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Candy Review: Ganong Chocolates

Categories: Candy,Candy Reviews,Foreign (non-US) Candy,Gummi/Gummy Candy,Hard Candy,Soft Candy




Ganong Logo

The day after Thanksgiving, I opened my door to discover a large-ish box sitting outside. On the end was a sticker stating “Chocolate – Do Not Expose to Heat“. Well, you can imagine how happy that sticker made me! I rushed the box inside and saw that it was from Ganong Chocolates. Woohoo! Free candy! Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time to open the box and see what was waiting inside. You see, I was actually headed out the door for… (insert ominous music here) my first root canal!

Three days and about 40 Advil later, I still couldn’t chew. This was getting desperate. Finally, a week later, I was able to start trying, albeit gingerly, the various candies they had sent.

Now, I’ve only been to Canada once, and as I was only three years old, I don’t remember much. I’m assuming that Ganong is somewhat of a well-known name up there, but I can’t say as I’ve ever heard of them before. That doesn’t actually mean much, though, since I can’t remember names to save my life.


Fruitfull

I started with the box of Fruitfull they had included in the package. In general, I love jelly candies, and these were no exception. These consisted of six fruity flavors in a very soft jelly. In fact, they were much tastier than I had expected. Instead of being overwhelmed by sugar, as many of these confections tend to be, the fruit flavor was very strong.

Also included was a box of Fruitfull au Chocolat, which are some of the same flavors of jellies, but coated in chocolate. Once again, I was quite impressed with the flavor. The chocolate coupled with the fruit is very tasty, but there isn’t so much chocolate that you can’t pick out the fruit taste. Overall, a very well balanced and well done candy.


Chicken Bones

Next up was a box of their famous Chicken Bones. These are bright pink candies about an inch long and tubular. The exterior is crunchy cinnamon flavored candy, and the interior has a vein of Ganong chocolate. I’m the first to admit that I really don’t like hot candies, cinnamon being one of the flavors I try to avoid. Still, as part of my duty to the readers, I tried these… and actually didn’t hate them. The cinnamon flavor isn’t very strong at all, and while you know that it’s cinnamon, it doesn’t have the bite that something like Red Hots would have. I’m happy (and somewhat proud) to report that I didn’t spit any out, and even ate more than one!


Delecto

I was getting a little full (I didn’t eat the entire box of Fruitfulls, I swear!), but I plowed on. Next up were three boxes of Delecto, one of the signature lines of Ganong. These boxes looked so nice I kept wishing I could just wrap them up and give them away as Christmas gifts! The Assorted Chocolates box contained a typical assortment and were reminiscent of Russell Stover chocolates, though they were a bit better. The other assorted box was full of Seasonal Truffles, which included flavors like Egg Nog and Irish Cream. Now, I love egg nog, but I have to say that the egg nog flavored truffle really didn’t remind me of the drink at all. That said, however, it was really tasty in its own right. Delecto also comes in boxes dedicated to individual flavors. Overall, a very good selection and taste.

A few of the selections included small pieces of pure Ganong chocolate called Oval Signatures, and I have to say that those pieces didn’t impress me much. They were typical of North American chocolate, but I’ve been spoiled by Swedish and Swiss chocolate, which I highly prefer. Still, when Ganong combines their chocolate with other flavors, they make some very delicious candy.


A History of Chocolate

The last occupant of the box was a very pleasant surprise. It was actually a book titled “Ganong: A Sweet History of Chocolate” by David Folster. It’s a very well-done book, with wonderful illustrations and a format which really appeals to the casual reader. As a history of the Ganong company, it tells a story which would be typical of many early candy companies in both Canada and the United States. It quickly found a permanent home on my coffee table, and I find myself flipping through and learning something new every time I have a free minute.

candy, sweets, chocolate, ganong, Canada, Canadian



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6 Responses to “Candy Review: Ganong Chocolates”

  1. 1
    Heather says:

    Wow! The emotions I went through as I read this article! The joy at your receipt of the box, the disappointment of not being able to enjoy it right away, the delight at the jellies, the apprehensiveness of cinnamon candy (uh-oh!), the relief that the cinnamon was bearable, and so on! What fun! ^_^
    I’m most intrigued by the book… I long for books filled with beautiful pictures of candy. I’ll have to peek around and find out if the book is within my budget… ^__^
    Thank you for all you endured to bring us this fine review!

  2. 2
    Heidi says:

    I’d never heard of Ganong either — and then I saw on their website that they’re in New Brunswick. The Canadian chocolates I’m most familiar with are Rogers’, in Victoria British Columbia. I hope you’ll get a chance to review those, too.

  3. 3
    Flippy says:

    Sounds good. Now I know what to ask the Canadian relatives to send down this year. Normally, it’s just Coffee Crisp, Aero, and Wunderbar. Perhaps I’ll add a new request, if it’s something they’ll come across in their everyday shopping travels.

  4. 4
    April says:

    this was a great candy review i wish there were more to it! it’s very good but sad when you dont get to eat the delicous candies whenever you got them,and sorry about the root canal,i hope you feel better,but awesome work on this review! Love: April

  5. 5
    Kayla says:

    I thought that you did a great job reviewing the candy. I actually live in Canada, and they are pretty popular here. It is kind of commen to give away a box of Ganong for Valentine’s day or something. My favorite are the little peanut butter cups, I don’t really like their famous Chicken Bones. Thanks, See ya!

  6. 6
    Debbie says:

    The best are the bite sized chocolate covered hearts and eggs ganong makes in larger bags! However, I haven’t been able to find them this year for easter – and this company has such poor, poor customer service it’s rediculous. How many customer inquiry lines or customer order lines do you know that put a “i am away on vacation message on?!?” It’s almost like they are such a small mom and pop organization that they can’t afford staff? With such an elaborate website – one would expect much, much better that’s for certain!

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