Sweet Tooth

I love food. It's that simple. I love it, and although it technically cannot love me back, I like to think that we have a good relationship.

Candy and pastries are one thing that I especially love any time of the day. (I think this stems from a cupcake business that a friend and I used to run at home. And me eating all the disfigured cupcakes.) It can be six in the morning and I am ready to eat some sugary confections. This is usually seen as a bad thing, but today I am going to use this power for good and tell you all about the delicious treats you can get here in the United Kingdom, or at least Oxford. 

First, let me explain the terms. In the UK people do not say 'candy', they say 'sweets' which encompasses almost any sugary treat, such as candy bars, chocolate, taffy, possibly even ice cream and tarts. They do say 'chocolate' but that is under the umbrella term 'sweets' so it is not that common. I have not heard anyone say taffy though, and I am starting to wonder if they even would know what it means.

My new friend Beth has been teaching my flatmates and myself all about the "sweets", aka candy, that they have in England. There are some classics like the KitKats, Cadbury Chocolate Bars, Mars Bars, etc. In America we have these sweets to some degree although upon arriving in England and taking a nice big bite out of your favorite home-land sweet, you might notice a difference in the taste.

For one thing KitKats in the US are owned by Hershey's, while in the UK they are owned by Nestle. Apparently, Nestle bought the rights to sell and manufacture KitKats in the United Kingdom, and it therefore is made with Nestle chocolate. The wrappers look very similar, even the logo does, but the chocolate and wafer center, to me, do not taste nearly as good. (It almost tastes like chocolate from the Dollar Store, aka really cheap. Almost as if there is about one granular of actual chocobean in the mixture and the rest is some artificial flavoring. Also, the wafer has no flavor, and with a sawdust-like texture, that is not a good thing.) Although, you can get candy bars called "KitKat Chunkies" which are very thick KitKats with more wafers and chocolate. Although the chocolate and wafer is not as good, it is still pretty tasty in comparison to the regular KitKat here.

I am actually not sure who produces Mars bars, and I honestly have not had one yet. But my teacher promised who ever found the nearby gold post box one as a reward, and my flatmates and I not only found it, but brought in photos with it. Therefore, I am expecting one in the near future and will be sure to let you know how it is. I believe it is one of the most purchased sweets in England though, and he definitely seems to like them, so hopefully they are good.

Here the company Cadbury is a big chocolate and sweet producer. (Also, just to point out, it is a different company than the Cadbury in America.) They make chocolate bars, Freddo chocolate, Flake bars, Crunchie bars, and so much more! They are like the Hershey's of England and have some of the best candy imaginable. 

They also make my favorite sweets, Cadbury Mini Eggs, which are only available at Easter. It is an egg shaped piece of chocolate with a hard candy shell, and tastes like heaven. The crunch from the shell and the smoothness of the chocolate just make it the best treat there ever was, is, and will be. And you may be thinking, "But Caitlin, M&Ms are chocolate with a candy shell," but you, my friend, have clearly never had a Cadbury Egg. It is the perfect balance of sugar shell and chocolate and dyes your hands only lightly due to the dye being so light and pastel, as opposed to M&Ms. Although, my Cadbury Eggs are American and I actually won't be in England at Easter to try them here, but maybe I can order them online? Anyone want to hook me up, come Easter?

Flake bars are one of Cadbury's other treats, which are only in England. It is a chocolate bar that appears pretty much like any candy bar you might get, on the outside, but on inside it is full of small ribbons of chocolate that zig-zag and contort about making it rather airy and light. This also causes it to break into small crumbs and fall everywhere when you eat it, but the strange texture is definitely worth trying at least once.

Freddo chocolates are tasty milk chocolate treats that come in the shape of a frog. I am not sure if I would say they are better than Hershey's chocolate, but I can definitely eat more per sitting than I can of pieces from a Hershey's bar. And that is rather exciting. Also, whenever I see them I just wonder if they are made because of an old Monty Python sketch where they discuss chocolate frogs. (I wonder that about Harry Potter's chocolate frogs as well.) There is a clip of the sketch I am talking about on YouTube, and I have linked it here for you. Check it out, I think it's rather silly.

Crunchie bars are sweets with a chocolate outside layer and a "honeycomb" center. It is not a real honeycomb, like from a beehive, but is a sweet, almost caramelized, honey block, and it smells like honey from a jar as well. I really do not know how to describe it besides that I love it. It is my favorite chocolate bar I have had here and I will be sad when I have to leave it behind. (Just a warning that too many Crunchies at once does eventually start to make your teeth feel like a cavity is setting in... These are best enjoyed in moderation.)

Another sweet I have tried is the Maoam bars. They are small pieces of hard taffy that come in different flavors. There are Cola, Cherry, Lemon, Orange, and Strawberry. I like them all except the Cola, but I also do not like Rootbeer so the two might be related. The only draw back about Maoams are the rather inappropriate illustrations on their wrappers, which appear to be doing rather x-rated things on a children's candy. I am really rather confused about that, but the candy is very tasty all the same.

There are also these sweets called 'Tunnock's Milk Chocolate Mallow', which are marshmallow fluff on top of a small graham cracker, covered in chocolate. They are very, very good. It is like eating a S'more if it was made at a high quality restaurant and cooked by someone who studied in a French pastry making school. You can also get a cheaper version made by Cadbury, which are not quite as good, but are a bit cheaper and still tasty.

One last sweet I have had here are Kinder bars. I do not think that they have them in America, although I could be wrong. They come from the German company "Kinder" and are chocolate on the outside with a hazelnut center and are delicious! They also make a cuter version called 'Happy Hippos', which is pretty much the same thing but with hippo faces on each bar and slightly less chocolaty. The bars literally melt in your mouth and the creamy hazelnut filling gives you an euphoric buzz until it is all gone and you promptly open another bar to eat.

Apparently Kinder makes something called a 'Kinder Surprise', which has a small present inside. I am very excited to find and try one of those since I think they are similar to the 'Wonder Ball' that used to be popular in America. It was a big hit with kids until it was deemed unsafe since someone could try and eat the small toy inside.

Until next time...

Embrace the Odd,
Caitlin

"Man is a clever animal who behaves like an imbecile." -Albert Schweitzer