Growing up, I often visited my parent’s native Mexico and I’d take it as an opportunity to re-savor all of the traditional treats that I didn’t have access to back home. My favorite, of course, was a watermelon flavored lollipop called Rebanaditas (Spanish for little slices). The only catch was that you had to get through a layer of spicy, tangy chili powder before you were rewarded with the artificially sweet, watermelon-tasting candy below. The experience would leave your eyes watering and your tongue throbbing but you can rest assured that I wouldn’t stop at one.
If you are unfamiliar with Mexican cuisine, you might wonder why anyone would torture his or herself for a piece of candy. However, Mexicans don’t shy away from spice, putting it on everything from fruit to alcoholic beverages. After some experimentation, Mexican candy makers created a marriage between sweet and spicy flavors that to me seems to truly work.
There is a lot of depth in traditional food; its flavors can convey the history of its origin and and about the people that consume it. The same should go for traditional candy. Mexicans enjoy putting spice on their sweets but The New York Time Magazine recently released a candy edition in which they explored some of the most popular candy by nation.
One of the most interesting examples was a candy from China called White Rabbit. The soft, vanilla and milk flavored candy that was first introduced in 1943 was even gifted to Richard Nixon when Premier Zhou Enlai gave him a bag during his historic visit in 1972. One of the hallmarks of this treat is its beautiful wrapper that displays a now very popular white rabbit. It’s been said that, originally, the candy was introduced with a Mickey Mouse figure on the packaging but was abandoned by the late ’50’s when western imagery was considered a “political no-go.” Now, the candy is enjoyed around the world, though a mishap with melamine-tainted milk shut down production in China for a number of months to ensure that it was safe to eat. Now, the candy is made exclusively with imported milk powder from New Zealand.
Anyway, the rest of the article is very informative and worth checking out if you like candy. Before you check it out though, don’t forget to keep up with our future blog posts and if all this candy talk got you hungry, you can always order some delicious candy at qcandystore.com!