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Monday, July 9, 2007

This Week in Candy - Why Ya Gotta Disturb Me?

I finally found a video on YouTube of the most disturbing Skittles commercial ever. And that’s saying a lot, because just about all of the Skittles/Starburst commercials are disturbing on some level. I love their inclusiveness (they embrace the disinfranchised and marginalized, as far as I can tell).

You might be old enough to recognize the fellow being milked ... that’s David Groh (not Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, silly!). David Groh is an actor who is best known as Rhoda Morgenstern’s husband, Joe Gerard. (The best part of that show was Julie Kavner who went on to become an integral part of The Simpsons.)

Anyway, back to the commercial at hand ... I guess the most disturbing part is that he has six teats. Which is really odd ... cows only have four and of course humans only have two. Pigs, I think, have six or maybe eight. Perhaps I’m reading too much into this. You’re either going to love it or hate it. (I’m just glad they don’t say that Skittles have David Groh milk in them ....)

Here’s the recap of the week in Candy Blog reviews:

Monday: Twix PB (6 out of 10)

Tuesday: Nestle Crunch Crisp (4 out of 10)

Thursday: Sour Patch Kids (7 out of 10)

Friday: The Candy Dump: Chocovic Jade, Gazillions, Fauchon Hazelnutties, Fruities & Fruitips (6 out of 10)

Weekly Average: 5.875 ... 44% chocolate content (if you count the Nestle Crunch Crisp as chocolate).

POSTED BY Cybele AT 9:37 am     CandyFun StuffNews

Monday, July 2, 2007

Last Week in Candy - New Stuff!

I was running a little slow over the weekend, so here’s TWIC a little late. I’ve got some fun links of candies I’m eager to try but haven’t found yet:

  • 3 Musketeers Mint! I knew they were coming, but apparently they’re out. I saw the wrapper on BradKent and a review on The Message Whore.
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  • I’m mixed about trying this one, the new Nestle Crunch Crisp bar, which William didn’t like but Patti thinks is the resurrection of the Bar None). I did find one, but I haven’t tried it yet. I’m hoping Patti is right!
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  • Of course there are always new KitKat bars, here’s a fantabulous roundup.
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  • If all this talk about chocolate just isn’t that fun for you, there’s a huge Summer Megaparty of Bubbalicious reviews at X-Entertainment.

  • POSTED BY Cybele AT 9:29 am     CandyFun StuffNews

    Friday, June 15, 2007

    This Week in Candy - That Candy Mountain Stuff

    This has been going around for a few months, it’s the Charlie the Unicorn and the Candy Mountain animation from FilmCow.

    My favorite part is that the Y in Candy is the lead singer in the musical number. There are a gazillion homages on YouTube as well, but you should probably see what my blogger-bud Sean Bonner and his friends did late one night.

    I think of myself as a candy cheerleader in many ways, that’s why there are more good reviews here than bad ones. But I have to respect other people’s least favorite candies ... especially when they dramatize it so well. The fellows at Handsome Donkey created a video of the 5 Worst Candies of All Time. (Found via Robyn at Serious Eats.)

    This one isn’t video and isn’t really very happy either. But poignant. It’s a photo essay of the old Brach’s candy factory in Chicago. It was closed and production was moved off to Mexico where sugar and production costs are cheaper.

    image

    Tom Regan who took the photos was kind enough to give me permission to post this little mosaic of them here, check out the rest of them on Flickr.

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 9:00 am     CandyFun StuffNews

    Friday, June 8, 2007

    This Week in Candy - That’s My Purple!

  • imageCadbury long ago staked out its claim to the color purple, Pantone 2685C. While you’re likely to see the color purple used in association with lots of marketing, when it comes to chocolate, Cadbury thinks Pantone 2685C is all theirs. (I’ve noticed that dark chocolate seems to be branded with some shade of purple no matter the brand, Hershey’s and M&Ms are both using purple.) Read more here.
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  • Karletta Moniz at The Art of Tasting Chocolate had the sweetest post this week that I absolutely identified with: Like Cab Fare for Chocolate.
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  • Steve (yes, Don’t Eat It Steve!) of The Sneeze no longer wants to know how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. Curious?
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  • I’ve never reviewed them but I love ‘em, they’re called BumbleBars - made from sesame seeds, honey and love or something. I Ate A Pie has the scoop.
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  • If you are what you eat, can you get chocolate milk from a cow that eats chocolate? There are some livestock farms that have been feeding their cattle & pigs junk food scraps. (Hey, it’s better than China where they feed them melamine.) I’m just wondering how much it would be to go load up the back of a pickup truck full of “candy bar scraps”.
  • Things I want to make (but probably never will):

     

  • Well Seasoned Cook has a recipe (and gorgeous photos) of Anise Turkish Delight. Just the thought of it sends me to the moon.
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  • This week’s Nutpatch Nougats reminded me that I’ve had a recipe bookmarked for 6 months from the Barmy Baker for a classic Nougat de Montelimar. Somehow I think that I’m more of an “order it on the internet” candy person. But you never know.
  • In Revival News:

     

  • Phood is back and so is Junk Food Blog!
  • Here’s the recap of Candy Blog reviews this week:

    Monday: KitKat Temptations: Hazelnut Praline & Coconut Eclair (5 out of 10)

    Tuesday: Werther’s Original Chewy Caramels (7 out of 10)

    Wednesday: Nutpatch Nougats (10 out of 10)

    Thursday: Tiny Size Chiclets (5 out of 10)

    Friday: Chocotelegram & Chocolate Dispatch (7 out of 10)

    Weekly Average: 6.8 ... 40% chocolate content.

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 11:48 am     CandyFun StuffNews

    Friday, June 1, 2007

    This Week in Candy - Inagural Edition

    It’s a new month, so here’s a new feature for you, just a little weekly recap not only of what I’ve covered here, but all the candy news that’s fit to link!

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  • Bitter Button is well on her way through candy project to illustrate important dates in candy. She’s putting the little drawings on tags noting the introduction of seminal candy products such as Milky Way, Almond Joy and Bit-o-Honey (bee pictured).
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  • Jelly Belly has introduced a new shopping option, the Jelly Belly Factory Outlet. Now you can order Belly Flops (those not quite perfect Jelly Belly) and what’s more enticing to me is the stuff called Hodge Podge, which is everything EXCEPT jelly beans. Gummies, licorice, jellies and maybe even some malted milk balls. At only $8.00 for 2.5 pounds, it sounds like a good deal to me ... unless I order it and it’s all cherry and peach thingies.
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  • Joanna at Sugar Savvy is starting off the summer with an authentically flavored Corn Lolly. Sounds like a fun treat to bring back from that vacation in Iowa.
  • I’ve been remiss in KitKat land (I’m stuck in Starburst/Skittle-ville), but Sera’s certainly picking up the slack with a big roundup of Limited Edition KitKat from Japan: Banana, Yubari Melon and Blood Orange.
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  • On the more picturesque side of things, you may have noticed the cool ad I found on Flickr. This is a photo set of old candy ads from a catalogue uploaded by newhousedesign.
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  • SugarHog is back from her trip to Finland, so look out for more from her.
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  • Terry at The Chocolate Review has been detailing all the versions of HubbaBubba he can get his hands on. Who knew there were that many? I bet his jaws really hurt.
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  • William at Chocolate Obsession seems to have crawled out from under his moving boxes and has started sharing again. (Of course he leads off with Bacon? Well, someone’s gotta cover it, cuz I don’t touch the stuff.)
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  • Finally, YumSugar is running a testimonial round-up right now: I Heart Candy!. Deadline is June 19th.
  • Here’s the recap of CandyBlog reviews this week:
    Tuesday: Storck Chocolate Riesen (9 out of 10)

    Wednesday: Butterfinger Stixx (6 out of 10)

    Thursday: Starburst Sours (New) (6 out of 10)

    Friday: Sour Extinguisher (5 out of 10)

    Weekly Average: 6.5 ... 50% chocolate content.

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 10:38 am     CandyFun StuffNews

    Friday, May 18, 2007

    Keep Our Chocolate (and Food) Real!

    imageThe FDA is considering a petition by chocolate manufacturers to change the very definition of chocolate, which would allow the stuff that we buy called Chocolate to contain alternative vegetable fats (tropical oils) instead of the natural cocoa butter that has always been a part of our chocolate bars.

    Follow my continuing coverage of the fight to Keep it Real here.

    Submit your comments directly to the FDA here - the deadline is now June 25th.

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 11:22 am     CandyFDANews

    Other things in the FDA Citizen’s Petition

    The Citizen’s Petition under consideration at the FDA (2007P-0085 - Adopt Regulations of General Applicability to all Food Standards that would Permit, within Stated Boundaries, Deviations from the Requirements of the Individual Food Standards of Identity) deals with more than just Chocolate. Chocolate is simply the rallying point. If you haven’t read up on it yet, you can view the brief on what’s covered here in Appendix C (PDF). Unfortunately the FDA has not released that file for public review, but it’s alluded to in the original Petition (PDF).

    Advanced Technology
    Yogurt - Use of reconstituted milk in yogurt
    Mayonnaise - Enzyme Modified Egg Yolk in place of regular egg yolk

    Change Product Appearance
    Stewed Tomatoes - different chunk sizes
    Macaroni - call non-standard pasta shapes macaroni
    Canned Pineapple - created definition for Whole Pineapple
    Bread - make small loaves of bread (less than ? pound)

    Alternative Procedures for Production
    Anti-Mycotic treatment instead of pasteurization
    Different Aging Periods for Cheese

    Some aren’t so bad. I don’t see why they can’t call a small loaf of bread a loaf and it’d be nice to be able to get whole pineapple in a can. But I don’t know what enzyme modified egg yolks are, and I don’t think I want them if I can have regular egg yolks. I don’t think I want anti-mycotic treatments in my milk products either, my only experience is using some sort of anti-mycotic additive to the paint on my bathroom walls, and though it was attractive and works well, I’m not going to drink it. And please, leave my yogurt alone.

    Submit your comments directly to the FDA here - the deadline is now June 25th.

    For more opinions from other chocolatiers, check out Amano and Best Regards.

    You can check out my appearance on KCRW’s Good Food this Saturday, May 19th (and online here).

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 11:12 am     CandyFDANews

    Monday, May 14, 2007

    Mars Candy Bars not Vegetarian-Friendly in UK

    The news broke this weekend that Mars quietly changed the recipe for some of their most popular candy bars in Europe which now makes them verboten for strict vegetarians.

    imageUp until now those vegetarians who eat dairy were able to enjoy Mars Bars, Twix, Milky Way and Bounty bars. Though they do contain milk products, there were no products in the ingredients derived from dead animals.

    Not so as of this month. Mars switched to a whey product that uses rennet. Rennet is an enzyme harvested from slaughtered calves’ stomachs.  It’s often used in the production of cheeses.

    I’m not a vegetarian though I don’t eat meat from mammals. However I will eat products that contain some animal by-products such as gelatin or rennet (cheese). I don’t really like the idea of eating boiled down animal joints, but I like my gummi bears an awful lot.

    The big question at the moment is how this revelation will effect the fight to Keep Chocolate Real with the FDA and the Grocery Manufacturers Association. The new proposal not only would allow the swapping of cocoa butter for vegetable fats, it would also allow the use of whey in chocolate products as well. Whey is a cheap filler. Though nutritionally it may improve the profile of a chocolate bar (it’s protein instead of sugar or fat) it can also be made, as mentioned above, using rennet. Wouldn’t it be sad if suddenly so many mass-manufactured chocolate bars were suddenly off limits to so many people?

    More commentary here.

    UPDATE: It looks like Mars underestimated their vegetarian clientelle and have reversed their previous decision and will now use whey made in an all vegetarian way. Masterfoods was innundated with 6,000 emails. It makes me wonder what else we could get companies to do if we just told them what we wanted or would accept. More news here.

    POSTED BY Cybele AT 7:45 am     CandyNews

    Page 7 of 30 pages ‹ First  < 5 6 7 8 9 >  Last ›

    Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.

     

     

     

     

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