Sugar Savvy

A few days ago, my parents returned from a little European vacation. The only thing I asked that they bring me (other than some nice, smoky Spanish paprika) was a little turron or torrone, delicious soft honey nougat studded with nuts, from Spain and Italy, respectively (the two countries on their itinerary). Nougat, as opposed […]

This little cherry ménage a trois all began when my friend Tripp came across a Twin Bing in Seaside, Oregon, at a candy store specializing in retro and off-beat products. We had both read and about the Twin Bing in Steve Almond’s book, Candy Freak, a few years ago, and try to keep our ears […]

Amano is one of less than 20 chocolate makers in the United States actually making their own chocolate. This is to say that they begin with raw beans, roast and grind them, and then create small-batch, high quality chocolate bars. Hence the he name “Amano,” which translates to “by hand.” Chocolate savant David Lebovitz spells […]

I have long maintained that ice cream knows no season. Alicia, in her recent review of Ben and Jerry’s new items, agrees. If you can drink an ice-cold soda or beer year-round, why should ice cream be relegated to the sunnier months? (Alleged) Fact: Portland, Oregon leads the country in ice cream consumption per-capita. Fact: […]

When I was 3 years old, I “ran away” from home with my older brother, Ricky, and next-door neighbor, Jimmy (both 4). Well, we didn’t really run away so much as take a self-guided field trip to Tiffany’s Drug Store (no relation to the jewelry store, fyi) to load up on provisions, i.e., sweet, sweet […]

This handsome nugget, in addition to a similar Mint Sandwich Cookie, is featured as a Christmas item on the Emily’s Chocolates website, smartly packaged in a sturdy and festive snowman-adorned tub. But a peanut butter sandwich cookie, if you ask me, defies seasonal pigeonholing. And luckily, when I received them in the mail just last […]

Again with the Das Caramelini … they keep sending and we keep reviewing (and chewing).  (Enter “das” in the search field our our site here to see 6 previous reviews of Das salted caramels in a variety of flavors.)
To avoid redundancy, I will simply say that the remarks and opinions put forth with regard to the other […]

Over the course of my life, I have taken in no small amount of toffee – of the butternut crunch genre.  From Almond Roca to Lula’s, to See’s -  I rarely miss an opportunity to sample an English, California, or whatever they want to name it, nut and butter based toffee, coated with chocolate and then […]

These are, in fact, my brother’s caramels. As in, my very own brother. If you want some, you’ll have to bust out the ol’ candy thermometer and make them yourself.
Reading about Cybele’s grandma’s homemade caramels on Candy Blog, it occurred to me that the amazing fleur de sel caramels recently crafted by my brother Rick […]

Sweetriot chocolate covered nibs come in 3 flavors: 50, 65 and 70, relating to the percentage of cacao content, respectively.  “Flavor 50,” the one I sampled, was (pleasantly) darker than I would have expected, and the nuggets are much smoother and shinier than other chocolate-covered cacao nibs that I’ve eaten – not that shininess is […]