I remember that when I first lived in New Zealand I was always experiencing cultural differences that the native Kiwis failed to comprehend about American culture. I mean, they didn’t eat staples like peanut butter and questioned the point of ketchup.

But by far the one thing that drove my Kiwi friends bonkers was my love for cherry. I adore it - ice cream, candy, soda… you name it and cherry makes it better. For some unknown reason, cherry just wasn’t popular down there.

Well, it’s a good thing then that my friends didn’t attend the All Candy Expo and amble by the Gimbal’s Fine Candy booth. Gimbal’s is an interesting small candy manufacturer. They produce a variety of products from jelly beans to Lavaballs, with their factory being certified Kosher and gluten, nut, dairy, egg, soy, gelatin, and transfat free (not all of these products are vegan since some contain bee’s wax).

But of all their products, the one that blew me away the most was their Cherry Lovers. Cherry Lovers is a bag of heart-shaped chews consisting of nine different flavors of cherry. That’s right, nine! Think that’s impossible? See for yourself….

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What do you eat when you’ve just returned from the dentist? Me, I eat chocolate-covered sunflower seeds in a rainbow of colors. (My mouth is still numb, if you must know the truth. I don’t know why you must, but you Candy Addict readers are relentlessly curious. At least, I like to think so.)

So now you’re thinking three things. 1) He must have had cavities filled. 2) He won’t be able to fully experience the candy I’ve entrusted him to review for me. 3) He’s insane. Two of those three are correct, but I’m not saying which.

Okay, so I like sunflower seeds. And I like chocolate. Let’s put them together and see what we get.

Hey these are pretty tasty. The sunflower seeds are un-roasted, and have no salt. They’re good. And the coating is the right amount of chocolate, such that you get a good balance of seed and cocoa sweetness. The chocolate has cocoa butter, yum. And the coating has Titanium Dioxide, hmm. And various artificial colors. Less yum. (The Sunflower Food and Spice Co. also makes an all-natural version of these candies; I didn’t see those at World Market but I would have preferred to buy them.)

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Chocorooms do not contain mushrooms of any kind. Let’s be clear about that. Not Red Belted Polypore, not Queen Boleti, not Morel. No mushrooms at all. Instead, these are “sweet and crispy” Japanese candies that happen to look like rather small mushrooms. They have cookie-like stems, with chocolate tops.

Okay, so what do these fake fungi taste like? Let’s start at the bottom. The stems are not tasty in the least. They’re very bland, like a really boring biscuit. They remind me of fortune cookies a little bit, too. They also leave a slight film in your mouth.

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Tired of drinking your morning coffee? Why not eat it, surrounded by chocolate? That’s one idea for enjoying DeFranco’s Espresso Secrets, anyway. And wouldn’t that be faster, tastier, and reduce your chance of getting burned? Of course it would. And if you put a crazy amount of sugar in your coffee (like, 14g), then it’d be about the same calories, too (160). Okay, enough numbers.

Almost. This 1.3 oz/36g package contains three good-bite-sized pieces of 55% dark chocolate, with a coffee center. If you want a caffeine kick, you better eat all three. But how’s this candy taste?

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I seriously love marshmallows. Maybe it’s their association with summer and autumn campfires, hot cocoa, and Rice Krispie squares. Or maybe it’s just their incredibly light, fluffy, gooey texture and delicious vanilla flavor. (Though “vanilla” is often used as a shorthand for “boring,” is there honestly anyone who doesn’t like the flavor?)

So I was totally jazzed to discover Mitchell Sweets All Natural Chocolate and Vanilla caramel-coated marshmallows at Hammond’s Candies’ All Candy Expo booth – one of the nicest-looking booths at the show, I might add – alongside an array of gorgeous handmade candy canes and lollipops. Because if there’s one thing I love more than marshmallows, it’s caramel. And chocolate. (OK, that’s two things.)

Individually wrapped in waxed paper, the rectangular marshmallows have a chunky, rustic look, bearing borders of vanilla and chocolate-flavored caramel respectively. They have the appearance of having been cut from a big log of caramel-coated marshmallow (and if you can think of a stickier, messier job than coating a log of gooey marshmallow in hot, sticky caramel, I’d like to hear it). The ingredient list is pretty simple, but not as simple as you’d expect from something bearing the name “all natural” (which, admittedly, doesn’t mean an awful lot these days). Are coconut oil, corn syrup, and invert sugar “natural” products? For that matter, is gelatin? Regular sugar? Who knows?

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