Friday, May 08, 2009

Confectionary edification

Up here, even though we are so close to the states, there are certain things that you can only find up here. This works vice versa too I suppose, for example we can't watch any comedy central programs from the states unless we watch them via the comedy network in Canada. I can't get Paydays up here nor Nutter Butter cookies. If I were younger and still in my candy consuming years, I'd hate that there aren't things like Tangy Taffy and Big Hunk and Abba Zabba up here. Perhaps I would have enjoyed learning about new candy items, but at my age I'm not really interested in tasting new tooth rotting concoctions. (Unless you buy me some, of course.) Anyway, I just wanted to show you Americans what candy is available only across the border. My mom loves Coffee Crisp which I had never seen until I came here. I still haven't tasted it, but I bring some to mom now when I visit.

It looks to me like a coffee flavored kit-kat bar but maybe I'll try a piece from mom's stash next time.


This is a really big chocolate bar. I don't think Shaq is any longer on the package. Apparently there is nougat inside the chocolate. Haven't tried it, I'm thinking it's like a Babe Ruth, only bigger.

The Aero bar has always confused me. Why would I want a candy full of air. I don't want to pay for air. I want to pay for chocolate and sugar. I think the mint one looks gross, but it probably wouldn't be bad.

The eat more bar I love due to its clever name. Apparently there is nothing in the states to compare this to. It's described as a "dark toffee peanut chew". There is chocolate in it too.

Another one with no stateside version is the Crunchie. It's a sponge toffee center surrounded by chocolate. The center is brittle though, so don't let the word "sponge" fool you.

The crispy crunch is like Butterfinger, only better.

Okay, just so you know, coconut candy is an oxymoron. Gross. Seems like a Mounds bar to me, the vilest of all confections.

Finally the Big Turk. I don't know if I'll ever try this. It's a combo of chocolate and jelly. Yes jelly and that's why it's low in fat. Supposedly it's reminiscent of a steamy night in the Turkish capital. What is Turkish Delight anyway? Apparently it's that with chocolate around it.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Amen about coconut candy. That's not candy. That's a punishment.

CoffeeDog said...

They do have Reeses up there though, right?

My fave candy bars are Snickers, Milky Way, 100000 Bar, Mounds, Almond Joy.

I think the candy bar names in the US are more creative.

Franciscus van Munster said...

Several of those, like Bounty, Crunchie and the air bubbles one, are also found in most European countries.
Isn't Tuskish Delight candied fruit?

dpaste said...

As a fellow American I can say with full confidence that Big Hunk and Abba Zabba must have been West Coast candies because I have never heard of them.

The Mr. Big bar with the picture of Shaq? Wow, that treads a thin line of sexual implication. "Wanna eat Shaq's big chocolate bar." Are you kidding me?

I remember Bounty ads when I was a kid and they are in stores here on the East Coast, so you will have to take that one of your "only in Canada" list.

As a Jew raised on coconut macaroons as a treat during Passover, coconut has never been a problem for me. Similarly, jelly covered chocolates are also common during Passover so the Big Turk also does not come as a surprise. So in fairness, you can't put forward "coconut candy is vile" as an absolute. It's a cultural thing.

Plus Mounds and Almond Joy are still sold pretty much everywhere in the US so somebody's got to be buying them in significant quantities.

tornwordo said...

Oddly enough I like macaroons. But then a cookie is not the same as a candy. Do they still have "snowballs"? I only tried that once. Gross!

Jen said...

Good Turkish Delight (TD) is truly good. Big Turk will keep you away from good TD for years (I didn't try it for about 25 years after spending an entire allowance on a Big Turk only to be sadly dissapointed).

TD comes in a bunch of flavours (various fruity, rosewater, etc) and is a softer, gooier jelly than Jello. There is boutique on Roncesvalles in Toronto (Queen West/High Park area)that makes Earl Grey tea TD that is deeeevine.

Mel said...

I love - LOVE - coconut. As far as I'm concerned, anything with coconut has to be better. David falls into your camp, though, with the exception of coconut milk in curries.

And now you've given me some ideas about what to bring with me when we visit ta ville - only 4 more weeks.

GayProf said...

I haven't thought about Big Hunk in years and years.

These days, only chocolate interests me as a candy.

Snooze said...

Canadian chocolate bars have a British influence - I love Crunchies and Aeros [except I now boycott them due to their annoying commercials]. I also love coconut. Nowadays though, I only eat dark chocolate (although you do have me craving a coffee crisp - one of their commercials in the 70s was to the tune of Queen's Another One Bites the Dust =>
Beneath that rainbow wrap,
Is a nice, light snack
You know you can't resist
Coffee, Coffee Crisp

Chorus: Another one bites the crisp)

Anonymous said...

I'm kind of ambivalent about coconut. Keyron on the other hands loves the stuff.

That Mr. Big candy bar does have well, I don't know. It implies certain things.

Birdie said...

Ooh, I'll have a Crispy Crunch. That sounds good.

I'm with you: no coconut. However, if you can get your hands on coconut oil, you can make the best popcorn you have ever eaten in your life. It will taste like the movie popcorn of your childhood. But ever since the Food Police said it's bad for you, I can't find it anywhere. Turns out they're wrong, BTW.

Polt said...

Having just returned from Toronto, I too noticed the overabundance of Aero bars. Like EVERYEWHERE. Never did try one.

I also noticed there's a lot more Cadbury products and a lot less Hershey products than around here. Course, considering I'm only less than two hours from Hershey PA, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.

HUGS...

anne marie in philly said...

coconut, like licorice, is an acquired taste. I like both.

I don't really eat candy bars any more...I want real chocolate, like dark vanilla buttercreams. there is a confectionary in my neighborhood that keeps me well supplied.

dykewife said...

apparently mars bars are no longer available in the usa anymore. i just shipped down a bunch to a friend in the san francisco area.

smarties are also unique to canada, at least the ones that are candy encasing chocolate. the american ones are what we call rockets.

evilganome said...

Actually, there is a convenience store down the street from me, here in Boston, that sells most of those candies as well as European and British chocolate bars.

I don't eat a lot of candy any more, but I would be tempted to try the Coffee Crisp. I have had a variation on the Aero bar and surprisingly, they are quite good. Oddly the whipped in air gives it a very nice texture.

Robert W. White said...

ohhh man cofffee crisp is my favourite. particularly the french vanilla version! seriously. you're missing out big time if you haven't tried one! (i never knew it wasn't in the states?)

midge barbinera said...

I've had real Turkish Delight before and it wasn't that bad...but I can't remember what it was exactly. It certainly wasn't chocolate with jelly though. What the hell is an Abba Zabba? Must've been a West-of-the-Mississippi thing. I'm surprised by all the things Nestle makes that they don't sell here.

Rox said...

I'm proud to say that I have eaten every single chocolate bar on your list (and then some!)

I'm not a fan of the coconut bars, they give me the heartburn. The Big Turk though? Love it! It's like cherry jelly covered in chocolate. I like to bite off a segment and suck all the chocolate off and then chew up the jelly part! You should buy each of these and do a follow up sampling post!!

Phronk said...

I had no idea these were unique to Canada! They're such a common sight here that I'm shocked...it'd be like finding out they don't have oxygen in the US.

They're probably better off without Big Turk though.

Anonymous said...

I love Mr. Big, Coffee Crisp and Aero Bar...I wish we had them here in the states!!!

Anonymous said...

Some of these are British not Canadian. U.S. chocolate bars, though, are usually not as tasty and the names are less creative. I've never tried Bounty or Mounds even though I like coconut. Probably my favorite is Crispy Crunch - like a Butterfinger only better as you say. I've never been a big fan of Aero. As a kid I always thought of it as an old people chocolate bar since it was really plain. I also hated their commercials.