Sometimes, we like to mix it up at Candy Addict and today is one of those occasions! It’s Haiku candy review time! You may have read some of our past Haiku reviews. They were well received so we’re doing it again! Today, we’ll be reviewing Sulpice Chocolat’s milk and dark chocolate bars. Each designer bar is hand-painted and combines a medley of chocolate, herbs, and spices. Without further ado…
We love to hear from our readers, so we jump at the chance to help out a fellow Candy Addict. We received an email from Al who was curious about a certain candy from his past and wondered if we knew anything about it. Well, of course we all know that curiosity is a cat killer and, in addition to candy, we like cats, too. So we’re saving the kitties and posting Al’s plea here to see if anyone can help.
When I was a kid in the 50′s, my parents bought this candy in boxes, about 12″ long x 1.5″ X 1.5″. The top of the box had a clear cellophane window through which you could see the edges of the colored candies inside. The candy was in the form of a disk, about 1.25″ in diameter and very thin, maybe 0.125″. The top of the disk was smooth and the edge curved down to the back which was ribbed. The disks were easily broken as the make-up must have been almost pure crystallized sugar. The box had about 5 colors and flavors ranging from orange (orange), to yellow (lemon), to green (wintergreen?) etc. etc.
Does anyone else remember this candy? Let us know!
I’m not a stranger to “healthy” candy, nor are my views on it anything but direct: there really isn’t such a thing. So if you’re looking for a candy that’s going to be something I recommend you add to your diet, you can stop reading now.
That said, I do believe there is a difference between candy and candy that is better for you. And with childhood obesity on the rise, more and more parents are looking for these sorts of confectionery avenues. Kids are always going to want to eat sweets, so you might as well buy them the ones that are not as hard on their bodies.
Recently, I have reviewed products from companies that share this vision for candy, namely from Surf Sweets and BrightSpot, so it’s not all that surprising to hear of more and more companies adopting this mantra. The latest comes from Yummy Earth, who proudly boast a tagline that their candy is “The best stuff on earth.†Hmm… Snapple anyone?
The idea for this company is steeped in genuine love of both candy and children; the founders are two fathers who teamed up develop a candy for their children that didn’t rely on all the additives, preservatives, etc. that are common in most American candy.
The compressed dextrose candy has long been a staple item of childhood candy diets. Never heard of it? You probably know it better as SweeTarts, Runts, and dozens more – that hard, yet powdery, melt-in-your mouth candy with the tangy flavor and slight cooling effect.
With Pucker Pieces Gourmet Candy Tarts, Creative Concepts Inc. (best known for its Pucker Powder powdered candy dispensers) seems to be trying to do for the compressed dextrose candy what Jelly Belly did for the jelly bean: use unique flavors and creative marketing to “gourmet-ify†it, transforming it into something that will appeal to adults as well as kids. Like Jelly Bellies, Pucker Pieces are displayed in bulk dispensers, allowing for the creation of custom flavor mixes.
If you know how compressed dextrose candies are made, it seems like a total no-brainer for a company that specializes in a powdered dextrose candy like Pucker Powder to move to hard tabs: just like the name implies, a powder made from dextrose (a type of sugar) and other ingredients is pressed into molds at super-high pressure, forming it into hard, yet still powdery, candy treats. (Pills are made the same way.) It seems like it would be a very simple matter to press straight-up Pucker Powder (or something very similar) into a more portable, less messy version of Creative Concepts’ flagship product.
Chews Better has the following motto appearing on its packages and website: “The candy healthy people chews!†What? Aside from the hopeful claim about which candy healthy people chew, it sure looks like a grammatical boner. But have I misread the motto? Perhaps the motto’s last word isn’t a mis-conjugated verb, but a plural noun? If that’s so, then we’d have to read “candy healthy people†as an adjectival phrase to modify those “chews.†Does that work? What kind of chews would “candy healthy people†chews be? Beats the hell out of me. Thus I return to grammar police hypothesis number one: Chews Better has a screwed up motto. If they can’t edit, can they make candy?
Chews Better sent me two flavors: Pomegranate Blueberry Acai, and Strawberry Lemonade. And as the motto tried to communicate, these candies are meant to be healthy for you. They’re described as “All-Natural Chewy Candies with Vitamins and Fiber.†Surely this is making you nervous about the taste, right? Well, keep your beanie on straight.
Chews Better Pomegranate Blueberry Acai is a small, 26g (.9 oz) package. Each has five individually wrapped candies, and this flavor has 100% Vitamin C, 50% Vitamins B3, B5, B6, and B12, 3g of Fiber, and only 100 calories. Each chew is wrapped in silver and looks from the outside like a beef bullion cube. But it smells like a strong fruit medley upon unwrapping, and my nose finds this promising. Time for a bite.
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