Trying new candy

I don’t eat (or really like) much candy. Unless you count dark chocolate, which feels like its own category to me.

It’s not that I don’t like sweet things. I love ice cream and cookies and cake as much as anyone. But when it comes to the kind of stuff you’d see in the “impulse buy” section of an American store, it has little appeal to me.

We have a great Asian market in town that imports a lot of cool international food products. It’s super fun to walk around in because all the unfamiliar foods and packages make it feel like you’ve stepped into another country. I like to try out new things that strike my interest as I walk through, because I never know when I’ll find something new I love.

Ironically enough, a lot of what I end up buying there is actually candy and sweets. As opposed to all the American candy, which I already know the taste and quality of, every Asian candy I try represents a new possibility. And when do I find something I really like, candy is great for sharing small portions with other people.

One of my favorite treats I’ve gotten at the market is mochi, which is a sweet food but not really a candy, I think. The ones I get come with peanut, sesame, and red bean fillings, which are all great. I’ve also gotten some good Indian peanut brittle called chikki and these chewy ginger candies.

Recently, a friend of my dad’s gave me a little bar of a Mexican candy made of salty & spicy tamarind pulp. He had happened upon it recently, and he said it reminded him of how they would prepare tamarind in Thailand (he is Thai), with salt & hot peppers.

I had had dried tamarind on its own before, but I didn’t like it that much. But this bar was unlike anything else I had tasted. Tamarind flavor really works better in this combination, and the bar kind of gets more tasty as you eat it.

The Asian market in town also carries this candy, so I went there and got myself a box. I actually got two boxes, so I have enough to hand them out to people I meet. I think it would be fun, and I want to see what other people think of the flavor.

I’m not going to mention the brand name of any of these foods, but they should all be fairly easy to find at the right store. I’ll let you know the names by email upon request if you’re interested.

Do you like American candy? Do you like Asian candy? Do you like Mexican candy? Do you like chocolate? Do you like mochi? Do you like tamarind? Do you like spicy or salty candies? Do you like trying unfamiliar kinds of candy (or food in general)? Do you want to know the brand names of any of these candies? Let me know your thoughts at my Ctrl-C email: gome ​@ ​ctrl-c.club.