# What country has the best/worst/unique candy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2018, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731 "2018-09-04T11:22:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731/41 "2018-09-05T17:53:52Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Visited England several times in my life, starting from a very young age. The candy over there was way better than the US. Two favorites: > > [Cadbury Flake.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flake_(chocolate_bar)) Imagine a long sheet of chocolate, about a millimeter thick, piled up to make a stick that’s 1/2" thick and about 8" long (click the link to see a pic). You bite into it, and the chocolate immediately crumbles into tiny pieces in your mouth, creating a ton of surface area and melting very quickly. It’s an explosion of chocolate flavor with every bite. Not only that, it’s _Cadbury_ chocolate, which beats the daylights out of Hershey’s chocolate. > > [Cadbury Crunchie.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crunchie) Chocolate coating on a core of “honeycomb toffee.” There was (and still is) nothing like that honeycomb center in American candybars. > > OK, one more. [Rowntree Smarties.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smarties) No, not [the shitty little roll of hard pressed-powder candies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smarties_(tablet_candy)) we all hated in our Halloween bags. Rowntree Smarties are the English equivalent of M&Ms - chocolate bits with a thin hard-candy shell. Except, as always, they were made with better chocolate. The Wikipedia page doesn’t say it, but I’d swear there’s a tiny bit of fruit flavoring in there, too. We have all of this in Canada too… ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731/42 "2018-09-05T18:01:13Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > [Enjoy.](https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=chocolate+a+la+taza&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Achocolate+a+la+taza) Bless you. Seriously. I’m on my knees now. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731/43 "2018-09-05T22:09:30Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > OK, one more. [Rowntree Smarties.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smarties) No, not [the shitty little roll of hard pressed-powder candies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smarties_(tablet_candy)) we all hated in our Halloween bags. Rowntree Smarties are the English equivalent of M&Ms - chocolate bits with a thin hard-candy shell. Except, as always, they were made with better chocolate. The Wikipedia page doesn’t say it, but I’d swear there’s a tiny bit of fruit flavoring in there, too. Smarties are all the same flavour EXCEPT the orange smarties which have a faintly orange taste. Smarties are great because they are bigger than M&Ms so have a bigger percentage of chocolate. However there are also Minstrels. Minstrels are like giant smarties/M&Ms - the shells are all chocolate coloured though… ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731/44 "2018-09-05T22:19:48Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > What’s the international status of liquorice allsorts? I know we export our local variety (Beacon) all over the show. Pretty much non-existent in the US, at least. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that it’s available through importers, and might be something you can find at specialty candy stores or import shops, but I can’t definitively say that I’ve ever seen it here. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731/45 "2018-09-05T22:24:10Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > What’s the international status of liquorice allsorts? I know we export our local variety (Beacon) all over the show. I see bags of that type of candy pretty often. I don’t pay attention to brand, as I don’t like licorice candy. My dad did, though, and I remember he and my mother having dishes of allsorts at their house right up until the diabeetus got ahold of him. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2018, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731/46 "2018-09-05T22:47:01Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > What’s the international status of liquorice allsorts? I know we export our local variety (Beacon) all over the show. Bassetts can be found in the International aisle of the major local grocers. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731/47 "2018-09-06T00:29:39Z")
licorice allsorts are problematic. If they are fresh, they are nice, but stale, they are awful. I don’t think many places carry them because, unless you have a high turnover, you can’t sell them fresh, and either you need to dump the stale ones or alienate customers - anyone who’s bought them stale won’t risk it again. They used to sell them at Darrell Lea chocolate/lolly shops, but they went into liquidation. I don’t know where you might buy them these days. I don’t like them much, so I don’t look out for them. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731/48 "2018-09-06T01:41:52Z")
People tend to be nostalgic about food, particularly the sweet stuff. Which country has the best or worst candies depends a lot on one’s preferences. Quite a few of the Canadian candies I used to enjoy seem, in retrospect, a little dubious, which is probably why many are no longer made. Genuine wax tubes filled with sugar water. Giant straws filled with three different colours of sugar. Candy cigarettes. Gum and cheap chocolate cigars. Bubble gum which tastes like soap. Fun Dip - two pouches of powdered sugar licked off a moistened sugar stick. Better to stick to the many delicious chocolate bars, including some of the better English and American brands. Chocolate covered insects and candy coated scorpions were novel but I wouldn’t be in a hurry to try them again. Not a huge fan of European salty licorice or tamarind candies. Mexican candies can be delicious, but some of the fruit pastes taste too sweet or spicy to me. I’m not crazy about spicy candy or things like chocolate coated pretzels. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731/49 "2018-09-06T01:46:49Z")
America is an innovative country and has a staggering amount of confections. Some are delicious, but it mystifies me how some candy is still available — circus peanuts, Hallowe’en kisses (very poor quality molasses taffy), the waxy chocolate used in the cheapest Easter bunnies, chocolate coated Turkish Delight… ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731/50 "2018-09-06T01:50:12Z")
Yeah, but those Canadian toffee bars? I had them when I was a wee lad, and had completely forgotten about them until we took a car trip last year from Quebec City to Cape Breton. Complete bliss, even as they rip the fillings out of your teeth. What are they called? Something vaguely Irish or Scots…? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731/51 "2018-09-06T02:04:30Z")
I love the salmiak licorice, especially the salmiak rondos as they’ve got a touch of sweet along with the ammonia salt. So thanks to my Netherlander cousins who introduced me to them. And tamarind candies I can go through like an opioid addict goes through naloxone rescue kits. Too good! (The tamarind, not the opioid). I buy them in asian grocery stores so I assume that’s where they’re most popular. Though I understand they’re also available at my local mexican grocery store too. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731/52 "2018-09-06T02:51:12Z")
Note to self: Avoid Russian Chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731/53 "2018-09-06T03:27:30Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Yeah, but those Canadian toffee bars? I had them when I was a wee lad, and had completely forgotten about them until we took a car trip last year from Quebec City to Cape Breton. > > Complete bliss, even as they rip the fillings out of your teeth. What are they called? Something vaguely Irish or Scots…? Skors? :dubious: 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731/54 "2018-09-06T04:02:45Z")
No, Skor is available in the U.S. It is far inferior to the Canadian stuff. Just Googled. MACKINTOSH TOFFEE. Ooooo baby, gonna buy some online. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731/55 "2018-09-06T10:44:19Z")
Step away from Belgian chocolate for a moment and try Ghent’s unique (so far as I know) Cuberdon, which is like a (larger than you think) conical turkish delight. > **[Cuberdon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuberdon)** > > A cuberdon is a cone-shaped Belgian candy and a popular local delicacy in Ghent. In Dutch it is also known as a neus ("nose"), Gentse neus ("Ghent nose"), or neuzeke ("little nose") for its likeness to a human nose. In French, cuberdons are also called chapeau-de-curé and chapeau-de-prêtre (priest's hat). > Cuberdons are traditionally made with gum arabic candy crust with a soft, raspberry-flavored inside filling. Their color is purple, though more recently differently colored and flavoured varian... You can buy a bag of them from a barrow on a street corner in the tourist areas. I don’t really go for sweet things, so the first was intriguing, the second was difficult, and the third was enough to last a lifetime. That said, it’s been a couple of years (way too long) since I was last in Ghent, so maybe time for another go. j ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731/56 "2018-09-06T13:15:34Z")
Given that you liked those, you’re likely to enjoy Spanish frutas confitadas as well; I found them very similar. Having been at war in or with or invaded by or hired mercenaries from pretty much every other European country has its advantages - apparently our guys always remembered to raid the kitchens first. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731/57 "2018-09-06T13:51:26Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > Non-western countries don’t have much of a sweet/candy culture because a) it’s an expensive luxury b) lack of available dental hygiene makes eating lots of sugar a very bad idea. You’ve never been in an Arabic shop or bakery, I take it. 1. The word sugar came to us via Arabic (sukkar) 2. [History of sugar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_sugar#Cane_sugar_in_the_medieval_era_in_the_Muslim_World_and_Europe). From the Arab world, sugar was exported throughout Europe. The volume of imports increased in the later medieval centuries as indicated by the increasing references to sugar consumption in late medieval Western writings. But cane sugar remained an expensive import. Its price per pound in 14th and 15th century England was about equally as high as imported spices from tropical Asia such as mace (nutmeg), ginger, cloves, and pepper, which had to be transported across the Indian Ocean in that era.[2] 3. [https://www.quora.com/Why-do-people-from-Arabic-countries-consume-so-much-sugar](https://www.quora.com/Why-do-people-from-Arabic-countries-consume-so-much-sugar) > [@bump](#): > > For weird and/or bad, the salmiak licorice(“Zout”) they sell in Scandinavia and the Netherlands has to be right up there. It kind of grows on you after a while, but the first time you try it, it’s basically salty black licorice with a hit of ammonia. Well since salmiak is made by combining NH3 + HCl that’s not so strange. Licorice tastes a bit different and is made in another way. That taste is more akin to what one can get from Ouzo, Raki, Pastis, fennel and anise. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731/58 "2018-09-06T14:24:43Z")
> [@bump](#): > > For weird and/or bad, the salmiak licorice(“Zout”) they sell in Scandinavia and the Netherlands has to be right up there. It kind of grows on you after a while, but the first time you try it, it’s basically salty black licorice with a hit of ammonia. I tried it once when a co-worker brought some from Sweden. I had to spit it out. Seems like something you’d only eat as penance. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731/59 "2018-09-06T14:38:10Z")
What’s with the ammonia?? I’ve never heard of that. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731/60 "2018-09-06T15:02:52Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > What’s with the ammonia?? I’ve never heard of that. ammonium chloride (sal ammoniac) is the salt used. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-country-has-the-best-worst-unique-candy/820731.md?page=4)