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Another Candy Photo Binge

07/21/10, by Kate Hopkins Email 2289 views • Categories: Candy, Candy Book

Here are some more pics of candy from my recent trip, with a few first impressions.

Caramels

Caramels

I picked these up whilst in Paris. At the moment, the name of the makers escape me, for reasons that are nothing more than an excuse. What makes them notable to me is how different they taste from your typical American caramels. For one, these caramels came in several "flavors" (or more precise, had several varieties of caramels), including strawberry and pineapple. Secondly, the butter used is so prevalent that it makes these caramels taste far more delectable and thus far more wicked. These were quite likely the best candies I had on the trip.

Callison d'Aix

Callison d'Aix

These are a French confection, a marzipan treat flavored with a hint of melon, and then iced. These were also quite good. However, I've had these in Seattle, and they seemingly can pick up outside flavors.

Milk Bottles

Milk Bottles

A British treat, a gummi product with a distinct dairy taste to them. You can also find a variation of these called milk shakes, which add flavors such as chocolate, strawberry, and banana.

Everton Mints

Everton Mints

Another British mint boiled sweet. If you can't find a mint in Britain, you're simply not looking. Almost every region of Britain have their own type of mint boiled sweet.

Nougat

Nougat

I picked this up as Nougat is one of 'historically significant' confections out there. I'll be discussing these later. I should note that these are not British at all.

Barley Sugar

Barley Sugar

One of the very basic boiled sweets found in Britain. This version has little in relation to the Barley Sugars found in the past, which had more in line with Rock candies (the stick version, not the rock version.)

Orange Fizzes

Orange Fizzes

There's an entire subset of boiled sweets in Britain that deal with Fizzes. It's basically a candy coated with a powder of bicarbonate of soda and tartaric acid.

Army Navies

Army Navys

One of the several licorice flavored boiled sweets that started life as a medicine/lozenge. There are many variations of these withe different recipes. This one had a heavy clove and aniseed mixture. Very bizarre.

Kola Kubes

Kola Kubes

Here in the States, Cola is used almost exclusively in soda (you can find it in a gummy candy or two). In Britain, it's found in several variations of candy. This is one variation that I picked up at Harrod's.

Licorice Comfits

Licorice Comfits

Traditional version of a comfit. Fans of Good n Plenty will immediately be drawn to these.

Raspberry/Blackberry Jams

Raspberry/Blackberry Jams

A gummi that we can find here in the States.

English Apples

English Apples

Another tart boiled sweet.

Apple Custards

Apple Custards

The custard flavor is also used quite a bit in British confection. So while we associate custard with a texture, in Britain, it is seen more as a flavor (a creamy-vanilla, if that makes sense).

Pear Drops

Pear Drops

What I love about about the British boiled sweet tradition is the full gamut of flavors one can find. Typically one doesn't apply the word 'subtle' to candies, as the flavors are often quite bold. Yet Pear Drops are often quite subtle. Sure the sweetness is there, but the defining characteristic of of the pear flavor is restraint. This alone makes this candy notable.


Comments, Pingbacks:

Comment from: Harry [Visitor] Email · http://heracliteanfire.net
Ah, pear-drops. The special taste of sugary nail-varnish remover.
PermalinkPermalink 07/21/10 @ 09:30
Comment from: David [Visitor] Email · http://www.davidlebovitz.com
I think those first ones are the Le Roux caramels..although it's hard to tell with the toothmarks in them ; )
PermalinkPermalink 07/21/10 @ 11:08
Comment from: Kate Hopkins [Member] Email · http://www.accidentalhedonist.com
David,

I can't tell you the amount of discipline it took me in order to with hold from consuming one piece of that caramel until the picture was taken.

Of course, it did help that the other brand of caramels that I had purchased were on hand. You'll note that there are no pictures of that particular brand.
PermalinkPermalink 07/21/10 @ 12:00
Comment from: Sara [Visitor] Email
Those caramels look delicious! I am officially jealous of your research trip.
PermalinkPermalink 07/21/10 @ 13:04
Comment from: astheroshe [Visitor] Email
very nice! So many beautiful options..
I wanted to recommend Bequet caramals Made in Montana. They are to die for..just in case you can't fly to France every week.

http://www.bequetconfections.com/
PermalinkPermalink 07/22/10 @ 10:21
Comment from: astheroshe [Visitor] Email
and it is Caramels..sorry my spelling in this heat.:)

PermalinkPermalink 07/22/10 @ 10:28
Comment from: Kevin [Visitor] Email
Damn it, you're making me homesick :-) It's been years since I had Kola Kubes or Pear Drops!

Gorgeous photos!
PermalinkPermalink 07/23/10 @ 08:46
Comment from: diana [Visitor] Email · http://www.bestculinaryschoolsguide.com
All of them looks yummy especially the caramels. I think it's neat that they have different flavors. I would love to try the strawberry.
PermalinkPermalink 07/24/10 @ 14:17
Comment from: Tammy [Visitor] Email · http://www.laviecevenole.blogpost.com
Wow, what a tour! I'm more familiar with the French candies, and I agree about the buttery lusciousness of a good French caramel. Little pedantic note: the calissons d'Aix have one 'l' and two 's's. Some of the best calissons are from Chocolaterie de Puyricard, which has an interesting piece on the little white confections: http://www.puyricard.fr/gb/prod_calissons.htm
PermalinkPermalink 07/25/10 @ 16:06
Comment from: catering berlin [Visitor] · http://www.select-catering.de
AyAy... A lot of candy you found there. I love caramel and I think I need some now. Very beautiful photos you made. Go on like this and find more candy!
Greetings from Berlin.
PermalinkPermalink 07/28/10 @ 05:19

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