Valentine's Candy

December 27th.  That was the day that I purchased the first of my Valentine's Day candy this year, well, technically last year.  There are certain seasonal candies that you buy when you see because you know you won't be able to find them elsewhere or later - probably why they are called seasonal.  I proved this 'Seasonal purchase theory' one winter in the late 90s. After introducing my roommate to what I consider the ultimate chewy cherry candy, an epic candy hunt began.  Grocery store after grocery store, Walgreens and Shopkos in several communities surrounding Madison, we searched.  There were no more Brachs Jube Jel Cherry Hearts to be found.  Although I've noticed more stores carrying these hearts that have a place in my heart, I do know that when I see them I should buy them.  So when I ran across them just after Christmas I knew, better insanely early than not at all.  Even better is that purchasing them in December allows a perfect amount of time to open the bag and let them 'breathe.'  Oh yes, I just compared candy to fine wine.  What I'm saying is, if you like chewy fruit candy, you should do yourself a favor and purchase a bag if you can find them.

As seems to be the trend with all holidays the candy makers are crafting more Valentine's Day specific candy.  Here are a few items you might run across.

Brach's Sour Cherry Jels.  Not feeling these, the outer candy shell is too granular and there is no sour to these. 

Mike and Ike, I'm so happy with your seasonal efforts.  In addition to recently introducing a box of all of their red candies (similar to Starburst's Favoreds), they bring us their 'Passion Mix' which includes a new flavor, Paradise Punch (along with cherry, strawberry and grape).  Having recently tried their new flavor 'Holiday Punch' from their Christmas mix I can confidently say these are two different flavors.  This punch is similar in flavor to Hawaiian punch.

Not pictured but also available for Valentine's season are Hot Tamales in red, white and pink, each color is the same cinnamon flavor. 

Junior Mints thinks they are doing good things by mixing it up. They get cute points for the heart shape but the creepy red dye inside some of the hearts is totally unappetizing. The flavor is the same as the original Junior Mints but the balance of mint ooze to chocolate is off, they just aren't as good as the original.





Dove introduced a new flavor, dark chocolate and cherry swirl.  Nope.  Didn't work.  The upside is that they didn't try to make some nasty cherry cordial thing.  The cherry flavoring they did use is far too artificial and took away from the yummy factor of Dove dark.  They do earn points for making them in the shape of a heart.

That's the round up for now, there's still time to get out there and buy some of these seasonal treats.  If you are looking to make your Valentine happy I recommend chocolates from Gail Ambrosius Chocolatier.  Her chocolates will make sure you keep your Valentine for next year, be sure to include at least one salted caramel in your order.  Order by 2/7 for 2/14 delivery  http://gailambrosius.com/