Sweet Nothing

Today, on the ride to eastern Massachusetts from Wesleyan, my father and I had a conversation lasting about an hour about whether or not I had been to California more than once. The hope was that, by recalling memories from California, one would prove if I had been there once or twice. For instance, I know I was there for Christmas once, so the memories of hot tubbing outdoors suggested I had been more than once. In an attempt to organize my thoughts, I said "Well, what I remember from San Franciso was going to the bodega and getting Sour Punch Straws, and accidently dropping my bag of peanut butter M&Ms (the best kind) off a cable car."

That's just how I roll.

Addendum

By the way, guys, my Wes box is 4449. In case you ever find yourself in posession of candy that you don't want.

Sweet Nothings

1. Last night as I ate jalapeno poppers, I was approached by a good friend of mine who beseeched me to update teh Blog. Luckily, I had just done so, and was thus ahead of the curve. ANYWAY, let me know if you're reading! I have no reason to update if I don't think anyone's listening, and the more comments I get, the less I will feel like this is cyberwanking.

2. I have phases to my candy consumption: I am either on a chocolate kick, or a fruit-based candy kick. I think I've been wavering the past few days, but I'm pretty sure I'm back on chocolate. Hard. I'm usually on chocolate, which is why I haven't finished my one pound bag of Sour Patch Sour Apples. As I write this I realize that I'm shafting a small but important sector of the candy community. There are plenty of candies that aren't chocolate or fruit. Nut candies, sesame seed bars, peanut butter items, caramels, mints.

3. I might make some walnut caramels with my mom when I get home for Turkey break.

4. I have a dentist appointment on Wednesday. I KNOW I have at least one new cavity. My guess is between one and three. I should just start rapping now, there's going to be so much metal in my mouth.

Take 5

I have realized the problem with my writing a candy blog. I like candy too much. Even if I write that I wouldn't buy something again, I will still finish it, and probably, faced with the offer of getting one free, will take and eat it.

This, we come to the Take 5 bar. I had such high hopes. It had such good recommendations. As you may be able to read from the photo, a [Hersey's] Take 5 bar is made of a pretzel topped with caramel, peanuts, peanut butter and milk chocolate. There is also a second version that is dedicated more completely to peanut butter, but I have not tried it yet.

First bite: good caramel, but FLOURY! Can you believe it? The pretzel overpowered the whole shebang! The chocolate was present, but the peanut butter was almost unnoticeable. As I said, the caramel gained points for the bar by being less soft (i.e. Milky Way) and more chewy, with a bit of a snap (i.e. a Twirly Whirly, or a Milk Dud). So that was good. I will say that on the second half of the bar (they are two separate chunks, a la Almond Joys), the flavors balanced more equitably and I understood momentarily the vision. I may give this one a second chance, as it proved wily. For those unsure whether to take the plunge, comparisons, though loose, can be made to 100 Grand Bars (which are far superior), Nutrageous Bars (again, far superior) and Rollos.

Reese's Inside Out

The concept behind this candy is that it's an Reese's Cup turned inside out. The thought of that sounds pretty gross to me: waxy peanut-flavored outside with who-knows-what inside.

I should've just trusted the Hershey's people.

The cup does indeed look like an inside out Reese's cup, but the peanut-butter outside is not waxy at all. The chocolate middle is soft and truffle-like, but flavorless. Overall, the effect is that of eating the scooped-out insides of a ton of Reese's Pieces. That's not a complaint.

The Inside Out cup is definitely more for the peanut butter lover than those who like the combination. The flavors are "peanut butter" and "sweet". I would recommend this to fans of peanut butter, Reese's Pieces and peanut butter baking chips. My only complaint about these candies is that they are FAR richer than regular Reese's Cups, and for that reason I could only barely finish one. So be warned.

Sweet Nothings

1) 3 Musketeers bars, seriously. I've been eating a lot lately, because they're like the Halloween reject candy, but they're really growing on me. I wish there was a way to make the chocolate permanently soft, because it interferes with the mouth-feel of the nougat. The WHIPPED nougat.

2) I think Nerds are amazing. Not just because they taste good, but because you can buy them in a package of half-strawberry, half-grape. How many times have you had to buy a variety pack of candy, and been forced to eat that one flavor that you just don't like that much, i.e. lemon Mentos, lime Skittles, watermelon Runts? It suuuuuuuuuuucks. But Nerds, they make a pack of JUST the two BEST flavors ever. So good. So good.

Reese's Snackbarz

Behold, the Reese's Snackbarz. Though Snackbarz (Hershey's) come in a variety of flavors, I have selected the peanut butter and chocolate variety. Basically, they consist of three elements: chocolate, peanut butter, and rice-krispy treat, as evidenced below.


I find them delicious, largely because they remind me of a chocolate-peanut-butter-covered rice-krispy treat that my mother used to make us. She has since forgotten that this ever happened. Anyway, you may like these if you like: Reese's Stix, Milk and Cereal bars. They are not particularly like standard rice krispy treats, the adhesive is less marshmallowy and more corn syrupy.

Sweet Nothings for today

1) I think it is time for a lollipop resurgence among young people ages 18-25.

2) Payday is an extremely underrated candybar. Related candy bars: Baby Ruth, pecan logs.

3) I feel that 3 Musketeers bars are unfortunately niche-less, not unlike Kmart and pagers. I mean, they're good (and apparently lower in fat than your average candy bar - lots of air), but honestly, who wouldn't prefer a Milky Way?

It's alive!

I have finally begun my candy blog. You see, I like candy. A lot. You might even say that I love candy. I buy it in bulk, I buy it on the internet, I plan vacations around candy stores and I have four candy jars sitting on a shelf above my computer right now. I feel my expertise as a devout devourer could aid in candy-related decisions, not because I can tell you what's good and what isn't (that is, of course, personal), but because if you ask me "What's a twerp?" I can tell you that it's essentially a starburst stuck in a twizzler. Reference points people, that's what it's all about.

I also had a really good Three Musketeers bar the other day.