Sugar Savvy

It’s always interesting to do searches on the production of various sweets, and learn a little history. I did a search on Cadbury’s Crunchie bar, just to get a few ideas, not expecting much information about the bar. This bar was first launched by J.S. Fry in 1929, and the center (or centre, if you […]

These candies might just be the best thing to ever come out of my kitchen. Better than the sugar almonds. Better than any cookie I’ve ever made. Heck, better than anything to come off of my grill.
The flavor and texture is incredible. A little crunchy when you first bite into them, and that dissolves into […]

Unless I am in the presence of puppies and dogs, you will not often hear me utter the word: “Cuuuuuute!” But come ON!  This is cute. Well, to be precise, it is CUUUUUUTE!
I mean, I don’t even like Kit Kats and I bought it. Because it was so stinkin’ CUUUUUTE! However, I suppose the point […]

Guylian always seems to have those chocolate seahorses, but I noticed something unique at the store. They have a Solitaire assortment, which has tasting-sized pieces named for three regions: African Ebony - 70%, Aztec Gold - 65%, and Asian Dark.
On their site, they are described as:
Asian Dark - A balanced mixture of Asian beans comes […]

From the Times Union (New York) food section:
We are seeking chocolate fans to be part of a tasting panel that will judge locally made chocolates. Results will be detailed in upcoming story themed to Valentine’s Day.
Participants will need to be available to come to the Times Union’s office in Colonie Wednesday, Jan. 31 for a two-hour evening […]

So, I spotted two new ones at Dollar Tree last night.
Coconut, it seems, is the new black. Caramel is so 2006, don’t you know.  (Okay, that’s a lie. I love caramel and will eat it until I no longer have teeth.  And at that point,  I’ll just suck on it…)
I had pretty low expectations with […]

It turns out all Veruca Salt had to do for a golden goose egg was go to Brook’s Pharmacy. That’s where I found the Wonka Golden Creme Eggs. They come in a package of four and are described as “Chocolate creme and caramel with graham-flavored cookie pieces in a milk chocolate shell.”
I’m not so sure […]

One of my favorite parts of writing the See’s Candies Piece-by-Piece in The Chocolate Box is the trivia section.  Each week I feature a fact, tidbit, nugget or even a recipe involving See’s Candies.  So, this week’s post (the penultimate in the See’s Piece-by-Piece series) is a See’s Trivia Contest.  The winner will receive a […]

Aji Ichiban is a franchise Asian candy and snack distributor. They have a wide selection of candies and various dried fruits and snacks. You can find out a little bit more from the Wikipedia entry.
I went through the store and made some random selections.
Gummis:
Mint gummy bears - A surprising but not unpleasant combination of citrus […]

I can only think of one thing that would be better than my own method for preparing Scharffen Berger hot chocolate–John Scharffenberger’s personal recipe. Here’s an excerpt from the new book The Essence of Chocolate by John Scharffenberger and Robert Steinberg.
John’s Classic Drinking Chocolate
2-1/2 cups whole milk
4 ounces 99% unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup granulated […]