31 Days of Halloween #2

If your childhoods were/are anything like mine was, trick-or-treating was a really fun time.  You dress up in colorful costumes and get free candy.  It doesn't get much better than that!  I'm sure, also, that you got the usual candy fare: Snickers, M&Ms, Reese Peanut Butter Cups, Dum Dums, Almond Joys, etc.  But, I'd bet that you weren't getting Musk Sticks and Salsaghetti in your treat bags.  And I'll bet that when you were growing up, most of you hadn't even heard of them! (And you might not even have heard of them until now!)

My personal favorite; Botan Rice Candy :)

Day 2: The Strangest Candy on Earth

When I was a kid, my aunt when on a business trip to China.  I remember her returning with all sorts of treats, covered in strange letters that I couldn't read.  I remember a bag of cookies--that tasted like animal crackers--with a picture of Hello Kitty on the label.  To 10-year old me, who loved Hello Kitty, it was the coolest thing ever!

In this video, YouTube tag-team Rhett & Link talk about different strange and wonderful (and maybe not-so-wonderful) candies and snacks from around the world.  I've tried a few strange treats myself, including Botan Rice candy and Satsumaimo sweet-potato-and-caramel rice candy.  I also love mochi, and while I have tried both strawberry and taro, my favorite has to be the sweet taste of red bean.

Of course, today's video covers more than just Japanese candies.  But, my experience really does not.  So, apart from one or two candy bars from Ireland (Crunchie, Flake--those may or may not be the actual names...) most of the non-American candy I've sampled has been from Japan.

Rhett & Link are a personal favorite of mine when it comes to YouTube channels.  And their Good Mythical Morning Show is worth subscribing to.  If you like what you see here, good, because I'm sure they will be popping up again somewhere on this blog :)  I actually have plans to bring in another one of their videos for my 31 Days of Halloween Challenge, as well.

Candy Rant

The simple process of deciding what to have for dessert tonight lead to a small rant to my parents and brothers about false advertising in the world of chocolate.  Here it is......

Hershey's Air Delight; all air-- no delight.

Hershey's Air Delight is not really so much of a delight as Hershey's would make you think.  Sure, it's chocolate and it's Hershey's...so of course it's delightful.  But, basically, upon buying one, you receive a chocolate bar that's full of air pockets, so while it looks bigger than other Hershey's bars, it's the same amount of chocolate, if not less, since the space that's normally full of chocolate is full of air.  I don't know about you, but for me, that's not exactly delightful.  That's just a chocolate bar full of air.  I'm getting less chocolate for my money, and I fall for it because you put it in a fancy wrapper and call it delight.  Clever, Hershey's.....clever.

Fun Size?  Seems like false advertising to me!

The other candy trick that always mystifies me is the concept of Fun Size.  When the candy is so small that I can eat it in one or two bites, than that's not fun-sized.  That's a nice bite, but that's not fun.  I'd call those baby-sized.  Fun size candy bars are those giant ones that my neighbor used to give to brave trick-or-treaters who "survived" his "haunted garage".  That's a fun size.  That's a lot of fun!  A half-bite of candy is not fun.  That just whets my insatiable appetite for more chocolate.  A King-Sized candy bar my idea of fun!