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America... your candy sucks
16 years ago
General
I'm sorry.. but it has to be said. Consider it tough love from your Canadian neighbour. How do I know this? Well... my wife has friends in the States and on rare occasions we do a snack swap. We got a bunch of Canadian snacks together (ketchup chips, Caramilk bars, Eat-more bars, Kinder eggs, etc...) and sent them off and in exchange we got a...
Zero Bar
Cherry Mash
Whatchamacallit Bar
100 Grand Bar
Heath Bar
Baby Ruth Bar
Pay Day Bar
and something called a "Chick O Stick" o_O
Well, we sampled everything and came to the same conclusion. They all tasted extremely cheap. I'm talking like they we bought a bunch of these from the dollar store. The Zero and Cherry Mash tasted like the chocolate you get at easter. You know... like you can taste the wax in it. The Whatchamacallit was... um... interesting. The 100 Grand actually wasn't so bad and the Heath was quite similar to our Skor (but cheaper tasting). baby Ruth was like our Oh Henry! and Pay Day was... strange. No chocolate in that one... just nuts and caramel. It wasn't bad... just different.
Then there was the Chick o Stick. Good grief, what can one say about this thing. It's orange... it's... um... a stick... it's crumbles when you eat it and has toasted coconut rolled up in it. It looks sort of like a turd. Sort of... It tastes like peanut butter... sort of. And it's currently the last piece left from what was sent to us because no one wants to eat it.
The next day I went to work and asked one of my US co-workers "How and Americans get so fat off candy that tastes like crap?" He laughed and asked what I had received from our friends, then proceeded to say some of those where pretty good. o_O He then gave a pretty good reason for why things taste the way they do South of our boarder. He said, as sad as it is, a lot of American's don't care about food quality. What they do care about it getting a lot of it for as little as possible. "How much of that can I get for a nickle" is how he put it. He also said that most don't even realize that they're eating crap, it's so far to Canada or Mexico that they're just stuck with what ever the companies make them. He also agreed that a lot of what we have up here does taste better.
After I heard that I felt sorry for central US people. Not ever really knowing there is better confections then what they get at the local store. I seriously tempted to do a snack swap with others out there that are willing to do so. I'll send some tasty Canadian treats and you try and convince me that there are snacks out there that are of decent quality in the States.
Anyone up for the challenge?
Zero Bar
Cherry Mash
Whatchamacallit Bar
100 Grand Bar
Heath Bar
Baby Ruth Bar
Pay Day Bar
and something called a "Chick O Stick" o_O
Well, we sampled everything and came to the same conclusion. They all tasted extremely cheap. I'm talking like they we bought a bunch of these from the dollar store. The Zero and Cherry Mash tasted like the chocolate you get at easter. You know... like you can taste the wax in it. The Whatchamacallit was... um... interesting. The 100 Grand actually wasn't so bad and the Heath was quite similar to our Skor (but cheaper tasting). baby Ruth was like our Oh Henry! and Pay Day was... strange. No chocolate in that one... just nuts and caramel. It wasn't bad... just different.
Then there was the Chick o Stick. Good grief, what can one say about this thing. It's orange... it's... um... a stick... it's crumbles when you eat it and has toasted coconut rolled up in it. It looks sort of like a turd. Sort of... It tastes like peanut butter... sort of. And it's currently the last piece left from what was sent to us because no one wants to eat it.
The next day I went to work and asked one of my US co-workers "How and Americans get so fat off candy that tastes like crap?" He laughed and asked what I had received from our friends, then proceeded to say some of those where pretty good. o_O He then gave a pretty good reason for why things taste the way they do South of our boarder. He said, as sad as it is, a lot of American's don't care about food quality. What they do care about it getting a lot of it for as little as possible. "How much of that can I get for a nickle" is how he put it. He also said that most don't even realize that they're eating crap, it's so far to Canada or Mexico that they're just stuck with what ever the companies make them. He also agreed that a lot of what we have up here does taste better.
After I heard that I felt sorry for central US people. Not ever really knowing there is better confections then what they get at the local store. I seriously tempted to do a snack swap with others out there that are willing to do so. I'll send some tasty Canadian treats and you try and convince me that there are snacks out there that are of decent quality in the States.
Anyone up for the challenge?
I'd be willing to do a snack swap, I could get the candy for nearly free, but the postage'd be rough for me, so I don't see how i could :/
Ask for some See's candy next time, and you'll know what crack feels like.
Try Ghirardelli chocolate stuff, it's to-shelf choco.
I liked 3.
Most had weird fruits in them, others just annoyed me because I had chocolate bars that were 50% air.. bubble filled chocolate.. no thank you.
Now, I think Canadian chocolate and American chocolate taste about the same... I can get away with this because A: I don't drink or smoke, both of which mess up the taste buds, B: I've sampled both.
I've been told that Bavarian Chocolates are God chocolates and the rest of us can goto hades...
So yes, I want to try a Bravarian chocolate next..
Mind you, I hate all but the 100 Grand bar up there on your list.
My Favs?
3 Musketeers.
Milky Way.
Tootsie rolls.
M&M's
Hershy Chocolate.
100 Grand
in that order...
... I am jonesing for some vanilla tootsie rolls, though.
I buy the variety packs, I take out all the vanilla and leave the rest for my roomies.. waste of money? To them, but not me! Bwahahahaha.
Ugh.... and also donuts. Ever since I saw homer eat those I wanted to taste one. It was some solid bunch of dough without taste.
No comparison to home ^^
How old this type of candy is, doesn't really matter, if I haven't seen it before or?
Doughnuts are. I'm sad you had a plain one, but they come in a variety of types and such.
I am not trying to be rude...but it's called rock candy..
When I first saw it, I asked "Whats that? and whats it made of..."
I purchased a few.. I use them in my tea as stirring sticks now.
Somethings just require the Magic of Sugar.
I think would be interesting such snack swap.
=^.^=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Df_O-EBjVrk
At least we don't have MILK IN A BAG EW SO UNNATURAL
i <3 canadians
And our schools had milk in pouches.
Your friend sounds like he's been up there too long, though. The reason those things have fans is because they're stuff you eat on the go. You're at work, late again, you want dinner, but you're stuck looking at the florescent glow of your work computer. You want to just beat the stuff out of the machine, but that would be more trouble than it's worth.
Them not sending you a 3 musketeer's bar, or a butterfinger or something that is a might strange. I do like 100 grand bars, myself, though. Rice crisp is always fun to eat.
The thing, though, that makes me thing this is all a bit biased is your talk about the Heath bar vs Skor. I've done side-by-side tasting of both, and they're the same. Health contains almonds though. They're both produced by Hershey, and the Skor bar was meant to be direct competition with the Heath bar when it was still being made by the Heath candy corp ... so...
Here in Africa it's difficult to get snacks because most of the area is undeveloped.
When I go back to Japan, I'm usually more apt to eat meals like the Japanese do and forego the snacks.
I have a friend that lives in Canada, quite honestly I was impressed with your snack food selection.
I don't like fruit with my chocolate and of the nut + chocolates the only kind I put up with are peanuts and even then there needs to be more than just those two. :P
If I want a real treat, however, give me some good dark chocolate. Not just some waxy thing, but something often acquired from a lesser known name/choclater out here.
"it's all aimed at kids and they have no taste, so spending time on quality is a waste"
i think you only have 2 industries that contend for the lower shelf placement at a retailer, toys and candy
ever since i switched off of full strength sodas for the diet stuff, my sugar tolerance has fallen off
if i even think about candy now my teeth hurt
Personally, I don't eat a lot of the candy bars made today, I grew up when candy was reasonably priced and reasonably portioned. And don't get me started on 'Fun Sized" candy bars (less candy is more fun? I still can't wrap my head around that).
It could be your Snack Swap (I love that concept, BTW!) friends got hold of a bad or outdated batch of candy. Like anything, you have good stuff and you have bad stuff. Me, I prefer to buy my candy at local candy companies where they cost more, but taste much better.
This is all something that I never noticed until my health stopped allowing me to eat such ingredients without severe consequences and I had to start reading what everything I eat is made out of. It's really frustrating being diabetic or hypoglycemic in America because of our food standards.
http://www.justborn.com/peanut-chews/about
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twizzlers
http://www.halvah.biz/
And I know a guy locally here in NW Arkansas who makes toffee to kill for.
Those are the nastiest things I've ever eaten.
Old Dutch Popcorn Twists, however, are to die for.
As for the "cheepness" of US candy, well... Their is a reason why Europe calls Hershey "Barnyard Chocolate". It tastes like cow pies and horse shit.
If you want "good" candy in the US, you need to go to the fancy candy isle at the store. Of course, most of those are imports. If you want a good domestic chocolate, however, go with Dove chocolates. As for candy bars, probably the best brand is anything made by the M&M/Mars company, which has been family owned and operated since it was originally founded. This is the company that makes Milkyway and Snickers. BTW, Mars owns Dove.
All the candies you listed are probably the cheapest crap I could think of on store shelves in the US. I never buy that stuff. Anything made by Nestle is going to taste like wax, for the most part, though I do take exception to Butterfingers.
I've never had a chick-o-stick; it sounds disgusting, actually.
Although I will agree with you, besides the 100grand and the watchamacallit those other candy bars aren't even on my "buy at the gas station cause i'm starving" list.
There are a couple really good chocolate covered treats down here and it's best just to stick with them...
BTW, thanks for letting us know what a chik-o-stik is...I see those on the bottom shelf all the time and have never been brave enough to try them.
It's *hot* in the south.
The same candy bars get shipped nationwide, so the chocolate has to be fairly heat-resistant.
Butterfinger, PayDay (one of my favorites for its simplicity), Snickers, Dove, M&M's, Reese's Dark -- those are about all I'll buy that are made stateside.
I usually buy Ghirardelli, which is thankfully making inroads in even Walmart. I prefer natural food stores for access to truly excellent and natural chocolates and candies -- seaweed candy is awesome, as is rice candy and dark-chocolate coffee beans.
In my opinion, however, the best snacks are nuts and dried fruits in a mix with some M&M's, perhaps some toffee chips for a burst. I don't buy a tremendous number of snacks due to their hugely unhealthy content. HFCS is terrible.
I would, obviously, LOVE to participate in a snack-switch with you, Joe. I will have to give you some natural foods, however, because I can't stand much factory-produced merchandise. Interested?
I live in South America, and alot of the stuff you can buy is either american import, or made in one of the surrounding countries.
I've been buying alot of different candy over my time, just to sample it and know how it tastes.
Depending on where it is made, even Snickers and Milky Way taste slightly different (Same goes for Pepsi & Coca Cola. Imported cans from the states are a helluva different taste to the crap made here). The south-american chocolate producs made by local companies don't really convince anyone after having lived in europe and knowing the stuff made in Austria, Germany and England. So if you eat some of their knock-off products (Kinder Eggs here are even LOOKING different) you're feeling like they ripped you off >_<.
Seriously, there are a few candies I like from US, Skittles...just love them, luckily they
are slowly brought over here, too...these, Bagles and the Cookies are the main-reason I
always gain a few pounds when I visit there. Other than those, though, most US-Snacks
are pretty meh. The stuff that is good is most likely imported from..you guessed it...Europe.
Example: Milky Way...t'is from our bit here, ya know.
Each and every time I fly over there, I have two maximum-loaded bags with me...about a
third of a bag is my clothes and such...the rest is chocolate for my family over there...and
spices, Knorr seems to be loads better than the US-brands...although I have no opinion about that.
Gimme something spicy and I like it, I don't taste the other spices anyway with my tongue half-burned >;P
Various and assorted goodies, though the one I liked best was this one that looked kind of like a chocolat coverd cherry, was not limited to just Cherry, and had some kind of Brandy or such in place of the syrup.
And the expressions on the faces of people I shared those with were worth the loss.
id like to submit being one of the people to do a trade of candy
i wanna send you an abba zabba (nothing like taffy with peanut butter!)
and id like to try me some ketchup chips (my cousin will flip out, the silly ketchupaholic)
UKs version had a milkier texture overall and was definitly made with some ingrediants that we substituted with cheaper substance. HFCS is some nasty shit.
Kat
Unless it's a Twix bar... or a Goo Goo. I'm a good Southern girl, I gotta have moon pies and Goo Goos!
Herr's was sold at our wal-mart for a little while, so it shouldn't be that hard.
... they also make Worcestershire chips...
No Twix? No Kit Kats? Not even some Skittles or white chocolate Hersheys kisses or something? Yeesh.
I'll admit some of the US's candy sucks, but except for the two you liked(the 100 grand and whathca-whatever), I've never eaten any of the rest of it.
I'd help ya out and send you some REAL US candy except I'm not in the US anymores ;) mmmmm the chocolate in sweden. I'm getting mah sweet tooth back XD
It does sound like something I'm interested in since I tend to enjoy eating foods from other people & countries, and I've been trying to get a few friends to send me stuff for a good while. I guess we should trade some info and discuss what foods to trade.
Except for the $100,000 Bar as it used to be called, those are crummy choises. You should have tried a Mounds Bar or Almond Joy or Kit Kats or Reeses Peanut Butter Cups or a Three Musketeers Bar.
It's why Kinder surprise eggs taste like crap here unless you buy them from a butcher shop, where they import European candy. c:
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