Here are some more pics of candy from my recent trip, with a few first impressions.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
Traditional version of a comfit. Fans of Good n Plenty will immediately be drawn to these.
Raspberry/Blackberry Jams
A gummi that we can find here in the States.
English Apples
Another tart boiled sweet.
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
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.
