🍭 MetaCandy 🍬

October 18, 2019 5:28 PM

End of another week, and we're just a couple of scary weeks away from All Hallows' Eve, let's talk about candy. What is your favorite candy? What is your most hated? Are you a fan of chocolates? licorice? hard candies? lollipops and sours? Do you have a favorite candy bar? Is there a specific candy from a certain part of the world that you crave that you wish you had access to? As always, be kind to yourself and others. Cheers.
posted by Fizz to MetaFilter-Related at 5:28 PM (125 comments total)

Favorite - Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup
Hated: Circus Peanuts

Also, I like Necco Wafers. And dark chocolate.
posted by COD at 5:34 PM on October 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

I have a gummi bear problem. Actually, it's not limited to bears. I have a gummi thing problem. If you put a pound of gummi bears in front of me, I will continue eating them until they are gone.

Hated: I don't understand the point of Tootsie Rolls. And I don't like anything with desiccated coconut.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 5:36 PM on October 18, 2019 [4 favorites]

I still have nightmares about this tweet.
posted by Fizz at 5:38 PM on October 18, 2019 [11 favorites]

I have a gummi bear problem. Actually, it's not limited to bears. I have a gummi thing problem. If you put a pound of gummi bears in front of me, I will continue eating them until they are gone.

Same, but I've become spoiled. I need them to be completely frozen. frozen gummies just taste better.
posted by Fizz at 5:38 PM on October 18, 2019 [2 favorites]

I have always liked almost all candies. And cakes. And cookies. And pie. But now, the thing I crave is lite crispy salty potato chips....not ruffled, not kettle cooked: Just plain old salt and grease and crisp.
posted by mightshould at 5:40 PM on October 18, 2019 [2 favorites]

I love milk chocolate. After I spent time living in Europe I discovered how much better the chocolate was over there and developed a much more discerning palate, but now that there are so many good independent chocolatiers here in the states it's not nearly as much of a challenge to get good milk chocolate these days! I bought a bar of Tony's Chocolonely today, that stuff is pretty good. It was everywhere when I was in Amsterdam a few months ago, I had no idea they were even a Dutch company before then!
posted by mollywas at 5:42 PM on October 18, 2019 [2 favorites]

I love candy corn. It's honestly one of my favorites, so much so that I'm tempted to bike to the grocery store right now and buy some.

Tempted, but I won't.

I also love jelly beans, like, a lot. Anything licorice.

My least favorite candies are Smarties. I hate Smarties so damn much.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 5:43 PM on October 18, 2019 [6 favorites]

I also have an undying love for candy corn and get irrationally angry when I read people's posts this time of year calling it terrible. NO YOU'RE TERRIBLE!
posted by mollywas at 5:43 PM on October 18, 2019 [18 favorites]

I also have an undying love for candy corn and get irrationally angry when I read people's posts this time of year calling it terrible. NO YOU'RE TERRIBLE!

I recently discovered my wife has a love for candy corn. I don't understand it, but whatever. It is fine by me, she can have ALL of the candy corn on this planet as far as I'm concerned. Her consumption of it means less for other people to eat, so I like to think of her as doing some kind of noble work in keeping it out of the mouths of so many other young children. They don't have to experience this nightmare.
posted by Fizz at 5:46 PM on October 18, 2019 [7 favorites]

Loves: salmiak licorice, maple candy, saltwater taffy
Road trip candy: peanut M&Ms

I still have nightmares about this tweet.

I would 100% eat this.
posted by curious nu at 5:46 PM on October 18, 2019 [3 favorites]

banana lollies and FUCKING HORRIBLE DISGUSTING MUSK STICKS will remain in the hate pile for ever. You will not change my mind, they are bad and you are bad for liking them.

It feels better to say that.

I love Ritter Sport beyond all reason.
posted by prismatic7 at 5:48 PM on October 18, 2019 [6 favorites]

I also love jelly beans, like, a lot.

Jelly beans are so good! So good.
posted by curious nu at 5:49 PM on October 18, 2019 [3 favorites]

Jelly beans are the best. I always buy an extra bag or two at Easter just to hoard for myself. Also, I like black licorice, but strangely, hate anise flavors in savory food (Italian sausage, for example, disgusts me). Reese's peanut butter cups are one of America's very best contributions to world culinary culture.
posted by Chrischris at 5:56 PM on October 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

All of the chocolate.
All the time.
The end.
posted by bookmammal at 6:04 PM on October 18, 2019 [4 favorites]

Favorites: Dark chocolate in most forms (particular Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups), toffee, many flavors of jelly beans, sour candies of almost any sort, Nerds and Runts, Stroopwafels, chocolate brandy beans.

Hate: Any sort of licorice. Most of the cheap garbage, like candy corn, those discontinued valentines hearts, tootie rolls, Hersey's milk chocolate of any sort. Anything with a wafer. What are wafers even? I hate their texture. The way everyone goes gaga over weird Japanese KitKat bars is baffling to me.
posted by Caduceus at 6:07 PM on October 18, 2019

Worst candy: candy cigarettes.

There was a time in the late 80’s /early 90’s when you could smoke your candy cigarettes while rocking a bubblegum beeper and, if you really wanted to seem kind of edgy, snorting a pixie stick.

Now when you do those things it’s “weird” and “inappropriate” and HR calls you in for meetings because it’s “making people uncomfortable”.
posted by dephlogisticated at 6:19 PM on October 18, 2019 [23 favorites]

I have a gummi bear problem. Actually, it's not limited to bears. I have a gummi thing problem. If you put a pound of gummi bears in front of me, I will continue eating them until they are gone.

*raises hand, hangs head*

I will even do this with the sour ones, until the tartaric acid renders my tastebuds inoperable for a week.

There was a time in the late 80’s /early 90’s when you could smoke your candy cigarettes while rocking a bubblegum beeper and, if you really wanted to seem kind of edgy, snorting a pixie stick.

I have a very specific grade school recollection of all of the variety stores in my hometown beginning to sell bubble gum that came in sticks -- each stick was wrapped with waxed paper that looked like a real cigarette, in both appearance and size, down to the filter colouring.

And they came in a package that looked just like a cigarette package, cellophane tab and all. I'm about 99% sure they were called "Smiles." My googling thus far hasn't turned them up.

This was in the mid-80s, and I still remember the absolute shitstorm that rained down the day kids started showing up with them. Teachers on yard duty that morning (understandably) lost their shit, because kids were running all around the schoolyard with these sticks of gum that looked exactly like cigarettes dangling from their lips.

There were whispered teacher conversations in the halls after the morning bell rang.

Classroom interrogations.

Kids were sent to the office for possession.

There was an agitated announcement by the principal over the school's PA system that very afternoon. He stipulated that the bubble gum cigarettes were forthwith banned from school premises.

With that bit of nostalgia out of the way:

Is this here thread where we come for the annual Kerr's debate?
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 6:43 PM on October 18, 2019 [4 favorites]

Peanut butter M&Ms
Peanut Butter Cups
Mounds

And I do like Candy Corn, but especially the Candy Corn Pumpkins. Is it just me or are they just creamier?
posted by nightrecordings at 7:00 PM on October 18, 2019 [3 favorites]

My favorite chocolate bar is the original Ritter Sport rum-raisin-hazelnut, which had real rum in it. The version they sell in the United States uses rum flavoring and is nowhere near as good.

I do like Gummi bears quite well, and usually swipe a few Swedish Fish when my daughter has a bag, but generally I would rather have chocolate than other kinds of candy.

Like any right-thinking person, I hate Circus Peanuts, cinnamon candy of any kind, and black licorice.
posted by briank at 7:00 PM on October 18, 2019

Best candies: milk chocolate from Fazer and dark from Frey; also the truffles down the street. Pocky. Ritter with cornflakes. Ok, I’m kind of one note and I really like chocolate.

Worst candy: wax lips, Mr. Goodbar, root beer barrels, Peeps.
posted by eirias at 7:00 PM on October 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

My favorite candy is, and has always been, Chuckles. There's one store in town that still sells them and whenever I'm there I will buy 4-5 packs. My kid and I have this thing where we'll split a pack. She'll take the green and yellow, I'll take the red and orange, and we'll split the black. We have been doing this for years and it's one of my favorite things.

Last Halloween, I bought a couple cases of them on Amazon and handed them out to Trick or Treaters. None of them knew what they were and they all looked disgusted, like I was giving them Old People Candy. Kids are stupid and I hate them.

I like chocolate. The darker the better. Regular chocolate is boring. White chocolate is pointless.

I like candy corn and licorice.

I *love* jelly beans but only the classic kind. Jelly Bellies are an abomination.

I recently tried durian candy. It was awful. I mean, I knew it was durian so it wasn't gonna smell good, but I assumed because it was candy it wouldn't be too bad. I had to spit it out.

I don't think I've ever eaten a circus peanut but I have always hated them on principle.

I can't eat Smarties without pretending I'm popping pills.

The last couple Halloweens I've made it a point to give out full sized candy bars, which was always a dream of mine. We don't get too many kids so it's not too expensive to do it.
posted by bondcliff at 7:06 PM on October 18, 2019 [7 favorites]

Especially straight from the fridge... so chewy... (Have not tried the freezer like Fizz recommends, I'm slightly scared for my jaw!)

I am now officially intrigued by this chilled/frozen gummi idea.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:12 PM on October 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

Number one best is Joyva Sesame Crunch (can't buy. eat whole bag. bad for teeth.)
Best fancy kind is Vosges Caramel Marshmallows
Also best is Crunchie, Almond Rocha, Skor
Also have eaten much more chocolate candy corn in my life than I'd care to admit.

Probably you all know Mars, Nestle and Hershey (WaPo) are still using child labor cause like, it would cost more not to. I got pretzels and cheese snacks to hand out for Halloween (90 pack box from Costco $10).
posted by Glinn at 7:18 PM on October 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

Black licorice is already ambrosia of the gods, but the metaphorical cherry on top is that so many people inexplicably hate it and just let me have all I want.

My favorite candy as a kid was Warheads, those jawbreakers that were extremely sour for 20 seconds then mildly sweet the rest of the time. I have fond memories of eating three of those in a row, then having a irritated spot on my tongue for the next few days.

But fuck Tootsie Rolls.
posted by J.K. Seazer at 7:24 PM on October 18, 2019 [3 favorites]

favorite candies: sour brite crawlers. Dots. Skittles (berry). Mike and Ike (original). Red licorice in all forms. Red Hots. Caramels in any and all forms. Gummi orange slices.

favorite chocolate candies: Terry’s chocolate orange. Reese’s. KitKat. Twix. Peanut M&Ms.

bad candies: Now & Later. Boston Baked Beans. Good n Plenty. White jellybeans. Tootsie rolls (these are however redeemed if inside a Tootsie Roll Pop).

bad candies I like: candy corn. Circus peanuts (look, they feel good to bite into? idk). Those colored dots on paper. Necco Wafers because I’m a history nerd and enjoy eating the exact same candy someone ate in 1870 or whatever. Smarties (satisfying to nibble)

But really I like just about all candy, it’s only a matter of enthusiasm.
posted by castlebravo at 7:24 PM on October 18, 2019 [4 favorites]

Oh my gosh that Kerr thread (original article no longer there dangit), reminded me of Peanut Butter kisses. I loved those. Must find some.
posted by Glinn at 7:27 PM on October 18, 2019

Big White Rabbit Milk Candy was a favorite growing up

Oh yeah, me too! My mom used to buy those for us from a Chinese supermarket near us. I would literally be unable to stop eating them, one after the other. I love them so so much.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 7:28 PM on October 18, 2019

I don't really like candy but occasionally I'll have a chocolate. Like my sense of humor, I prefer dark and bitter to sweet.

So I want to tell you about something else entirely. I spent the day in an amazing house. It was the home of one of the founders of the Arts and Crafts movement, Dard Hunter. He was primarily a papermaker and a guy whose father was a newspaper publisher who endorsed the industrial revolution and the dramatic and seemingly positive change it brought to people's lives, but while Dard himself also thought progress brought a net benefit, he worried that the rapid adoption of mechanization would destroy craftsmanship and cause the extinction of the ancient arts. So Dard decided to specialize in one thing, paper, specifically handmade paper. He studied and wrote books about as many of the international traditions of papermaking as he could find and study, and he designed, published, and often printed books about these processes. And he himself practiced these arts and became a master papermaker. His early career included time spent at the Roycraft Arts Colony, which became a force in the production and training of artists and craftspeople in the Missionary and Arts and Crafts era. Dard wasn't only a papermaker though. He also became a master printer, designer, binder, typographer, artist and all-round fabricator. He made his own type and punch molds using His books are among the most beautiful books the early 20th century produced, and most were made entirely by hand.

He married and had a son who he also named Dard, and Dard the second took up his father's work and eventually mastered every skill his father shared. While his father was primarily known for the work he did at the Roycraft Colony, Dart II began to build his reputation in the family home in Chillicothe, Ohio, where he worked in his father's print and binding shop. There they continued to make handcrafted books, primarily on the book arts themselves, but also taking on commercial work, like creating the bookplates for the personal libraries of Alfred Knopf and William Morrow.

Dard II's contribution to the world of books was probably crowned by the book he produced to celebrate the work of his father. That book is called The Life Work of Dard Hunter, and there are two volumes. You can see them here scanned by the University of Utah's Marriot Library.

Volume 1
Volume 2

What is extraordinary about these books is that they are believed to be the first American "One Man" books meaning one person did everything. Made all the paper for the edition, designed, cast, and set all the type, created every illustration and ornament, every punch and embossment, wrote the book, laid out the book, and in the case of these two volumes, separately printed an exact, often multicolor example of every design, print job, both literary and commercial, every paper his father produced, all the letterheads, and title pages, and advertisements, and bound them all into these two volumes. And through these reproductions told the entire history of his father's work. Alone.

So I visited his home and studio today and met Dard III, who is cataloging and preserving his father and grandfather's work. Dard III is also an amazing individual and still continues to run the shop, though he hasn't produced any books there. His primary focus now is on preservation.

He told me some amazing stories about his father and grandfather, but the one that is still kind of haunting me was about his father. He told me that he recently married for the first time in his late forties, but what took him so long was something his father told him. He told him to make sure the person he settled down with was the right person. To wait as long as it takes. And he did, marrying only recently. But his discovery about why his father gave him that advice is what floored me.

Dard III told me that while he knew his dad loved his mom, his dad once told him about his first love, Alice. A girl he met in high school and whom he immediately fell for. He was always too shy to tell her about his feelings and always regretted he never confessed his love, which he felt for her his entire life.

Dard III told me that he was looking at a draft of his father's handmade tribute to his grandfather when he came across a sample letterhead that was produced by the Dard Hunter studio when his young father worked there. He said it caught his eye because of the simplicity of it, just a gracefully rendered monogram, A.L.L. and it caught his eye because the monogram almost suggested the word, Alice. And he remembered his father's stories about this teen crush, and he looked up the index entry for this particular piece of stationery and it gave a full name, and noted it was created for a family friend. So he looked up the name and found what he thought was a match, and she was still alive and in New England, and he said when he called her and told her his name was Dard Hunter, she dropped the phone.

When she finally picked it up, he explained he had the same name as his father and grandfather, and that he was calling to see if he could confirm she was indeed the person her father had created the stationery for. And she was. She cherished it and still had some. But they eventually lost touch. But as Dard III filled her in on his father's life, they both began to realize that his father and Alice while no longer in contact, were living separate but parallel lives. Alice first moved to the New York village where Dard II would build a handmade paper factory. Alice then took an apartment in New York City, blocks away from where Dard II had an apartment he used when meeting with New York publishers. Eventually, they discovered that Alice also had a home in Paris, again blocks away from where Dard II had an apartment. Their lives had crossed time and time again, and neither knew it. She told Dard III that his father was the only man she ever loved. And Dard III told me that he believed his dad loved his mom, but that his father probably still held a torch for his first love, Alice, for his whole life, and regretted never telling her. And all of this from wondering about a monogram on a reproduction of a piece of stationery. Damn. I'm still thinking about that house, that studio, all those beautiful books, the stationery, and that story. It was an excellent day, one filled with wonder, sadness, and beauty.
posted by Stanczyk at 7:34 PM on October 18, 2019 [49 favorites]

Especially straight from the fridge... so chewy... (Have not tried the freezer like Fizz recommends, I'm slightly scared for my jaw!)

I am now officially intrigued by this chilled/frozen gummi idea.

While they are frozen they're not super hard to chew through (and they thaw out quite quickly).

You can also suck on them.

Also, also, you can drop them into some vodka & [cranberry/cranapple/preferred] juice and let me tell you, they're amazing.
posted by Fizz at 7:36 PM on October 18, 2019 [3 favorites]

Haven't read everyone else's yet, but this tickled me as I only just caught up with my sister for the first time in months in this last week. Because we were born so close together, as children we used to scratch each others eyes out but our cultural context (read: "trickle treat") is the same. Lured her round with the promise of the proper dirty, retro, cheap kids sweets that my new shop stocks. Also, the threat that I'd share them with actual kids if I didn't see her before Halloween.

Feat. amongst other things popping rocks (cherry, cola and strawb), strips of round bubblegum some of which taste like wee (per our 8-year old selves' diagnosis), waaay too many sour options (why is everything sour now?!) and a reciprocal stick of cider-flavoured rock which I've yet to attempt.

I know it's a cliche that you're always a kid to your parents, but it's so fun/funny how we're still both kids to each other.
posted by I'm always feeling, Blue at 7:44 PM on October 18, 2019 [2 favorites]

I love all the candies. Good and Plenty. Fruit slices (and yes, Chuckles). Malted Milk balls. Those candies that look like berries. I like candy corn and once had a bag of it that was of such a superior make that I still think of it. My favorite was always NECCO wafers, specifically the black and white ones. My heart is sad for the fact that when I ate my last NECCO wafer I never even knew it would be my last.
posted by InkaLomax at 7:50 PM on October 18, 2019 [3 favorites]

I finally found Alice's stationery in the Marriott scans, page 115 in volume 1.
posted by Stanczyk at 8:06 PM on October 18, 2019 [6 favorites]

Black licorice is already ambrosia of the gods, but the metaphorical cherry on top is that so many people inexplicably hate it and just let me have all I want.

When I was a kid, there was a house on my street where the people gave out full-size packages of black licorice Twizzlers. Since I too appreciate the ambrosia of the gods and always have, this gave me outstanding trading leverage in that other kids would just give me theirs.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:12 PM on October 18, 2019 [4 favorites]

Such a great story Stanczyk, thank you for sharing.

I also forgot to mention, I love the black and white hershey's chocolate bars with all the tiny chocolate chips scattered throughout.

And I'm a big fan of Kit-Kat bars. I will also eat them like a monster and just bite through them 2 or 3 or 4 at a time, like this.
posted by Fizz at 8:31 PM on October 18, 2019 [3 favorites]

I also love Ritter Sport above everything; especially the Olympia flavor, which I think at this point you can only get at the main Ritter Sport store in Berlin. Honey and yogurt and something crunchy, all adding up to more than the sum of the parts.
Over the past year I've been trying to keep chocolate for special occasions (and consequently eating more ice cream and pastries and so on, oh dear, time for a further crackdown), but apart from the good German chocolate as above, I really really miss Snickers bars. Composed entirely of things that are bad for you, but so so satisfying, especially when the chocolate is just starting to melt.
posted by huimangm at 10:50 PM on October 18, 2019 [2 favorites]

Best candy bar ever: Tied: Nestle's Crunch and White Chocolate Kit Kat. Actually white chocolate anything is pretty darn awesome.

Worst candy: I hate HATE the combination of mint and chocolate.

(I also must mention that I love me a Good Humor Chocolate Eclair ice cream bar.)

The only candy corns I like are ones made with real honey. The high fructose corn syrup kind suck.

Best M&Ms: Plain
Worst M&Ms: Peanut or any M&M with something inside.
posted by AugustWest at 11:47 PM on October 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

It's official. Kvikk Lunsj is better than KitKat.

I've never had candy corn. What's it like?
posted by Too-Ticky at 12:00 AM on October 19, 2019 [2 favorites]

I've never had candy corn. What's it like?

If you message me your address I will happily send you some! (I don't mind shipping internationally.)

Candy corn evangelism is the best kind of evangelism.
posted by mollywas at 12:16 AM on October 19, 2019 [5 favorites]

mollywas: I will happily send you some!

♥️🔥😋
Will do later today, you're a sweetheart!
posted by Too-Ticky at 1:03 AM on October 19, 2019 [3 favorites]

My wife and I both LOVE gummi bears. I started eating them when living in Germany - there was a small store run by an older German lady right off the base that sold every variety of gummi imaginable (regular, sour, cola flavored, you name it). We buy one of the large bags of Haribo Gold bears every now and then and it will usually be gone within 3 days.

As for least favorite, I'd have to go with circus peanuts. I absolutely hate them now, but oddly enough I loved them as a child. I'm not exactly sure when the change happened - all I know now is that I despise them.
posted by Roger Pittman at 3:59 AM on October 19, 2019 [2 favorites]

My ultimate faves are Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles but they contain gelatin so I can't have them ;__;
It makes me sad that many sweets have been RUINED by manufacturers reducing their sugar content. Ok I can see why, but they're SWEETS. They're not supposed to be healthy. They're supposed to be unhealthy and delicious. RIP Fruitellas.

My scandi ex tried so hard to get me to like the abomination that is salmiakki (salty liquorice). It didn't work.
posted by Balthamos at 5:55 AM on October 19, 2019 [2 favorites]

When I was a kid I decided to be into Zagnuts mostly for weirdness purposes.

Like, they're not bad. But the only reason to call them your favorite is if you're trying to do the eight-year-old equivalent of collecting obscure vinyl.

I was definitely also on team black licorice and team white chocolate, for similar reasons.
posted by nebulawindphone at 6:18 AM on October 19, 2019 [3 favorites]

You people who like candy corn and M&Ms know that there are now candy corn M&Ms, right?

(Specifically, white choclate candy corn M&Ms.)
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 6:27 AM on October 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

I ❤️ Candy Corn. Don’t @ me.
posted by hilaryjade at 6:49 AM on October 19, 2019 [4 favorites]

I love most types of candy tbh and so generally avoid buying it because I will destroy it so fast. Much like cereal, no self control around it.

All the gummy comments above reminded me that I love most types but I do have a mental categorization system according to texture. Haribo Gold bears are probably my gold standard for gummies, but sometimes I want the denser feel of swedish fish or sour patch kids. Gummy worms are often at the softer end of the scale but they're the only softer gummies I like. I tried some of the more "natural" gummy candies and they just didn't have enough chew for me.

That being said, all time number one favorite is probably still Reese's Peanut Butter pumpkins or trees - I like the ratio of PB to chocolate better in those.
posted by brilliantine at 7:01 AM on October 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

My oldest boy claims to have not had a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup until he was an adult because I would confiscate them all when he got back from trick-or-treating. I think he's exaggerating but probably not by much.
posted by maurice at 7:08 AM on October 19, 2019 [4 favorites]

Frango Mint
posted by sammyo at 7:11 AM on October 19, 2019 [4 favorites]

Gummy people: try Albanese if you can find them. HOLY SMOKES. The absolute BEST gummy bears. Hands down.
posted by cooker girl at 8:24 AM on October 19, 2019 [4 favorites]

I, erm, may have an account with Albanese which allows me to order their gummi products directly from their factory in Hammond, Indiana, just in case I can't find them locally.

I told you I have a problem.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:41 AM on October 19, 2019 [7 favorites]

Kit-Kats! I love them, and when I learned that there was other flavors around the world I began to beg anyone traveling to bring some back for me. My collection of regional flavors from japan is impressive, actually it’s just the boxes because they don’t last long around me.
posted by lepus at 8:42 AM on October 19, 2019 [2 favorites]

My scandi ex tried so hard to get me to like the abomination that is salmiakki (salty liquorice). It didn't work.

Ah, and this is the only kind of candy I really like enough to actually seek it out and buy it. (Not much for sweets in general...) There are, in fact, some varieties that are too salty for me--this is my current fave, a nice balance of salt and licorice-ness and very slight sweetness.
posted by Kat Allison at 9:12 AM on October 19, 2019 [2 favorites]

Gummi/y update: I've placed some worms and bears in the freezer, per Fizz's advice.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:29 AM on October 19, 2019 [2 favorites]

My scandi ex tried so hard to get me to like the abomination that is salmiakki (salty liquorice). It didn't work.

I had Finnish grandparents who gave me things like salmiak-flavoured Läkerol as a "treat," so I guess I developed a taste for it early. But I can totally see how it's disgusting to people, because it kind of is. Like the coworker of mine who learned about it the hard way.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:39 AM on October 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

I went to a short course in Finland full of international students. One of them bought a pack of salmiakki about the size of a pack of cigarettes. She tried one piece and said, Jesus, this is disgusting. (Or whatever the Australian version of that phrasing would be. It’s been a couple decades now.) She spent the rest of the short course trying to get rid of the stuff. Each of us was game to try it exactly once, so she quickly ran out of victims. Well, the sunk cost fallacy was alive and well in her heart, so in her stubborn miserliness she wound up finishing the box. Dear reader, do you know what she did next? Yes: she bought another.
posted by eirias at 11:02 AM on October 19, 2019 [7 favorites]

Gummi/y update #2:

Fizz! You magnificent so-and-so!

These frozen gummies are fantastic.

And this conversation just happened:

"Why did you decide to freeze these?"

"Metafilter told me to."
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:08 AM on October 19, 2019 [14 favorites]

mandolin conspiracy: one of the few salty liquorice sweets foisted on me that I actually liked were the Salvi Läkerol which is extremely odd as they are liquorice and violet flavour and if there's anything worse than a liquorice sweet it's a violet one. I'd even rather eat Tyrkisk peber than Parmaviolets.
posted by Balthamos at 11:31 AM on October 19, 2019 [2 favorites]

I love peanut butter M&Ms, Reese’s cups, Heath bars, orange slices, and I am on team black licorice. (I find the red ones gross and disappointing, honestly; Red Vines in particular taste like plastic to me.) I assume it’s genetic, as my dad’s favorite candy when I was young was a bag of black licorice. Also means that I enjoy things like beef rendang with aniseed, though my spouse wasn’t as keen.

At some point I want to try some of those Philippine candies I’ve heard about that are coffee flavored, as those sound amazing. No desire for the funky KitKat flavors, though, since I don’t particularly care for the original.

Candy corn and Jelly Bellies remain awful to me.
posted by tautological at 12:08 PM on October 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

I really like the circus peanuts! They remind me of when I was little. They're not my favorite or anything, but I like them.

Best candy: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Wachamacallit, Butterfinger, Take 5
Worst: Those black and orange wrapped peanut butter taffy things, Mike and Ike's, Dots
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:47 PM on October 19, 2019 [2 favorites]

Toblerone with roasted corn. Picked up once in an airport (natch) on a whim. Never to be found again. So salty and delicious.
posted by ominous_paws at 12:53 PM on October 19, 2019 [3 favorites]

I love the Trader Joe's dark chocolate peanut butter cups and eat them year-round these days.

I am also fond of taking a tiny number of individual semi-sweet chocolate chips (like, 3, or 5) and eating each one with an almond, or a bit of walnut.

My favorite Halloween candy is Snickers, but I only eat whatever's left over after the trick-or-treaters.

I had a serious craving for pecan clusters (apparently the official ones are Demet's Turtles and was really glad to find I could order some from Amazon as a treat for myself last Yule.

I still enjoy this little exchange from 2014's Halloween candy FPP.
posted by kristi at 1:13 PM on October 19, 2019

Also: Stanczyk, that was an amazing story. Thank you for sharing it!
posted by kristi at 1:13 PM on October 19, 2019

Favorite: Kitkats (of all flavors except dark chocolate), Kvik lunsj and Firkløver in Norway
Hate with a fiery passion: milk candies my coworkers bring back from the Philippines.
posted by gryphonlover at 2:21 PM on October 19, 2019

Like: chocolate like SCHARFFEN BERGER which you will never get in a trick or treat bag. :)
Dislike: Candy corn, Maryjanes, anything licorice, Milk Duds.
Favorite candy bar: $100,000 bar. Do they still make those?
posted by Splunge at 2:30 PM on October 19, 2019

As per previously:

1. Top Deck
2. Violet Crumble
3. Sherbies
4. Musk Lifesavers
5. Muskettes
6. Jaffas
7. Freddo Frogs
8. Fruit Tingles
9. Fry's Turkish Delight
10. Caramello Koalas
11. Old Jamaica Rum & Raisin
12. Minties
13. Fantales
14. Cherry Ripe
15. Fruit & Nut
16. Red Frogs
17. Killer Pythons
18. Wizz Fizz
19. Golden Rough
20. Eucalyptus Drops
21. Bananas
22. Picnic
23. Smarties
24. Peppermint Crisp
25. Marella Jubes
26. Mint Patties
27. Wagon Wheels
28. Bertie Beetles
29. Lolly Gobble Bliss Bombs
30. Green Frogs
31. Strawberries & Cream
32. Redskins (they'd be higher, except for the racism.)
33. Milkos
34. Fagds

posted by zamboni at 2:45 PM on October 19, 2019

Candy corn is surely on the list of the worst things human beings have invented.

It's not quite as bad to eat as those vaguely cinnamon-flavored wax vampire teeth with lips attached. But, there's so much more of it! Why? Who would ever choose it if they had the option instead to eat gravel or live cockroaches?

Mounds bars were always the prize for me. Followed by Hershey's Special Dark. Aside from the incredibly intricate toffee popcorn balls that the local cesspool pump truck magnate made by hand in quantities of hundreds. Their family was famous in the neighborhood. We always went there first. But, that's probably not a universal experience.

(To be clear, I don't have any ethical objection to people who like candy corn. I do find that opinion startling. I'm glad it exists, since it makes people happy. But, if you like it, we're going to have a long and complicated conversation about subjective experience and aesthetics at some point.)
posted by eotvos at 3:37 PM on October 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

I think my dog looks like a candy corn when viewed from above so that's my favorite.
posted by HotToddy at 3:39 PM on October 19, 2019 [2 favorites]

To clarify, I mean the dog candy corn. I wouldn't eat the candy candy corn for nothin'.
posted by HotToddy at 3:40 PM on October 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

Worst candy: candy cigarettes.

They're more fun and taste like caramel if you actually light them on fire and let them burn for a while. Not the fake smoke puffy gum ones, but the sticks of pure sugar.

(There are things about my childhood that I find quite surprising, now that they're brought to mind.)
posted by eotvos at 3:41 PM on October 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

Just found out that my favorite, Clark Bars, are due to come back in production next month!
posted by octothorpe at 3:42 PM on October 19, 2019 [2 favorites]

Here in the Netherlands, we used to have candy cigarettes that were made of chocolate. That sounds like a good idea, except that it was really terrible, waxy chocolate.
posted by Too-Ticky at 4:01 PM on October 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

I'm about to embark on another long business trip, and I always bring snacks for the team (despite the fact that the boat is stocked with more junk food than you would know what to do with). My usual is a bag of Starburst and a bag of Peanut M&Ms, which we keep in the lab. At the beginning of each test series, everyone always says that they won't eat the candy but it all mysteriously disappears not long after.

I will say that I'm not a huge sweets person, but when I have candy it's usually the fruity/sour/chewy stuff; my wife favors chocolate. Mike and Ikes are my go-to readily available American candy; if I'm somewhere like an airport that has a by-the-pound candy shop I'll fill a bag with Haribo (usually a mix of the cola bottles, frogs, and the berry things with the crunchy pastilles on the outside). For a chocolate bar, my absolute favorite is Ritter Sport (mint and hazelnut flavors).

While we generally don't keep sweets in the house, sometimes the bags of chocolate chips my wife keeps around for baking go missing. It's a true mystery what happens to them.
posted by backseatpilot at 5:07 PM on October 19, 2019 [3 favorites]

Maine had a big storm, a genuine nor'easter. I scoffed at the panicking newscaster, but I lost power for a day and a half. I have plenty of supplies - candles, headlamp, oil lamps, wood stove, beer, but my fridge was getting warm, so I went to get dry ice. By the time I got home, power was on. I think that's some form of Murphy's Law.

Reese's Cups - I love that gritty salty peanut butter. Mini-snickers. Sour - sweet-tarts, smarties, sour patch. Gummies, jelly beans. Cinnamon red-hots. No more bit-o-honey since I lost a filling that way, bummer. Salty-sweet, like payday or chocolate-covered pretzels. I don't eat much candy, but will give out Reese's and snickers and enjoy what's left over. Or maybe sweet-tarts.

Nope on candy corn, licorice. And crappy chocolate is mostly not worth the calories.
posted by theora55 at 5:19 PM on October 19, 2019 [2 favorites]

I’m all in for any kind of chocolate and peanut butter combination. Lots of love for dark chocolate in general.

For some reason, I really can’t abide anything fruit-flavored.
posted by thomas j wise at 6:21 PM on October 19, 2019

I am generally indiscriminate about candy, and will eat most anything. For a period of time during my teens, I steered toward Toffifay. During college and for a few years afterward, my best friend and I had a habit of buying Red Ropes for movie viewing. Then I discovered Swedish Fish. For many years my junk craving was banana chips (not candy, but sweet and crunch). I honestly tried to get on board with the dark chocolate craze, but I am a heathen and prefer milk chocolate.

These days we buy a bag of peanut M&Ms after a hike because it's easy to shovel down when you're driving down Route 28 in the dark toward the Thruway.

(For the record, I love black licorice. And Smarties. And Tootsie-Rolls.)
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 6:34 PM on October 19, 2019 [2 favorites]

GUMMI!!! Yes! Almost anything gummi is delicious except for some reason the Trolli brand always tastes weird? If cinnamon gummi hearts were available year-round, or didn’t always sell out in the first 7-ish days after they appear I would definitely be in trouble, it is already really hard to not eat a whole bag in a day so it’s probably good that I can only find 3-4 bags per year.

Speaking of gummi hearts, there used to be these thinner/wider gummi hearts where the package had red, pink, and white gummi hearts and each color had its own wonderful flavor. I haven’t seen them in at least 10 years so they’re probably killed off but those were the best seasonal gummis ever.

There’s a type of gummi blackberry/raspberry where the little dots on the outside aren’t these waxy barely-flavored little beads, but are smaller actually-tasty little crunchy things and the inner gummi thing is always so soft! It tastes almost juicy and I cannot help but eat the whole bag. A new chain of grocery stores moved into the area and to my delight they sell little bitty pouches of these gummi berries AND little pouches of the legendary Sunkist fruit discs! I actually jumped with joy when I found the Sunkist discs, it’s probably been 20 years since I’d eaten any and the green ones are still the best lime gummi I’ve ever tasted.

The Albanese factory is not quite a 2 hour drive away and the last time we went there the person manning the gummi-fruit-slices area and the person manning the jelly bean bins were...confused...that I kept asking for more. Yes, I know, it’s going to need another bag. Yes, I know it’s multiple pounds now, just trust me, I really do want all these and you won’t be putting them back. We got 3 humongous bags and it lasted about a month :(

PS- do not buy smore taffy you will now have a taffy habit too.
posted by marshmallow kitty at 7:59 PM on October 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

Since I've recently been told by medical folks "eat candy and die", all I have are memories.

The worst, absolute worst, forget your dubbelzout drop or your Thrills gum or Wrigley's Doublemint Kona Creme worst, is Blacklock's Moffat Toffee. Made in the small town of Moffat in the Scottish Borders, it's best confined there. The outer layer is a delightful honey-like boiled sugar. The inside? Ever been troubled by reflux in the middle of the night and woken up with a mouthful of sick? That's what the inside tastes like: it's battery acid flavour honeycomb candy. Really foul. Instant eject button: bleccchh.

I suspect it's a product of the same Borders sense of humour that brought us the Reivers.
posted by scruss at 7:59 PM on October 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

Blacklock's Moffat Toffee

Dear lord. Moffat Toffees look like cockroach oothecae.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:40 PM on October 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

likes: milk chocolate, mint, peanut butter, most fruit flavors except cherry and raspberry

hates: candy made with starch or flour ( red vines, gummies, goetze's, chalky stuff made with confectioner's sugar); gumdrops and sweet licorice made with pectin are ok

one of my bullies tried to press salty licorice on me ( she didn't know I'd already tried some that a Russian friend had)

on my 1st uk trip 29 years ago I bought a tin of acid drops and shriveled my tongue.

I'm allergic to red 40 dye.
posted by brujita at 10:58 PM on October 19, 2019

This time of year, I love Palmer's filled chocolate eyeballs, and Reese's peanut butter pumpkins.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 1:29 AM on October 20, 2019

Wizz Fizz

_██_
ಠ_ృ
posted by Fizz at 7:59 AM on October 20, 2019 [3 favorites]

Botan Rice Candy. Something about the edible rice paper wrapping plus the flavor, plus the memory of ripping into the box right as my parents paid for them at an Asian grocery store. The stickers were never good though.
posted by spamandkimchi at 10:11 AM on October 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

OK

STORY TIME

you must freeze your favorite chocolate bar, in the freezer

take it out, grate it with a microplane into a bowl (this takes a long time, press hard, use a good microplane that isnt blunt don't cut your fingers)

and then eat the resulting GIANT PILE of insta-melt-in-the-mouth, palette-coating, texturally-wondrous microshavings with a teaspoon

you can make 4 squares of chocolate last 10 minutes, rather than 30 pathetic seconds this way

anyone that disagrees with this without trying this is denying themselves and the rest of humanity a transcendant experience, and can go suck on violet candy forever in HELL
posted by lalochezia at 10:44 AM on October 20, 2019 [5 favorites]

I am very intrigued by lalochezia's process. I look forward to trying it, even if they're entirely wrong about violet candy.

(I've also never opened a can of cocoa baking powder without throwing a spoonful or two into my mouth since I was old enough to hold a spoon. So, this is right up my alley.)
posted by eotvos at 10:55 AM on October 20, 2019

Likes -- Reece's peanut butter cups, Kit Kats, Thin Mints. Lemon drops (must have for coughs and sore throat), cinnamon red-hots. Root beer, black and cherry jelly beans.

Dislikes -- most bagged Halloween assortment candies. The lollipops at most offices. Anything sour.

You can have all my gummy bears. Seriously, I saw a delightful chocolate covered donut with gummy worms at the store today -- nope, nope.

I had a conversation yesterday about the virtues of Reece Cups vs Reece Bars. Must try that sometime.
We are both old enough to remember when "fun size" actually was.
posted by TrishaU at 1:48 PM on October 20, 2019

oh hey i heard this is the thread where we're talking about kerr's molasses kisses, best candies on the planet :D :D :D
posted by halation at 2:11 PM on October 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

I love almost all candy with the large and important exception of licorice and anything licorice-adjacent, which is gross and not candy. But, I've been a vegan for a long, long time and many delightful candies are not vegan, so aside from fancy specialty stuff, I mostly eat peanut chews, justin's pb cups, chick-o-sticks, sour patch kids, and skittles (now vegan!). Plus European vegan gummy bears in bulk anytime I go to Europe (the American ones are just tragic in comparison).

I just bought Lagusta Yearwood's Sweet + Salty, which is an incredible candy cookbook. I made chocolate covered honeycomb that turned out exactly like the one I buy from her store. I'm looking forward to making over-the-top fancy caramels (like spruce + preserved lemon!!) and the sherberts (you know, old school fizz-in-you-mouth candy) next.
posted by snaw at 3:04 PM on October 20, 2019

I feel like this thread is missing a soundtrack.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 3:06 PM on October 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

I used to BEG my sister not to have tons of candy in the house, because I know my willpower just is not what I'd like it to be. She'd be all, "But I'll just put it in the freezer!" Like, woman, do you have no idea how freaking delicious frozen chocolate is?!?
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:18 PM on October 20, 2019 [3 favorites]

Favourite - the original Milo Bar. Sadly, they stopped making them in 2003. I ate many of these for breakfast when I was at uni.

I am yet to decide on a favourite candy in Canada.

Worst- a toss up between the lolly teeth in Allen's party mix and spearmint leaves. They both taste like toothpaste.
posted by Kris10_b at 5:41 PM on October 20, 2019 [1 favorite]

Soundtrack? Yes.
The Archies: Sugar Sugar
posted by TrishaU at 5:00 AM on October 21, 2019

Favorites: Twix, real dark chocolate, Starburst / Skittles, salty chewy black licorice
Least favorites: Candy corn, candy hearts, Twizzlers, peeps, circus peanuts, pretty much anything marshmallow (though I like smores)
posted by peacheater at 5:47 AM on October 21, 2019

Yes to dark chocolate, mint, peanut butter; yes to Trader Joe's dark chocolate peanut butter cups, yes to Necco Wafers. No to licorice.

Also yes to some of the vaguely-fruit-flavored things from the Willy Wonka candy company, like Runts and Nerds. I was also delighted to see them bring back Bottle Caps (a Sweet-Tart consistency candy that came in different soda flavors; I had a pack or two when I was about eleven, and then it seemed to vanish, and then came back a couple years ago).

For a while I had this weird affectation that Sno-Caps were my go-to movie candy. I don't know where that came from or why I settled on it, or why I stopped. Then towards the end of my theater career the Take 5 bar was launched and that became a "thing" with me for a while - to the point that during a break in a rehearsal for a show I was working on, the playwright came up to me laughing to share a story: he'd been looking for a place to sit when he first arrived, and saw that one chair was empty of person, but had a script resting on it, and balanced on the arm was a coffee cup and two Take 5 bars. "I bet EC is sitting there," he thought to himself, and then five minutes later, when I walked back into the room...

I'm also a bit of a fan of the videos put out by Lofty Pursuits in Florida (an earlier FPP post on them here), and have purchased from them too. The packages they come in are a little small, but they're good.

I've also actually tried a few of those weird Japanese "candy kit" sets - there's very little "candy making", it's more like "reconstituting freeze-dried candy powder and molding it". The resulting things you make are tinier than you'd think, and they all taste vaguely gummy-candy-like.

Speaking of which - all y'all gummy fans, try some of the gummies from the Japanese company Kasugai. Friends and I discovered it once in an Asian market and bought it because of the amusingly poorly-translated English on the package; but then we tried some and realized "holy crap, this is GOOD." Very intense fruit flavors; and I'm still amused that the kiwi flavor gummies have little black seed-like spots on them.

Two candy stores I'll pitch as well:

* This place was about midway between the rural town I grew up in in Connecticut, and the big stores in Hartford where Mom took my brother and I school clothes shopping. So we would stop there either on the way there or the way back so she could soften the blow.

* I discovered this place when I lived in the Lower East Side and would make an annual pilgrimage for various holiday candies. I still do and I am delighted it is still there.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:07 AM on October 21, 2019 [1 favorite]

Although I haven't had one in ages, I have such fond memories of Whatchamacallit bars when I was a kid - I must have been able to pick one out at the checkout line and thought they were so perfect.

Nowadays, I'd take a baked good over a candy bar 10 times out of 10. I've had two boxes of full size bars for Halloween in plain view for a few weeks and they sit undisturbed.
posted by Twicketface at 11:46 AM on October 21, 2019

Take Five or take a hike... they're so difficult to find in my grocery store Halloween aisle, too. Now re-branded as Reese's Take Five, I guess? Still hard to source!
posted by lefty lucky cat at 12:20 PM on October 21, 2019

Love: Canadian Smarties and Cadbury Twirl bites, neither of which I can reliably get in the US.
Hate: Candy pumpkins, like candy corn but worse.
posted by rachaelfaith at 12:46 PM on October 21, 2019

I like many candies. My favorite chocolate bar is a Snickers. (I like the ice cream version too.) I do find there are some candies I like a lot but only if I have a little of them once in a great while. Halvah, lemon drops, candied almonds,...I'm sure there are many others. I'm thrilled to taste these once in a while but do not want them often.
posted by tmdonahue at 1:28 PM on October 21, 2019

Faves: Nutrageous, Nut Goodie, chocolate Necco Wafers, butter mints, Heath/Skor, and Almond Joy.
posted by soelo at 1:34 PM on October 21, 2019

Hmm. My comment above about Dard Hunter and sons got side barred. Neat.

Here are two more stories I was told that amazed me. Dard II often wrote from the type drawer, as he set the type. That seems insane to me. He's thinking about what to write and pulling and setting the type simultaneously. I can't even imagine how the mind does that because it's composing backward. The type needs to be set backward to print correctly. Dard III told me that this led (or lead) to a few typos that Dard II got some scathing criticism for and which really bothered his father. Here's an example of one of those typos, though in this case (last line on the page), it's an upsidedown letter, but it well illustrates the danger in composing from the type drawer. Here he set the n upside down and missed it, probably because the word had a u in it and he was proofing backwards.

The other thing he told me concerned his grandfather's printer's mark. A printer's mark is just what you think it is, a mark left by the printer to note that they printed that volume. Like a signature or a logo. Using them was pretty common before offset and digital printing. Dard's printer's mark was very unique, and I'm sure there are elements of it, the significance of which are lost to the ages, but one element of that mark was as he completed each of his One Man books, he would add a leaf to his printer's mark. Here's an example of his mark, and what's really interesting about this version is the last leaf representing that very book, is falling off the branch. Dard III told me that his grandfather did that because he thought it would be his last book, and indeed it was.
posted by Stanczyk at 2:51 PM on October 21, 2019

Heath Bars. Love them unreasonably. And Mallo Cups, especially fresh ones.

I still mourn for Callard & Bowser Butterscotch which was heavenly. Also, gums like Juicy Fruit and Wrigley’s Spearmint when they were tooth-achingly sugar-sweetened. The original Bonomo Turkish Taffy was great since you got to smash it against things to break it into pieces.

Back in the day some folks would hand-make popcorn balls for Halloween; unless eaten immediately they would get stale, fall apart through their wrapping and mess up your treat bag. Similarly, there were folks who did wax-paper-wrapped candy or caramel apples, which could make an even worse mess if neglected.

Never did like those orange peanut things.
posted by kinnakeet at 9:25 PM on October 21, 2019

....On my way home from work today I stopped at the local drug store and picked up four bags of fun-size Kit-kats in four different varieties. I blame this thread.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:54 AM on October 22, 2019 [3 favorites]

I haven't perused the whole thread because omg it's long, so forgive me if this has been asked, but: are the recipes for things like mini-snickers and those Hershey's minis actually different now than they were 30 years ago? Or is it just my palate? Because ok, I'm no hero, it's not like I'll kick mini-snickers out of bed now; but I remember them being much more compellingly delicious and chocolatey when I was a kid, whereas now the flavors seem like just a lot of very unsubtle sugar.

I love candy corn. Fight me. But there are some things even I won't touch: "dots"; those pale colored hard round candies like what come on bracelets and necklaces; hard lollipops. And you know what I miss, that seem to have gone away? Those chewy, individually wrapped rectangular Brach's caramels. Those used to be my favorite.

I am not too proud to enjoy a jolly rancher if conditions are optimal, as long as it's green apple.
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:13 AM on October 22, 2019

My Mom calls Jolly Ranchers "Jolly Rogers." It's one of those things that I found annoying when I was young but now find endearing.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 11:04 AM on October 22, 2019

favs: hot tamales (eaten tossed with a bag of buttered popcorn), frozen snickers, giant chewy sweet-tarts

favs that someone made: salted caramel tortues from southern candymakers in new orleans

not a fan: traditional gummy bears, too squeaky tasting.

worst ever: licorice
posted by domino at 11:56 AM on October 22, 2019

When I was seven or so I went to a roller skating rink with a group - probably girl scouts - chaperoned by a few moms. My mom dropped me off and told me she'd come to get me in an hour-and-a-half and gave me a dollar for a "snack."

I was never allowed many sweets as a kid. At this age, I'd never eaten a full-size candy bar or eaten any breakfast cereal whose first ingredient was sugar. It would be another six years before I'd taste Coke.

But there I was in the skating rink with only someone else's mom watching me. I bought a full-size Butterfingers and I remember not thinking anything at all while I bit into it - just drifting into real enjoyment and nothing else.

Suddenly someone grabbed the Butterfingers out of my hand and yelled "GIVE ME THAT" and I was snapped out of my enjoyment by my very angry mom.
posted by bendy at 9:14 PM on October 22, 2019

Full-sized candy bars weren't really a thing here when I was a kid. The first I encountered was Raider, which is now called Twix. They were handed out as a promotion when we went to the circus as a family. I was flabbergasted; I was used to chocolate bars, and they were divided into blocks so they could be shared. Something that looked like a bar of chocolate and you were supposed to eat ALL of it, and there were even two of it in a pack and you were supposed* to eat BOTH of those? Sign me the hell up!

*Except that of course I would generally be expected to share with my sister.
posted by Too-Ticky at 12:19 AM on October 23, 2019 [1 favorite]

Ritter Sport! I like that they are quadratisch, praktisch, and gut.

I like a lot of them that I've tried, but rum trauben nuss is the best. Trauben nuss is more common and technically tastes better, but rum trauben nuss has actual perceptible rum flavor in it, which enables me to eat my preferred milk chocolate and still feel all "adult" and black-turtleneck about my candy, just as if I were eating severe, sophisticated dark chocolate. It all just makes my head loft off my neck, so when I can find it, I get it, and I crack it open, and I float away...
posted by Don Pepino at 6:58 AM on October 23, 2019 [3 favorites]

Just found out that my favorite, Clark Bars, are due to come back in production next month!

Wow—Clark Bars are the only thing I ever got in my Halloween bucket that actually filled me with horror. I will admit to having been apprehensive based solely on the unpromising name, but I will never forget the full-body shudder of disgust after I had my first and only bite of Clark.
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 3:29 AM on October 24, 2019

Hmm....

There is a brand-new Wegmans' opening in my neighborhood on Sunday, and I'm curious enough to investigate, but have a well-stocked pantry and was wondering what to get.

Just saw an AskMe about "so what should I look for at this new Wegman's near me" and someone else raved about their candy selection, so I think I know what I'll be getting.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:24 AM on October 24, 2019

favorite: your candy

what I am trying to get across here is, give me all your candy.
posted by not_on_display at 4:49 PM on October 24, 2019 [2 favorites]

I had some candy corn the other day. I'd been discussing with my brother in law how great candy corn is, and he went out and bought some. It was good. I could eat about 12 before starting to feel ill. No regrets.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 6:09 PM on October 24, 2019 [1 favorite]

Similar to freezing gummy candies one thing I did a lot as a kid would be to buy a slush and some sour keys and then put the sour keys in the slush. We didn't have sour slush flavours back then so it was a nice change to the shush's taste and at the end the sour keys would be rock hard and slowly soften as you gnawed on them.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 6:12 PM on October 24, 2019

There are a lot of things I don't like that I can conceive of as being just a matter of my own personal tastes, but I'll never understand mint and chocolate that way. It is anti-synergistic: mint and chocolate is so much worse than if you took two flavors that were individually as bad as mint and chocolate are good and then combined them. If the state of being inimical to life were a flavor, it'd be mint and chocolate. Mint and chocolate tastes like it's infecting my soul. I get mildly unsettled even looking at a Thin Mint. If there is some celestial force guiding all creation, and if it intends at some point to realize the catastrophic doom of our species, it will surely be because we invented mint and chocolate. The night grows ever darker. God save us.
posted by invitapriore at 6:35 PM on October 24, 2019 [3 favorites]

Just saw an AskMe about "so what should I look for at this new Wegman's near me" and someone else raved about their candy selection, so I think I know what I'll be getting.

At least where I am, they have the amazing Albanese gummy bears that have grapefruit and lime and sour apple on the flavor list.
posted by nebulawindphone at 7:09 PM on October 24, 2019

Y’all, I just ordered 108 full sized candy bars for Halloween (and a bunch of little things of play-doh for the kids with food allergies.) I have no idea if I’m going to have not nearly enough candy or WAY TOO MUCH candy.
posted by Weeping_angel at 12:02 PM on October 25, 2019

Valomilks. It's like the best Reese's ever only filled with marshmallow cream not fluff. Freeze it then nuke until the center spools out but the walls hold. Oh my gawd. This stuff is holy.
posted by aw jeez at 1:04 PM on October 25, 2019

Ritter Sport! I like that they are quadratisch, praktisch, and gut.

Discovering this slogan, and that anyone would describe chocolate as "practical", made me wildly happy.
posted by ominous_paws at 12:55 AM on October 26, 2019 [1 favorite]

Oh candy. My true love. My mother raised me to love black licorice, and it’s been a handy affinity over the years. I also love hot tamales and sour cola gummies. I am heartily pro candy-corn, but I love the pumpkin mallows more. I, too, loved the brach’s rectangular caramels growing up, and missed them when I was older—but when I lived in London briefly, I relived my childhood through Quality Street (is that the U.K. version, or are they different? Why did they do away with them in the states?)
Honestly, I love most candy, except circus peanuts, the candy dots, fruity tootsie rolls, and Mike n Ike’s.
posted by LakeLimner at 2:44 AM on October 26, 2019

Sticking with name brands, I like:
Sky Bars
Butterfingers
Heath Bars
Smarties

I don't like:
Necco Wafers
Tootsie Rolls
posted by Kirth Gerson at 12:33 PM on October 27, 2019 [1 favorite]

Most taste delicious but some taste like rotten zombie? Care to try?

Are you kidding me? It's like an idiot vice president of marketing let someone like me design candy. That sounds absolutely fantastic! All respect to those who don't like them. But, this is exactly what I want in a candy. I'm going to reserve some time on Nov 1 to buy out the supply at any store I can find that sells it. Thanks!
posted by eotvos at 10:55 AM on October 28, 2019

But, this is exactly what I want in a candy.

OK. To me, it sounds like an exponentially worse version of those mapless candy samplers. The ones where I invariably pick a piece with coconut or strawberry creme filling.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 12:09 PM on October 28, 2019

That random rotting flesh skittles sounds far better than random strawberry creme chocolates is probably not something I should advertise. At least they're small.
posted by eotvos at 1:25 PM on October 28, 2019

Y’all, I just ordered 108 full sized candy bars for Halloween

When I was a really little kid, a player for the unnamed DC football team lived in my neighborhood. This was back when they were a good team, but I guess his position didn't pay much, or something, because it definitely wasn't a millionaire's neighborhood. Anyway, I was like 5 at the time, but I've always remembered that he used to hand out those huge Hershey bars to every kid on Halloween.

Point being, you'll totally make some kid's night, and they may even remember it well into their 30s.
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 8:58 PM on October 28, 2019 [2 favorites]

He lived in that neighborhood so he could afford to be profligate on things like Halloween candy!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 3:55 AM on October 29, 2019 [1 favorite]

When my kids were little they grew up in the country and the small village we lived in only had about 15 houses, and maybe ten kids in the village. So when Halloween rolled around they really got spoiled and everyone gave those kids 4 packs of Reeses, full-size Snickers, Almond Joys, $100,000 Bars, Hershey's, Milky Ways, etc. But one house with this lovely old couple gave all the kids a jumbo-size box of the monster cereal of their choosing, Frankenberry, Count Chocula, or Boo Berry. My kids went nuts over that. It was a good thing their mother and I were with them so we could carry the boxes and they could commence trick or treating.
posted by Stanczyk at 5:11 AM on October 29, 2019 [1 favorite]

Weird Halloween Candy status update, 1 of ... many? More?

Pumpkin Pie Kit Kats (Delish, 2017) are surprisingly decent. Spicy, pumpkin-ey. Bought a big bag on Day After Halloween discount, I'm tempted to buy more. I shared with my co-workers, claiming that they were "Thanksgiving candies," but I then came clean that they were on discount.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:50 PM on November 1, 2019