Categories: Candy,Candy Reviews,Gourmet Candy,Hard Candy,Lollipops
I had the pleasure of reviewing some of Lollipop Labs unusual lollipops this weekend. Given that they have flavors like “Dirty Martini” and “Earl Grey,” I would recommend these lollies more for the discerning Candy Addict than for, say, your five year old.
A couple of general notes: these lollipops don’t have a lot of scent when you open them, but don’t let that fool you. As soon as you lick them you get plenty of flavor. I thought one of the coolest things about them was the way the flavor nuances change as you eat them. Sometimes you’ll get more of one herb than another as you go, while still enjoying the overall main flavor of the lollipop. Neat! Plus, I love that I recognize and can pronounce every ingredient on the labels.
One more thing: if you don’t see a flavor below that appeals to you, Lollipop Labs will custom design the flavor and shape of their lollipops to your specifications. How cool is that?
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Categories: Awesomely Addictive Candy,Candy,Candy Reviews,Chocolate Candy,Gourmet Candy
Ah, Malibu, California. A land of endless summer, where twenty-seven miles of ancient rocky coastline collide with crystalline ocean. Where rock-hard beach boys and beautiful surfer girls ride the waves just moments away from hillside manors of the rich and famous. Home of elite equestrian clubs, five-star detox resorts… and fine, European-style chocolate.
If that last item came as a surprise to you, you’re not alone. Malibu is, after all, starlet territory, and as we all know the it-girls around these parts prefer to subsist on water, air and salad. Thus, it was through pure luck and coincidence that, on my way toward a non-candy related venture in Oxnard, I discovered the splendid K Chocolatier by Diane Kron.
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Categories: Candy,Candy Reviews,Chocolate Candy,Gourmet Candy,Hard Candy
For the longest time, my palate’s intelligence for toffee has resembled my career in high school geometry: I liked the class and got a B, but I was nowhere near as good in it as I was in English (chocolate) and Science (gummi). Toffee always seemed likable, but I never ate enough of the stuff to be an aficionado.
Toffee itself is a simple candy made by boiling sugar and mixing it with butter. Though most Americans identify toffee by the way it appears in Heath and Skor bars, it can take several forms. English toffee is a derivative that can be chewy, and honeycomb toffee is aerated, as found in Crunchie and Violet Crumble bars.
Toffee tends to be a flavor spread around by the British, resulting in it being more popular in Europe and its colonies rather than in the U.S. When I was living in New Zealand, I was exposed to a variety of toffees of all different textures and tastes, which were never readily available to me back in the States. This inundation of the sweet created my craving for toffee that still exists today.
When I was offered to write a piece on LalaBoodles’ Gourmet Toffee, I couldn’t turn down the offer. I had never sampled gourmet toffee, and the descriptions of what they produced were so enticing that I circled my mailbox for an entire week until they showed.
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