Three years ago, I found myself working as a “Mad Scientist” for a similarly-named company. Donning a white lab coat, goggles and a goofy pseudonym, I traveled far and wide to spread scientific curiosity and slime to as many schools and birthday parties as possible. These “Mad Science” programs had all sorts of themes. They were all interactive, and messy.

One of our most popular themes was “Taste and Smell,” and it wasn’t hard to see why – the “class” involved scented slime and a taste test. The blind, nose plugged taste test was supposed to demonstrate that what we call “taste” is really 80% smell. We used generic jelly beans. The results were undeniable – without their distinctive hues and scents, the flavors couldn’t be distinguished. Grape was identical to lemon!

While taste may be mostly smell (and I’ll admit the two are linked, but I’m skeptical of the 80% figure!), the part that’s not smell makes quite a difference. Especially when it comes to jelly beans. Consider Jelly Belly – even with your nose plugged, there’s no way you’d ever confuse the warmth and mildly salty tone of their Buttered Popcorn flavor with the rich fruitiness of their Strawberry Daquiri. As far as I’m concerned, the beloved little beans have nothing in common with the blandly syrup-flavored variety utilized by Mad Science.

Read More »

I can be a vulture when it comes to candy. I have a predetermined list of stores I scout out weekly and gaze upon their candy sections. Supermarkets, drugstores, gas stations, etc…. I usually do this to see if there happens to be a sale on candy, or even if I know there is a new product debuting that I should keep an eye out for. You can imagine my surprise whenever I discover a new candy product that I wasn’t expecting.

Yes, this is a rarity, but it happened this past week at a Walgreens. As if it was supposed to be stocked with all the other theater-sized box candy, a new version of Mike and Ike stood among its cousins of Tangy Twister and Jolly Joes: Italian Ice. I knew to expect the release of Lemonade Blends a few months back, but nowhere had I heard about Italian Ice debuting. In fact, it isn’t even listed on their website.

Quickly, I purchased the box along with a box of the new and original Tropical Typhoon, which boasted an assortment of new flavors, as advertised on its box.

Read More »

It’s no secret I like Peeps. In fact, I think they’re close to candy perfection – sugary marshmallow interior plus granulated sugar exterior… how can one go wrong? It goes without saying that when I saw the Just Born booth at the All Candy Expo I made sure to make a pilgrimage into those hallowed environs.

When I arrived at the booth, I saw something that intrigued me – brown squares which looked quite marshmallow-y yet carried a distinctive brown hue. What was this? Something new? I had to know!

I was served one of the brown squares on a napkin, took a bite, and was immediately transported to another dimension of yumminess. Oh. My. God. These were so good! Unbelievably soft, full of chocolate flavor… I had to have more! I immediately asked if they had any samples to take home, and was presented with a coveted pre-release package of brown bear shaped marshmallow goodness.

Read More »

The traditional spice beans that you find out during Easter were something I always saw and considered to be a “gross” candy. You know what I mean – the type of candy you’d let sink through the Easter grass to the bottom of your Easter basket so you could “forget” about them until they were inedible and had to be thrown away. For some reason when I think of this specific type of jelly bean, images of Grandma’s, moth balls and dust come to mind, not all things I want to associate with my candy.

These belong on my “never got these as a child” easter candy list, along with Bunny Basket Eggs, Marshmallow Peeps and Cadbury Creme Eggs. But unlike those candies, which I was dying to try because I knew they were popular and desired by everyone, I never heard anyone really crave spice jelly beans. Or the black ones too for that matter. Little did I know what I was missing out on.

Read More »

It seems I may be one of the few people in the world who actually likes Just Born’s Peeps. I mean, sure, most Candy Addicts will pop a few at Easter just to say they did, but come on, who would really eat more than two?

Me.

That’s right, I’m here to admit that I’m addicted to Peeps. Yellow, purple, hearts or chicks, I love the sugar covered marshmallow goodness. Imagine my joy, then, when I found a brand new (to me, at least) variety to try this Easter season: Orange Creme Eggs! Ooh, I wonder how they taste…

Read More »