candy

[Agathafrye]

It's been quiet in here, so I'm going to ask a question that I know everyone will have an opinion on. So... what's your favorite candy? What candy sucks ass? Discuss.

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

York Peppermint Patties rule! Especially right now, when you can get York Peppermint Batties:

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[Emmett]

I was just thinking about this a few days ago, but in relation to the corner stores of my youth.

Charleston Chew!

[A.J.]

I love pretty much anything gummy-bears, peaches, fighter jets, penguins. Yes, I said penguins. Yum.

On the opposite end of the texture spectrum, I LURVE Jordon Almonds as well.

Hate? Black licorice. Yick.

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

I don't like sticky candy that feels like it's going to pull my fillings out. No gummi for me!

[Merwyn]

Gummis - regular and sour - jellybeans - spice drops - red AND black licorice - horehounds - and last week I ate a scorpion that was imbedded in a sucker.

I can do without chocolate. I don't hate chocolate, but once I eat a smidge my body goes into some kind of glycaemia shutdown and I get lethargic (that, along with having a feeling where I couldn't swallow another single chocolate sprinkle.)

[Agathafrye]

I'll do my current top ten...

good dark chocolate
black licorice (particularly Panda licorice)
sesame candy
chewy ginger candy
Andes Candies
peanut butter cups
peanut brittle
Sour Patch kids
Jolly Rancher watermelon
Dots tied with gummi bears (I know, totally cheating)

Red licorice isn't licorice, I say to you! Also, white chocolate is not chocolate. Boo on white chocolate.

I need to go look at a Peppermint Batty now because my computer can't see Jackie's picture...

[Agathafrye]

My daughter loves Charleston Chews, for the record.

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

I know! I could see it last night, but now it's a red x. What happened???

[Agathafrye]

I can only find wrapped pictures! I might have to go buy one now.

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

They look like a blobby bat signal, Agathafrye:

[Agathafrye]

Nice picture! Do they come with a projector?

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

Of course! And apparently the projector works without even needing to be plugged in!

[Agathafrye]

That is truly bat-magical.

[Agathafrye]

You know what other candies are good? Mary Janes and Bit-O-Honeys. I also love Coffee Crisps, Violet Crumbles, and Aeros, which are found more readily in Canada and England.

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

I've never heard of Mary Janes, Agathafrye. I do love Bit-O-Honeys, despite their stickiness.

Hey, do you need a ride tonight?

[Agathafrye]

Naw. I might take a ride home, though. Thanks for asking!

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

Sure! See you there.

[Agathafrye]

Candy update: has anyone ever had the white grapefruit slices that they sell in bulk at Top Foods? YUM. My new favorite candy. Also, how about that Top Foods bulk candy section?

[A.J.]

I used to love the Top bulk foods, until they revamped and raised all the prices. Now, the candy up front in regular bags is usually cheaper than the bulk by the pound, which defeats the whole purpose if you ask me. Not that that stops me from buying those gummy peaches every once in a while...those are crack. I haven't tried the grapefruit-I can only handle one candy fruit obsession at a time. :>

[Rachael]

Wow, I've never seen this thread before, but it's right up my alley! Particularly since I'm in the midst of dieting and denying myself all candy goods - I think I should torture myself a little with a few comments about yummy and icky candy.

Yum! Cinnamon bears. Cinnamon saltwater taffy. Heath Bars. Plain ol' chocolate - Hershey's or good ol' dark chocolate of any variety. Carmel.

Ick! Black licorice. Sen-Sens. Green, yellow and orange Skittles. Those orbs of hard candy - not so much because of the flavor, but more because I distinctly remember several times as a kid choking on them as they jammed themselves into my windpipe. (You'd think that'd stop me? No.)

Random Comments: What about Magic Shell? There's something so great about that stuff! And yet, it totally is also a scary, plastic-tasting product. But it's got so much nostalgia that I still love it.

I made some candied orange peels recently that were super yummy. What a great and simple thing to do with peels! They were quite tasty.

[Agathafrye]

Alex, the bulk candy prices did go up, you're right! I thought it seemed kind of expensive the last time I went there. The overall variety and the train traveling around the top of the section almost make up for it, though.

Orange peels candied with chocolate are called orangettes, which is also the name of one of my favorite food blogs: orangette.blogspot.com

Licorice seems to be a love or hate kinda thing for people. I love black licorice, personally, and the stronger the better.

You know what's good? Heath Bars with vanilla ice cream, or Heath Bar pie/cake. A Heath Bar alone is too much for me, but as a crushed element of something else, you can't go wrong.

What's a Sen-Sen?

I also choked on a hard candy, and my mom still tells the story of sticking her finger down my throat and hooking the candy out as I turned blue. I was maybe one at the time. I wonder how many other kids in the world have choked on hard candies before the age of 5?

[Agathafrye]

Another candy update: I went to a candy store in Ocean Shores last week that was awesome. Almost all of the candy was bulk, and the owners of this store were the most enthusiastic candy connoisseurs that I have ever encountered. They encourage you to taste stuff, and there is a palpable feeling of candy excitement in the store. Plus, they had the licorice pipes that my grandpa used to give me when I was a youngun. Next time you're in Ocean Shores, check the store out. Buddy & Howie's Old Fashioned Sweet Shoppe. Hells yes.

[Agathafrye]

Some of the candy zines I've enjoyed inspired me to make my own very small candy zine. I'll make copies for anyone who's interested and bring them to book group. Best candy zines: Sugar Needle and Funwater Awesome #3, which contains an exhaustive review of candy sources in the Tumwater area.

[Agathafrye]

Also, still don't know what Sen Sens are.

[Maura]

Sen Sens are very small, hard, bitter licorice candy. But to call them candy may be a misnomer. I think they are meant to be medicinal. They are about the size of double grain of rice.
http://www.oldtimecandy.com/sen.htm

[Agathafrye]

I like the way you described the size, Maura. I might need to try those the next time I come across them.

[Raina]

On the subject of candy: I second Meghan's recommend of the book Candyfreak by Steve Almond.

On the subject of Funwater Awesome: I thoroughly recommend the zine, and I'm so stoked to hear that Zach finally came out with volume 3!!! Need to email him and get it...

[Agathafrye]

3 AND 4, Raina. He released them at the same time, that scoundrel. There's a chance he'll be coming to book club this week. Also- you can buy his zines through Ms. Valerie Park distro (or, check them out at the library and up my circ stats)...
http://msvaleriepark.blogspot.com/

[Raina]

SQUEEEE!!!

[Brian]

British sweets were the best. Like Sherbet Fountains. A Sherbet Fountain is a tube full of powder--of which the main ingredients are sugar, flour, corn starch, and baking soda. You suck up or dip into the concoction with a licorice straw. It's perfectly horrible. Also, Parma Violets, which taste a bit like licking a grandmother.

[Agathafrye]

Sherbet Fountains sound like Lik'M'Aid, which always sounded kind of dirty to me. Except, even more disgustingly, you lick a popsicle stick-like candy, then dip it into the powder, and then lick it off. Over and over. Yuck. How do you know what licking a grandmother is like?

[Brian]

Mmm, fun dip. Used to eat those all the time in high school. Sherbet Fountains aren't nearly as sweet. The main appeal is the way the sodium bicarbonate and tartaric/citric acid makes it all fizzy in your mouth. The same powdery substance in the center of a sherbet lemon (of Harry Potter fame).

[Kate]

Agathafrye and Brian, Did you read The Tin Drum? Do you remember the role of fizzy candy in that book? I'd say not dirty but definitely erotic!

[Meesh]

No discussion of candy would be complete without a mention of Pynchon's Disgusting English Candy Drill from Gravity's Rainbow- here's a link to that excerpt, enjoy:

http://foner.www.media.mit.edu/people...

[Agathafrye]

Kate, never read the Tin Drum, but it's been on my list forever. Meesh, that excerpt is bizarre! It makes me want to attempt to replicate all of those items. And, read Gravity's Rainbow, which I can't say I've ever really wanted to read before. We were talking about salty candies last night at our book group...

[Kate]

Meesh, that was GREAT. I gasped, I laughed, I thought of my mother who is from England. I will have to read Gravity's Rainbow.

[Agathafrye]

I'm participating in a candy exchange right now, and I'm making a little zine to go along with it. I'm going to include the story of my recent experience making marshmallows, which was awful and resulted in me ruining my fairly new candy thermometer and also destroying my kitchen by splattering sticky sugar mayhem everywhere. Just wanted to share...