Changes at Sugar Savvy
A few months back, we made a radical change at Well Fed. Instead of updating our 12+ individual sites on the network, all new content is going on our main site, www.wellfed.net. So if you love all things Sugar Savvy, fear not. You can still find updated, fresh content from our Sugar Savvy folks on the main site. See you there!
Writers Wanted
Do you have a raging sweet tooth?
Have you been known to drive considerable distances to track down Limited Edition candies that you heard about?
Do you raid your kids’ Trick-or-Treat bags and Easter baskets
to find new favorites?
Do you love discovering a new sugary treat or reminiscing
about an old favorite?
Then we’d love to have you join the Sugar Savvy team! Interested in writing for us? Drop Cate a line at info@wellfed.net.
Life Savers Island Fruits
I often have a love/hate relationship with gummis. It really boils down to the fact that I’m really picky about them. My main complaint is that the texture often isn’t chewy enough to my liking and the flavors are too similar and bland for me to really enjoy them. There’s some that I do return to as they’re better than most, but often I find I am disappointed with gummi candy.
That being said, I’m a big fan of Lifesavers and I remember vividly the commercials in the early 1990s when the first Lifesavers gummis were released on the market. I begged my parents to let me try them, and when they finally caved in and let me have them, I felt underwhelmed by the flavors. I was big into eating the rolls of the hard candy versions back then, and the flavor in the gummis were nowhere near as strong. I finished my package and never asked my parents for them again.
Theobroma Chocolat: Dark and Pineapple
I love discovering chocolate I’ve never seen before, so I was very excited to notice these strangely shaped bars in an almost hidden box in the shelf of a grocery store I rarely visit. Sounds like a perfect setup for finding a mysterious chocolate, doesn’t it? It’s a company from Toronto called Theobroma Chocolat (In case you didn’t know, the scientific name of chocolate is theobroma cacao, so you can see where they got their name from) and they produce a high-quality organic chocolate. There were four varieties at the store for me to choose from: plain 72% dark, 60% pineapple, 60% banana and 60% coconut. I stood for a good five minutes weighing my options, and finally decided on two: the 72% and the pineapple.
The bars are long and thin and remind me of sticks. Which is a funny thought to me, sticks of chocolate. The 35g bar is long, thin, tall, and trapezoidal in shape. It’s reminiscent of a Toblerone, but these are more squat and there’s no point at the top. Each bar is nicely separated into six sections. The snap is hard with a very clean break. I did see an air bubble or two, but it’s nothing terribly noteworthy.
NCA Trend Report, 2009
Candy trends are fun and funny. Back in the day, dark chocolate was just a trend, and now it’s pretty much the norm. Recent trends that I can think of include bacon, chili chocolate, and “superfruits” like pomegrante, acai, and goji.
So what’s the next big candy trend? Here’s what the National Confectioners Association has to say in their 2009 trend report:
- Confections will have healthier options and fortified benefits.
- Chocolate isn’t just for dessert. Providing the most surprising flavor combinations, chocolate and cocoa will be used as a key ingredient in main courses.
- Sweet and savory duos like chocolate and bacon, and chocolate and cheese will be popular in stores and on menus.
Newman’s Own Organic Ginger n’ Crème Ginger – O’s
Last year around this time Newman’s Own expanded its Newman-O’s Cookie line to include a new Peanut Butter Crème Filled Chocolate Cookie, and generously sent me a sampler box to review, which you can check out here.
Along with the Peanut Butter Crème Filled Chocolate Cookies, the Newman’s sampler box also contained some other flavors, including their Organic Ginger n’ Crème Ginger - O’s (one of the most unique flavors of crème filled cookies I have seen on the market). Although these have been around for awhile, I had never tried one before. For some reason, I was expecting a vanilla cookie filled with a ginger crème, so I was surprised when I opened the package and the cookies were all a light tan color. These are ginger cookies with a plain crème filling (I guess I missed the part where it clearly says “crème filled ginger cookies” on the label).
Now On Our Radar: Funky Chunky Popcorn
I’m always on the lookout for a new source for unique gifts, even better if they’re food-related. Although the Sugar Savvy team hasn’t taste-tested these babies yet, the Funky Chunky bunch is now on our radar.
The folks at Funky Chunky offer a nice selection of popcorn and pretzel items in clear glass jars that make them perfect for gift-giving. Whether you like the caramel version or are a chocolate fiend, you just may find the perfect gift for giving here … whether for someone else or yourself!
Be sure to keep checking back for new flavors … we have it on good authority that there is a candy-cane popcorn version come the holidays.
Doubling the Fun with a New Billy’s Bakery Location
Over the past few years, the pastel-colored, buttercream frosted cupcake at Billy’s Bakery in Chelsea (NYC) has been my standard of the cupcake-to-beat. Theirs are what all cupcakes get compared to. To be quite honest, the cake part is actually just the tiniest bit dry, but the frosting more than forgives any moistness sins. And with their second location now in Tribeca, it’s double the pleasure, double the sugar.
Billy’s Bakery, founded in 2003, opened their newest sweet spot at 75 Franklin Street, located between Church and Broadway, and the new space is … well … spacious, especially as compared to their first location. As with their original bakery, the new one will offer corporate and personal catering, along with delivery in the Manhattan and Tri-State area. Throwing a party? Their new individually sized favor boxes might be just the thing. Holding just one cupcake, it is perfect for children’s birthday parties or just because.
Fresh and Easy Milk Chocolate Malt Balls
I am on a quest to find the “perfect malt ball;” a malt ball with a nice milk chocolate coating (real milk chocolate) and a light crispy (not powdery) malt center that will satisfy my cravings. Alas, my quest has remained unfruitful to date.
You see, I find that there is always one missing component; for example, the chocolate coasting is too thin or too thick, the ratio of malty center to chocolate coating isn’t quite right, or the malt center is too dry and powdery. I have ruled out Whoppers, Mighty Malts and Maltesers because the chocolate coating they use is not real milk chocolate and tends to leave an unpleasant aftertaste.
What Would You Do for a Klondike Bar?
Since I eat ice cream at a leisurely pace, I am a scoop-in-a-cup kind of girl. I can have one scoop and my husband has two, and he will be already walking it off while I am still licking the spoon.
Over the weekend, my husband wanted to try something besides our normal summer indulgence of ice cream at our usual grocery trip, so he grabbed Klondike bars. We debated over dark chocolate or Oreo, and decided upon the cookie bites inside the chocolate shell. That night, I nestled in my chair with a big paper towel, and nibbled into this delicious sweet treat. The creamy vanilla ice cream with Oreo cookies inside a hard chocolate shell was melting in my mouth and on my hands. I will definitely have another, but I might need to eat it a little faster though.
The calories are not sweet, however, but it is worth every bite. I would cook a veggie plate, even eat eggplant and brussel sprouts and then run ten miles just to eat this lip-smacking square. So, what would you do for a Klondike bar?
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