Sugar Savvy

Every once in a while, you’re fortunate enough to experience something so eye-opening that it changes the way you frame your worldview. After falling in love for the first time, or tasting your first Jelly Bellies, schoolgirl crushes and plain old generic jelly beans will never be seen the same way again. Amano’s trio of […]

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 […]

Annabelle’s Rocky Road is a retro candy that’s easily distinguishable by its bright red wrapper. I first read about Annabelle’s, who also makes the Abba Zabba and the Big Hunk, in Steve Almond’s Candy Freak. The wrapper promises milk chocolate coated marshmallow with cashews, which I was excited about, as it’s hard to go wrong […]

I have to admit I already had quite a crush on Charles Chocolates. I first flirted with them at a Fancy Food Show a few years ago. Somehow I kept coming back to Charles’ booth to nibble a little more on this, sample a little more of that. I couldn’t get enough.
My […]

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 […]

I had previously enjoyed reviewing the classic version of the Das Caramelini caramels, and Alicia and Joanna liked the lemon & honey and ginger & pistachio, respectively. When Das Foods sent even more caramel flavors for us to review, I was quite excited to get to try the Chai Latte.
The spices that comprise Chai […]

I was previously pleased with Das Food’s Lemon and Honey French Salt Caramels, so I was delighted to have the opportunity to sample the Café Cortado flavor.
Again, the caramels are creamy, buttery, and slightly greasy. In this cooler weather, they are firm and chewy, but a quick rub between my palms left them quite soft.
The […]

After being impressed by Lula’s Chocolates’ Aloha Rocky Road, I was eager to dig into my sample of their assorted (and handmade!) caramels. Whoever writes their product descriptions really knows their way around food adjectives.

“I start with small batches of premium butter and fresh, heavy cream, which I slow cook in heavy, copper pots. We […]

Salt and sugar is an odd but excellent combination. Das Foods highlights the combo in their line of French Salted Caramels, from which I had the pleasure of sampling the Lemon and Honey flavor.
These arrived the day after Thanksgiving, when I should have been too stuffed to taste them, but I couldn’t resist once I […]

While I was home for Thanksgiving break, my friend Cassie took me to That Popcorn Place on the downtown Drag near UT. What a wonderful food find! They’ve got dozens and dozens of flavors of popcorn, from the savory (ranch, cajun, sour cream and onion, bacon and cheese) to the candied (caramel, vanilla, orange) to […]