Monday, October 31, 2005
See’s ScotchmallowName: Scotchmallow I’ve mentioned the See’s Scotchmallow a few times as being the epitome of fine marshmallowyness. So I figured I should probably detail it for folks who have never had one. First, there are two kinds. There’s the one you can buy pre-packaged like a candy bar, pictured above. It’s 1.5 ounces and clocking in at 113 calories per ounce, for a chocolate treat, it’s pretty low on the calories per ounce. I’ll credit the marshmallow for that. The second kind is the little round one that you can get at the counter by the piece or in the mixed boxes (comes in both the standard mix and the nuts & chews). Not only is it smaller, but it is also cloaked in semi-sweet chocolate, not milk chocolate as the bar is. Second, See’s makes one of the best caramels available in stores. What is it about them? I think it’s that they actually have carmelized sugar in them. Caramels are rather time consuming and though the ingredients are simple (sugar, corn syrup, milk and butter), they need to be boiled slowly and brought up to temperature. If you don’t boil it long enough or to the right temp, you end up with gooey caramel without much flavor. If you go too long, you get toffee (which is good in its own right). Basically, a good caramel is a chewy toffee. The marshmallow though, is what makes this candy special. And the best thing about the marshmallow is that it has a flavor. It’s not just foamy, gelatinized sugar and egg whites. It has a wonderfully rounded flavor of honey in it which sets off the toasty taste of the caramel and sweet creaminess of the chocolate. Often I’ll eat off the chocolate and caramel and just be left with a honey of a marshmallow heap. Ahhhhh! (I wish the just sold the marshmallows, maybe they have a version of a Peep I should look out for at Easter.) Third, they’re great quality. They use real ingredients (except for vanillin) and they’re not that expensive. I prefer See’s far and away over Godiva as boxed chocolates from the mall go. Though they’re antiseptic stores, which resemble the school nurse’s office more than a candy shop, they’re a plain old hoot. And when you go into the store, whether you buy something or not, they give you a free sample. (I had a raspberry truffle when I was there on Saturday.) Stores are found only in the West and Midwest, but you can always mail order. Rating - 9 out of 10 Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:39 pm Candy • Review • See's • Caramel • Chocolate • Marshmallow • 9-Yummy • United States • |
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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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Oh my goodness, you just made me very, very hungry. And I have no See’s for millions of miles! This blog can be devastating.. Oh - I did get ahold of some more of the Swedish Horses with Gingerbread truffle - I’ll be happy to share some with you! Just need your address, and I’ll make sure to include some other scary Swedish treats.
I’ve been reading your blog (and drooling over all these amazing new candies) for a while now, but it took a Scotchmallow to get me to comment! I’m from your neck of the woods (La CaƱada) but have been living in Boston for a few years, and I miss See’s SO much. The good news is that their candy ships really well! My grandparents sent me a box of Scotchmallows, Bordeaux, and dark raisins in the middle of summer and they arrived in perfect shape. Also, I would highly recommend the Scotch Kisses if you haven’t already tried those. They’re basically a big chunk of marshmallow inside a glob of caramel, wrapped in waxed paper.
That looks so yummy! I would definitely eat each component seperately: first the chocolate, then either the caramel or marshmallow, and lastly whatever remained. But that’s just the school of candy eating that I’m from. I sort my jelly beans by color and have all other manner of ingrained candy eating habits
these candy are nasty the obly ones i like is the whistle pops can u go to my site then send some to my school my school name is on my site because none of the stores around here sell those pops and i only tasted it once.
Found this entry while searching for something else but I felt compelled to comment.
On most accounts you’re very much correct. Godiva is a vastly inferior cheap imitation of what candy should be. See’s has the best caramel and their peanut brittle (not mentioned) has a cult following second to none. See’s candy ships very well as you mentioned.
However, you reviewed the wrong candy. The Scotchmallow bars are like a red headed stepchild of the true smaller round and vastly superior Scotchmallows. It’s the darker chocolate that makes the candy so delectable.
Now if you want to try what I consider the absolute best See’s candy you’ll want to try their Kona Mocha. A wonderful mocha chocolate core surrounded by white chocolate and topped with toasted coconut flakes. Unfortunately, they are only available in store and not online.
Rounding out the top three See’s candies would be their Apricot Delight. It has an apricot buttercream center coated with white chocolate impregnated with toasted coconut flakes. It is available online and in store. If there is a bad apricot harvest as there have been on several occasions See’s stops offering this candy rather than use second grade fruit. That says a lot about the quality standards of the See’s company.
One final comment. If you’re a See’s fanatic, buy their gift certificates. Their gift certificates are based on weight and not dollar amount. It’s a cheap hedge against inflation. Even as the price of a pound of See’s candy has risen over the years those old gift certificates purchased for $5 or $6 per pound will still buy you a pound of candy even though the price has more than doubled.
Ian - I agree that the dark chocolate one is better than the milk. That’s been mentioned in other reviews here, I’m sorry I didn’t include it here.
When choosing what to review, I generally choose “candy bars” not boxed chocolates. However, as candyblog has grown over the past year, I’ve branched out and have been reviewing more chocolatiers.
Also, there is another blog, SugarSavvy that has taken up reviewing every piece of candy made by See’s, so I didn’t want to duplicate.
Excellent tip on the gift certificates!
These descriptions were…delectable. There’s no other words (actually, there are a lot of words. From sumptuous to yum.)
And knowing how caramel is made helps with more things than one.
I know I commented already, but I felt the need to share that your review made me SO HUNGRY I went to See’s (I had been there once before, but didn’t buy anything) to buy one little Scotchmallow. Just to see.
They were out of the little ones, so I bought two Scotchmallow bars and two Scoth kisses. They were exactly as you described them. They’re all gone, and I happen to be a very slow eater (plus I’m just as obsessive-compulsive as Samantha—no offense to Samantha: it’s a good thing.) I’m craving them like mad, but my candy budget for November is officially maxed-out. (I bought some Kona Mocha for my mom.)
This is my favorite candy of all time (the little one’s, I’ve not had the candy bar)
You absolutely must try See’s Apple pie truffle and the California brittle. Exquisite.
sees candy is like a candy wonderland its soo good!
yummmmmmmy see’s. nothing like it. each one is an adventure in a box. Godiva is all packaging and no candy taste.
Costco sells See’s gift certificates at a savings.
Wow, did we discover candy heaven. Of all places, it’s inside an indoor swap meet. (Fantastic Swap Meet) the business is called Positively Nutz. Their handmade chocolate creations are unbelievable. This guy and his wife have made up everything from gooey caramel cashew clusters to the “Bomb” that they call Chunkies. Oh Boy, so much caramel, nuts, different chocolates and many surprises. We could spend an hour just looking at their yummy display case. If in Vegas, please give them a try.
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