10.31.2007

candy corn

Overheard on the radio this morning as it was playing in the kitchen of the day center:

Speaker #1: I was in America last year on Hallowe'en*, and they give away CORN.

Speaker #2: Corn? [Sounding very dubious]

Speaker #1: Yes, corn.

Speaker #2: That's a bit strange, isn't it?

Speaker #1: Well, it's made out of candy to look like corn. They love the stuff.

At which point I dropped the ladle I was trying to get from above the stove and stopped listening.

For the record ... candy corn is very yummy and extremely addictive. This might just be my first candy corn free Halloween ever (can't remember if I had any the year I lived in Switzerland.) One of my fellow novices did send me some Smarties tough (American Smarties NOT European Smarties which are a sad version of M&M's.)



*Hallowe'en is how they spell it here. Granted I heard rather than read the conversation, but were the speaker to spell the day I'm sure she'd use the "e'en" version.

7 comments:

Talmida said...

HAH! M & Ms are just a pale imitation of Smarties and they smell bad, too! ;-)

I never saw an M&M until I was grown up. We didn't have them in Canada, although they're everywhere now.

We still have what you call Smarties -- they're known as Rockets here, and are one of my favourite Hallowe'en (yes, that's how you spell it!) candies.

:)

Sarah said...

I can't believe that's what candy corn is!! As a niave aussie I imagined it was like pop corn but covered in "candy" (aka caramel, toffee, sugar in various forms).
And by the looks of that picture they don't even look like corn!? USA folks are weird!

Susan Rose Francois, CSJP said...

To each their own, I suppose, as the saying goes!

By the way Talmida, that's JUST what I think about Nestle Smarties as well. A pale imitation of M&M's and they smell bad. ;-)

Any Americans out there care to join my defense of American Halloween candy??

Anonymous said...

I'll jump on Susan's bandwagon about American candy. For the most part, when I'm craving chocolate, it's goold old American chocolate, Hershey's (or M&M/Mars) style. M&M's smell bad?? Hmm... never noticed. Though I do greatly dig these other candy-coated chocolate candies, which I can't remember the name of just now. Little balls, bigger than BBs but smaller than M&Ms. They come in a plastic tube-shaped wrapper. Oh, now I'm going to have to go googling...

Anonymous said...

Ah, yes: Sixlets! Yum!! I think it's the malty flavor that gives them an edge over M&Ms for me. Though they can be hard to find.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sixlets
This is true: "Different colors have a slightly different taste from one another, due to their candy coated shells. For example, the orange-colored ones taste like orange chocolate."

http://www.candydirect.com/search.php?keywords=Sixlets

Susan Rose Francois, CSJP said...

Sixlets are yummy, agreed. But don't you think THEY smell a little funny? :)

Katie said...

Candy! Candy corn does not look like corn, nor does it taste like corn. None-the-less it is delicious! It is best to nibble off just the white tip first, then the orange middle, and finally the yellow base. One of my favorite American candies at the moment is Necco Wafers. One candy other countries do much better than America is licorice. Balancing salty and sweet with that rich licorice flavor.