Sugar Savvy

See’s Candies is also known as See’s Famous Old Time Candies, and to be truthful there is something old-fashioned about the company’s candies. When old-fashioned refers to See’s emphasis on quality, natural ingredients and production techniques, it’s a good thing. When old-fashioned refers to flavors and tastes that my grandmother would have rejected as unexciting, that’s not so good.

See’s Molasses Chip chocolate candies are a good example of a candy that probably would have few fans today. Molasses as a sweetener has fallen out of favor and the candy’s crunchy, sugary style of filling is also not as popular as it once was.

So why did I choose this candy for this week’s See’s Piece-by-Piece? I like the full-bodied, sweet tang of molasses in cookies and other baked goods and thought having that taste in a See’s Candy would be intriguing. I also am a big fan of “honeycomb” type candy bars and wanted to taste See’s version of one.

Tasting Report:

Description: Molasses Chip candies come in either dark or milk chocolate. In the stores, you can buy them by the box or by the weight, with four of the candies of either type in each brown frilled paper cup. The candies are shaped like small rectangular batons or sticks about as long as a pinkie and almost as wide as a thumb. The candies’ surface sports the ripples of the poured chocolate coating over the filling. Biting into one gives a satisfying crunch, with a dense, honey beige center that was harder than I anticipated. There is no discernable molasses scent. On the web, the candies are available in a one pound package (one box of milk, one box of chocolate) or in assorted variety boxes.

Taste: There is no way around this, I was disappointed. I wanted to taste the molasses and have the spice notes linger on my tongue as it mingled with See’s chocolate coating. The filling just tasted sweet. The dark chocolate version added nothing to the blah filling, it just overpowered it. The Milk Chocolate Molasses Chip was better; the milk chocolate melded better with the filling and brought the whole candy up a notch.

See’s Trivia: Did you know that Mattel made a special edition See’s Barbie doll dressed in See’s white and black uniform, hairnet and sensible shoes. She came equipped with toy candy samples. The toy is no longer offered for sale and has become a collector’s item. I did find one on eBay, however.

Ingredients: Milk Chocolate Molasses Chip – milk chocolate coating (sugar, milk, cocoa butter, chocolate, soy lecithin, vanillin), sugar, corn syrup, butter, molasses, salt, flour.
Dark Chocolate Molasses Chip – dark chocolate coating (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, butter, soy lecithin, vanilla, vanillin), sugar, corn syrup, butter, molasses, salt, flour

Well Fed Network Rating: As compared to other See’s Candies I rate the Milk Molasses Chip a six and the Dark Chocolate a five out of 10. Pro: Nice, crisp snap when you bite into candy. Con: Bland tasting filling.