a short inquiry into local candies
Some might say that when bacteria are lurking in one's sinuses making one's life miserable, it's not the time to feed them additional sugar. Those people (1) are not as miserable as I and (2) probably didn't just get second-tier antibiotics to help kill this thing.
My interest in local confections was seeded by growing up in Aplets and Cotlets territory* with occasional treats of Mountain Bars** and abetted by Steve Almond's fine book of candy Americana, Candyfreak. Somehow, despite seeing local candy now and then around here, I hadn't gotten around to trying any. In my last sickie trip to the Market Basket, though, I had to get enough stuff that I couldn't go through the express lane as usual, and what did I see in the impulse rack but two different kinds of unfamiliar candy bar?
Milk Chocolate Mallo Cup
Whipped Creme Center
Boyer Candy Co. (Altoona, PA)
Although this was the first time I had seen this candy, it looked very much as if it had been there since 1974, as a delicate brown piece of cellophane curling at the edges clung to its retro wrapper. Well, I couldn't very well turn that down.
To the eye, each paper cup is the same diameter as a Reese's cup, but they're definitely deeper. Their chocolate coating is blobby and uneven, but shows some of the same appealing, delicate corrugated edge as a Reese's. The first one I pulled out had leaked "creme" onto the wrapper, though, and was difficult to extract.
I found tiny bits of something in the chocolate, texturally much like crushed Kit Kat cookie. Presumably this is the coconut from the ingredients list. I am not a connoisseur of fluff, but I would say the cups contained ordinary marshmallow fluff.
The bottoms were paper-thin and the fillings well off center -- I'm not seeing great production values here, Boyer. Overall, though, the flavor was good, nice chocolate and more satisfying than expected.
Sky Bar
Necco (New England Confectionery Company, Revere, MA)
This one I had seen before, but been dubious enough not to ever pick up. It's a Hersheyish chocolate coating, neatly pressed into four sections with ridged semicircular designs, which I tasted separately.
Caramel: good, thick and not runny
Vanilla: fondant scanty and gooey, more vanilla than a creme egg but not good
Peanut: very good, like the caramel but with peanut flavor, well matched with the chocolate
Fudge: the same as caramel and peanut but chocolate-flavored, which I tend to think is inherently gross (cheap hot fudge sauce, ugh), but works in this setting
I might get this again if all the sections were peanut, but as a novelty it held its own even with the inclusion of the subpar vanilla section.
I declare this experiment a success and will keep my eyes open for more interesting local candies in the future.
* My verdict: Ew, nuts. These are basically Americanized Turkish delight, jellied soft blocks of fruit flavors. The nut-free candies from the same company are much better in my opinion. Also, no, apricots are not called "cots" "locally".
** Chocolate mixed with chopped peanuts, creating a rocky texture, surrounding a flavored fondant center. The cherry kind is best.
This entry was originally posted at http://jinian.dreamwidth.org/671019.html. Respond wherever you like.
My interest in local confections was seeded by growing up in Aplets and Cotlets territory* with occasional treats of Mountain Bars** and abetted by Steve Almond's fine book of candy Americana, Candyfreak. Somehow, despite seeing local candy now and then around here, I hadn't gotten around to trying any. In my last sickie trip to the Market Basket, though, I had to get enough stuff that I couldn't go through the express lane as usual, and what did I see in the impulse rack but two different kinds of unfamiliar candy bar?
Milk Chocolate Mallo Cup
Whipped Creme Center
Boyer Candy Co. (Altoona, PA)
Although this was the first time I had seen this candy, it looked very much as if it had been there since 1974, as a delicate brown piece of cellophane curling at the edges clung to its retro wrapper. Well, I couldn't very well turn that down.
To the eye, each paper cup is the same diameter as a Reese's cup, but they're definitely deeper. Their chocolate coating is blobby and uneven, but shows some of the same appealing, delicate corrugated edge as a Reese's. The first one I pulled out had leaked "creme" onto the wrapper, though, and was difficult to extract.
I found tiny bits of something in the chocolate, texturally much like crushed Kit Kat cookie. Presumably this is the coconut from the ingredients list. I am not a connoisseur of fluff, but I would say the cups contained ordinary marshmallow fluff.
The bottoms were paper-thin and the fillings well off center -- I'm not seeing great production values here, Boyer. Overall, though, the flavor was good, nice chocolate and more satisfying than expected.
Sky Bar
Necco (New England Confectionery Company, Revere, MA)
This one I had seen before, but been dubious enough not to ever pick up. It's a Hersheyish chocolate coating, neatly pressed into four sections with ridged semicircular designs, which I tasted separately.
Caramel: good, thick and not runny
Vanilla: fondant scanty and gooey, more vanilla than a creme egg but not good
Peanut: very good, like the caramel but with peanut flavor, well matched with the chocolate
Fudge: the same as caramel and peanut but chocolate-flavored, which I tend to think is inherently gross (cheap hot fudge sauce, ugh), but works in this setting
I might get this again if all the sections were peanut, but as a novelty it held its own even with the inclusion of the subpar vanilla section.
I declare this experiment a success and will keep my eyes open for more interesting local candies in the future.
* My verdict: Ew, nuts. These are basically Americanized Turkish delight, jellied soft blocks of fruit flavors. The nut-free candies from the same company are much better in my opinion. Also, no, apricots are not called "cots" "locally".
** Chocolate mixed with chopped peanuts, creating a rocky texture, surrounding a flavored fondant center. The cherry kind is best.
This entry was originally posted at http://jinian.dreamwidth.org/671019.html. Respond wherever you like.