Any way you break it (ha!), Passover is a Candy Addict’s worst nightmare. A vast majority of candy these days is simply not kosher for Passover, largely because it is sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. Most Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jews do not allow the consumption of corn or legumes during the holiday, so corn syrup sweetened stuff is a no-go zone. Most Sephardic (North African/Middle Eastern/Spanish) Jews do allow legumes and corn, but even those who don’t mind the corn syrup have to bid adieu to their favorite classic treats – anything with crisp wafers (see ya, Kit Kat), malt (buh-bye Whoppers), crispy rice bits (No Crunch bar for you!)
Traditional Passover candies tend to be those that will not offend anyone in either the legumes or no-legumes camp. They’re mainly a collection of Joyva Ring Jells, those hideous pink jelly rings covered in dark mockolate or those completely horrible cherries floating in cough syrup coated with mockolate. Not all kosher candy is bad, it’s just that Passover candy in particular is mostly a disaster. Over these eight days, my sugar highs tend to be the result of a few too many (handfuls of) home made meringues.
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