“From Kettle to You Since 1928″ is Conrad’s Confectionery’s slogan. It’s a good one too, since it’s a home run candy company that’s in it’s third generation of family ownership. Conrad’s Confectionery is all about producing quality candy and ice cream with methods that have withstood the test of time. Their store is located in New Jersey, but thankfully you can order any of their confections from their online website.
The folks over at Conrad’s were kind enough to send me samples of their assorted chocolates, candies, and one of their cool vintage chocolate Easter Rabbits. It was hard to identify all the assorted candies included in the mix, even with the help of the website. The goods give a good impression as soon as you open the carefully packed box, with the strong and delicious aroma of chocolate hitting you full force. It melts wonderfully in your mouth; nice and smooth. The chocolate itself has a sweet flavor, too sweet though. I taste more sugar and hardly any chocolate. It lacks richness that I’m used to.
The nonpareils are gorgeous to look at but I found them to be too large for my liking. I prefer my nonpareils being thinner and to break apart when I cleave them with my teeth. These were too large for that and I had to chew on them instead. The raspberry cremes were delicious and had a fresh, authentic berry taste. I can easily tell the ingredients are all extremely high quality. For instance, the nuts in the turtles and brittles were fresh and added a good salty kick to the candies. Yet I didn’t enjoy them as much as I should have since I felt I had to pick the pieces out of my teeth for 10 minutes after consumption, which is a pet peeve of mine.
The shining star of the entire assortment? The caramels! They are a work of perfection. The texture is neither extreme; not too runny or not too stiff. Instead, it is soft and with just a little bit of give. The flavor is smooth, sweet and buttery. Everything caramel should be. These disappeared in a blink of an eye.
I love the chocolate Easter Rabbit! It is made of milk chocolate and is hollow, yet the large size (8 1/2 inches tall and weights over 11 1/4 oz) ensures that you get more than your chocolate fill from it. It is also beautiful to look at with its whimsical and vintage design, topped off with both edible and non-edible decals. At first I was confused on how should I tackle eating it, since I normally gnaw on my Chocolate Easter Bunnies which are smaller and solid. I finally decided the best was was to gradually break it into pieces and eat it bit by bit.
It’s great seeing Conrad’s flourishing by producing the same great candy products that made their company a success back in 1928. It’s good to know that quality and great tasting confections are still priority to the company, and knowing that makes enjoying their had work all that much sweeter. Highly recommended!
i was recently in the hospital and a friend had sent me an assortment of their candies. Tasty!! Thank goodness I had plenty of visitors as they were able to help me eat all the chocolates. Yummers!!!
April 27th, 2008 at 10:09 am