There are certain names you associate with candy. Hershey? Yes. Reese’s? Yes. Goetze? Probably not. Despite their seemingly unknown name in the candy world, you most likely have seen their products, you just didn’t know they made them.
As a company now in its fifth generation of family ownership, Goetze produces only one candy. Caramel Creams. From that product alone, they offer several flavor varieties and the spin-off version called Cow Tales.
One of those cooler perks about my job (my non-candy day job) is that I am constantly making deliveries to various businesses downtown. And though it’s always interesting to see how corporate America decorates its offices, what is more fun is that there is more likely than not a candy dish sitting at the receptionist’s desk.
A law firm up on 9th St. is a regular customer of ours, and they always have a bowl of Caramel Creams waiting for me. So on my most recent delivery, I grabbed a handful (or three) of these babies. When the receptionist gave me a crooked look for taking so many, I explained it was necessary for research purposes.
The smell of the is kinda like a Mary Jane – nondescript, artificial nut aroma. I am not sure why it smells like this since Caramel Creams have no nuts in them, but maybe it’s more related to the molasses part of Mary Janes.
The pieces aren’t sticky, but are somewhat dry and chalky. Each is about the size of a regular piece of taffy and consists of an outer ring of caramel that is filled with a blob of vanilla fondant. Hence the alternate name for these, Bulls Eye.
The flavor of the caramel isn’t strong and is somewhat lacking. Even though I am an advocate of simplicity, I thought a little more sugar could be added to give it a better caramel richness.
The center portion is very potent, as its milkiness/creaminess is somewhat overwhelming, giving a taste reminiscent of alcohol, which could very well be a result of an artificial vanilla flavor that is made with a high alcohol content.
Together, the weaker caramel and bolder fondant do some canceling out to make the candy easier to enjoy. I eat these because I get them for free, but if I had to pay for them, I might not be so inclined to consume them, instead opting for Long Boys to get my caramel fix. I am, however, particularly intrigued by their caramel apple and strawberry varieties. If I ever do find those in a Walgreens or a candy bowl in some design firm downtown, I’ll keep you posted.
Buy Caramel Creams Online:
- at Candy Crate
- at Old Time Candy
- at Amazon.com
I love these things! The reason I have to post is not quite as cool, though.
I just realized that these were made by “Goetze”. You have the name wrong.
If you are new to the internet just ignore my post, but everyone else should have a pretty good idea of why that is not the best brand name.
December 16th, 2008 at 4:38 amI agree that the bulls eyes can tend to be a bit chalky. I find that the mini cow tails are better. Not sure why Goetze is such a bad brand name.
December 16th, 2008 at 11:17 amOh, I get it… Goetze is the name of another company that makes gun parts. That’s not so bad, though. :S
December 16th, 2008 at 11:50 amThe reason nobody ever heard of them is they don’t make any good candy.
December 16th, 2008 at 1:46 pmI think the problem is that Goetze sounds almost like the name of a very infamous shock website/image – I won’t say the name of it because if you haven’t seen it, you REALLY don’t want to.
December 17th, 2008 at 12:04 amHelldog, that is exactly what I first thought. And Laurie is absolutely right, if you haven’t seen it, you are very very lucky and do not go looking for it.
Anyway, about the candy, I remember always getting these at various holidays. I never did like caramels, though, so I don’t remember them being particularly delicious.
December 17th, 2008 at 1:55 amI love these. We used to call them bulls-eyes. Goetze is too hard to say for kids!
December 20th, 2008 at 6:20 pmIt’s pronounced “Gets” just for the record. :D
Also these are made in my hometown, and I adore them!
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:16 pmI love these candies. But they are good only when they are fresh and soft
November 15th, 2009 at 3:07 pm