnited States

    Page 3 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

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    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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