Monthly Archives: December 2006

Mentos

Leave a reply

‘Doo doo doo doo, doo-doo, do-Wah!’ It doesn’t matter what comes, fresh goes better in life, and Mentos is fresh and full of life. Nothing gets to you, staying fresh staying cool, with Mentos, fresh and full of life. Fresh goes better, Mentos freshness, fresh goes better with Mentos, fresh and full of life! Mentos, the freshmaker!

Unless you were hiding under a rock in the early 1990’s you KNOW that jingle. Yes candy kids, it is the ever popular but oh-so-annoying MENTO’S jingle. We all remember the campy commercials featuring a male or female protagonist who gets into some silly predicament. The guy who sat on a freshly painted park bench in his pristine black suit. Oh no! What could he do? Why not just pop a Mentos and see what happens? Holy cannolli! Lightening has just struck his brain and thanks to Mentos, a wonderful, glorious idea will now be played out before our very eyes. And we (the suckers) watch in awe and disbelief as said man in suit rolls around on the bench to produce what? Not a goopy, painted mess, but (you ready for it?) PINSTRIPES! He pinstriped his suit with the aid of the wet bench and of course, his magical little roll of Mentos! There were many more commercials like this, all revolving around one theme – Mentos helps you stay fresh and cool even through life’s toughest times.

I have a roll of Mentos in my hand right now and I am going to give this theory a shot. Mentos are little round candies that come in a foil and paper wrapped tube. They are either the signature mint or fruit flavor. I’ll be sampling the mint Mentos today. They feature a crisp, sugary shell that tastes like candy. They are easily broken and once inside, you come to a chewy, minty candy that is refreshing and surprisingly good. The candy cools your mouth and definitely masks the taste of the coffee I recently drank. One point for Mentos! Now, I have to be honest with you. While the candy is good, I don’t necessarily feel like my life is getting any easier. My troubles have not been washed away and the pile of paperwork on my desk that I have to get through has not magically disappeared. BUT, I do have a tube of Mentos to keep my mouth fresh all day, and you know what? That’s good enough!

M&M’S Amazing Bar (Peanut butter)

Leave a reply

 


There are some things in this world that make me utter, “that’s amazing!??? Like seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time, watching a baby giraffe walk right after it’s been born, the Chargers getting closer and closer to going to the Super Bowl and now, the M&M’S Amazing bar. Yep, the Sheriff is back to review a new (to me) candy bar.First off, I gotta say…this is one loaded candy bar! It’s a thick piece of milk chocolate with peanut butter sandwiched between the top and bottom layers. Plus, the good folks over at Mars decided to throw in a ton of mini M&M’S, truly making this an AMAZING candy bar!
 
The milk chocolate is great. Really great. It’s smooth, creamy, and sweet.  The peanut butter (creamy, not chunky) is smooth and has just the right salty quality to it. And the mini M&M’S are just as great as they always are. They are bright and colorful and really add some pizzazz to the candy bar. Little dots of red, green, blue, yellow, orange and purple grace the usually dull (but delectable) chocolate and their crisp sugar shells add a pleasing crunch to the candy. All in all, this bar is a taste and texture sensation that would be hard to beat. If you haven’t given this bar a try, you gotta. You just gotta! 

Sour Patch Kids

Leave a reply

 

Sour Patch Kids got their start as a candy called “Mars Men. They were created and named in the 1970’s during an era that was UFO crazy. The “kids back then were actually little space “men that featured the same recipe, but a different mold. The jelly candies were molded and then coated with the signature dusting of sour sugar crystals. They were supposed to feature an “out of this world tartness and were thought to be one of the most sour candies on the market at that time. In 1985, the company decided to change the name of the candy to Sour Patch Kids in an effort to tie them in to the popular doll of the time – Cabbage Patch Kids. The marketing ploy worked and Sour Patch Kids have been a hit in the US and Europe ever since.

Now I love Sour Patch Kids. I love to punish my mouth with their tartness. They are one of my all-time favorite sour candies. The package features red, green, yellow and orange candies. All are gummy candies that are sweet, with the exception of the super sour sugar coating on the outside. The red candies are cherry flavored, the green are lime, the yellow are lemon and the orange are, well, if you guessed orange flavored, you’re right! These little gummy treats are really tasty. They are great at the movies, at home, in the car or while you are bored at work. The shapes of the “kids are cute and add a little something to the candy itself. I don’t think that sour candies will ever go out of style – they’re just too yummy!

Toffifay

Leave a reply

 

When I was a little girl, I traveled out of the country with my parents. I only remember bits and pieces of the trip but I distinctly remember having Toffifay for the first time. We were in an airport and I whined my way into a treat. My mom bought a couple of packages of the candy and I was in candy heaven. Even now, Toffifay is one of my favorite unique candies.

In 1973, Storck combined the four most popular confectionery ingredients in the world and the unique result was Toffifay. Its popularity in Europe quickly spread, and today, it is loved by young and old alike in more than 60 countries. No wonder Toffifay is so popular with more and more people every day! There’s a lot to love in Toffifay: A chewy caramel cup filled with a crunchy hazelnut, smooth chocolaty filling, and a drop of rich chocolate on top. It’s a combination that’s truly satisfying. I love hazelnut and chocolate together – Nutella is one of my favorite treats. When you combine caramel with that, it becomes even better. The Toffifay is also different due mostly to the fact that the base of the candy is an edible “cup??? of caramel. A chocolate hazelnut cream is the next item and it cradles a whole hazelnut. The entire thing is topped off with a dollop of chocolate. There are so many flavors and textures in this candy, it’s hard to pick your favorite one. I choose ALL of the above!

Wonka Bottle Caps

Leave a reply

 

Wonka candies have made some of the best and most beloved candy ever to put us into a sugar coma. C’mon find me someone who doesn’t love nerds! But unfortunately not every crazy candy idea thought up by those mad geniuses can be a hit. For example, Wonka’s Bottle Caps. Who in their right mind thought that it would be a good idea to take chewable candy and fashion it after a soda bottle cap? What the heck? The candy itself reminds me of eating some kind of chewable children’s aspirin tablet or something. The terrible chalky consistency is one thing but the bad choice in flavors is another. Near as I can tell they put root beer, regular cola, and strawberry, and grape soda flavors in the little pack that I choked down for the sake of this blog.

At best, the flavoring only somewhat duplicated their real life counterparts. At first I really couldn’t put my finger on it, but it seemed like there was an odd aftertaste to each flavor. I think Wonka Candies was trying to duplicate the sensation of carbonation from a real soda with some kind of weird flavoring. That was a bad choice. The friendly purple packaging was definitely chosen to catch the wandering eyes of little children as they passed through the convenience store aisles. Strange little bottle cap people with googly eyes stand ready to lure the first impulsive buyer to try these funky tasting candies. My advice would be to look the other way because these bottle caps are nothing to flip your lid over.

Lemonheads

Leave a reply


 
Lemonheads are the equivalent of taking a fresh lemon, cutting it up into bite-size slices and jamming those incredibly sour pieces of fruit in your mouth and leaving it there. Nobody in his or her right mind would do such a thing right? Why would somebody subject himself or herself to such an overpowering sourness? I think the only logical explanation is that there is a little bit of sourpuss in all of us. The gumball sized shiny yellow piece of pucker has been a favorite of mine for as long as I can remember. I recall certain Halloweens where I would actually trade away my chocolate candy for a couple extra Lemonheads in my hand. What’s that? Six peanut butter cups for two Lemonheads? Hmmmmmmm…..sounds like a good deal to me!

The packaging itself is unmistakable. A clear pouch with a man whose head is shaped like, what else? A lemon. Not only is his face shaped like a lemon, but his bow-tie and nicely combed lemon hair makes Mr. Lemonhead seem like the type of nice fellow you would like to meet and shake hands with, right before devouring his cranium. After the initial sourness fades away in your mouth, the underlying layers of the Lemonhead turns to a sort of sugar coated jaw breaker that will keep a smile on your face for the rest of the day. There have always been sour candies out there but few rival the overall tastiness of the Lemonhead. So show me your pucker face and suck on a Lemonhead today, who knows, it might just make your day at work suck less.

 

Zero Bars

Leave a reply

If you could somehow meet St. Peter at the pearly gates, and take a little piece of heaven back to earth with you; you would be holding Hershey’s Zero candy bar. I can’t for the life of me figure out the meaning behind the name of this piece of candy. It definitely has nothing to do with the calories. And it is anything but a Zero in my book, on a scale of one to ten, it is definitely a ten. I had never actually tasted one of these wonderful treats, or even seen one before. I believe that may be what first attracted me to it. The first thing that caught my eye was the silver wrapper with the white text screaming ZERO across the front. As I unwrapped the candy bar I was surprised to find that it was smothered with a generous amount of white fudge on the outside, I knew right away this was not your typical candy bar. Inside the white fudge was a delicious combination of caramel, peanuts, and almond nougat. Brilliant!

The nearest thing I can think of to draw a comparison to this amazing snack would be a Snickers bar. Simply put this is a Snickers bar with the difference being the tasty white fudge outside. It may not seem like much but the white fudge makes a huge difference and gives the Zero bar it’s own unique taste. I can say without any hesitation that this is by far my favorite candy that I have had the pleasure of sampling thus far. Go out and try one for yourself, if you can find one that is.

Strawberry Pop Rocks

Leave a reply


 
Pop Rocks are awesome. They are little rocks that pop in your mouth! And they flavored them like strawberries! Who could possibly want more? One of the most pleasing things about these exploding little candies is that you put a handful in your mouth and let the little rocks serenade you in their own special sort of way. The sound reverberating through your nasal cavities and sinuses can be quite invigorating. Now contrary to popular belief, when mixing pop rocks and your average cola you will not die. But even if this urban legend were true, it would be quite worth it because the pop rocks themselves are so unbelievably delicious. The popping in my mouth!! It won’t stop!

One cannot overlook the entertainment value of this yummy candy as well. First you must find an un-expecting youngster, one who has never had the luxury of tasting pop rocks before. Then ask them to open their mouth, and without hesitation pour the entire bag of Pop rocks in!! Finally step back and watch in glee as the haphazard young person starts crying and flopping on the ground as they try to figure out what kind of craziness is going down inside their mouth. Who knew that a simple chemical reaction could bring so much joy to the world?

Nestle Buncha Crunch

Leave a reply

What would happen if you took a stick of dynamite and strapped it to one of the worlds favorite candy bars? Aside from the fact that you may blow a few fingers off and go partially deaf in one ear, you would probably end up with Nestles’ bite size candies known as Buncha Crunch. With all of the taste of the original Nestle crunch bar, these little crunchy snacks are almost more fun to enjoy. Try throwing a Crunch bar up in the air and catch it in your mouth. Not so easy right? You could also lose an eye doing something like that if your not careful. You would then be forever shamed by telling your grandchildren why you now where an eye patch. Uh…well Timmy, grandpa was in a knife fight one dark and stormy evening while defending the honor of his lady friend in Bangkok. You would have to think of something just as entertaining to keep your manhood intact. Could you imagine the ridicule you would have to endure if you told them you were a cyclops because of a freak chocolate accident? Let’s not even go there.

Safety hazards aside these tasty morsels of crunchy chocolate are not to be taken lightly. They are a perfect snack to sneak in to a theatre but could also double as a getaway diversion by laying them on the floor behind you causing the theatre attendants to slip while they chase you down to check your tickets. That will teach that greasy faced teenager to try and be a movie theatre vigilante. Sorry kid, you have seen one to many action movies for your own good. The only downside being that it will undoubtedly be the last time you can show your face in that theatre. It really is tough to go wrong when you put chocolate and crispy rice together, Nestle has once again scored with their new take on an old favorite.

Candy from the Future (4th Installment)

Leave a reply

Candy of the Month: Life Savers Fruit Tarts

Flavors:

Tin #1 (Watermelon, Cherry Lemonade, Mandarin Lemonade)

Tin #2 (Grape Berry, Strawberry Watermelon, Green Apple)

Welcome back to the “Candy of the Future??? segment, inviting you to check out something new from our friends Life Savors. They have this new candy called “Fruit Tarts???. Peep this, they come in this fancy-shmancy little shiny tin container. First of all, the container is about the same size as a hockey puck, but the way you open it is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. What you do to open this thing is push on the center of the top of the tin and SHA-ZAM! You’ve opened the alien spaceship. Inside are little Fruit Tarts. A little smaller than the original but the same idea.

And now we do the taste test-BUT-before we simply dive in like uncivilized cavemen, let’s take a look at the flavors we are about to experience. Tin #1 (as mentioned above) possesses Watermelon, Cherry Lemonade and Mandarin Lemonade.

Now we may indulge. But chronologically starting with Watermelon…alright kids off we go…pretty tasty…pretty sweet…don’t crunch into it, savor that sugar in your mouth…work it around…let all of your tongue have a chance to experience the flavor…almost done now…okay break off that last little bit…chew it up-WOW! I need some water to clean the palette…be right back…okay I’m back. So there you go. I give it a pretty good rating. It deserves a 6. Now we are about the try the Cherry Lemonade…much different…very limey…there’s the lemonade…where’s the cherry?…maybe it’s in the bite…okay crunch away…there’s the cherry! Hidden behind the lemonade. Don’t be afraid cherry you can come out and play. So there’s number two. I like it much better than the first.

(Cleanse the palette)

And now number three, Mandarin Orange…very orange…this is sweet…hits you in the back of your jaw in that sweet spot-OH-use the front of your tongue and pin it up against the roof of your mouth and let the flavor flow…by far my favorite of the three…and crunch…okay, give it up for Mandarin Orange for that wonderful taste. So there you have it. Watermelon, Cherry Lemonade & Mandarin Orange all wrapped up in an orange-yellow hockey puck-alien ship-tin.

Alright kiddies, now for Tin #2. Here is a purple and pink tin containing the flavors Grape Berry, Strawberry Watermelon & Green Apple. And in that order we shall experience the flavorful that is the Savorier of life. Grape Berry…very grape…but no berry to be found, similar to cherry missing in lemonade…it’s good, very different from the last three…and crunch…and cleanse the palette…still got a little extra…cleanse and repeat if necessary to give these guys the fair attention they deserve, and don’t try another until you’ve rinsed your mouth free of the previous flavor.

Strawberry Watermelon…hot diggity! Two flavors at once for the first time! This is now my favorite beating out Mandarin Orange…and crunch…yeah this is my favorite…and cleanse. Last one kiddies. Lets do this…Green Apple…very sour…very apple…nothing new but pretty darn good overall.

So there you have it kids, the “Life Savors Fruit Tarts??? play-by-play, giving the Life Savors Fruit Tarts my seal of approval. These should be hitting shelfs January 2007, so look for those two little hockey puck tins of mouth watering enjoyment. And remember, brush your teeth!