Cravings

[beetiger]

So, lediva got me a book for Yule, as she usually does. It was about food, as they often are. This one was Candy Freak , a engaging book, which though marred by not very interesting diversions into the author's political beliefs and fears of cancer, mostly focuses on one topic: chocolate bars. I always find reading these kind of books a bit strange, as there are always layman's descriptions of things like production lines that are very familiar to me as a food industry person.

But in particular, one thing this book did was to remind me of some things I'd forgotten from my youth, such as the Marathon bar, a loose braid of caramel enrobed in chocolate, in a red wrapper with a ruler on the back. Steve Almond says that all adolescent boys who came across the bar measured their penises with it. I used to use it as a gauge of how much candy I had left. (I was a hoarding sort of candy eater; my sister used to regularly steal my stash after finishing her own, claiming that I obviously didn't want it or I'd have eaten it already. She may have been right, in some sense -- I often let things go bad by mistake by holding them too long. I remember rock hard gumballs and bloomed chocolate confections, hiding in my closet.)

The other thing it reminded me of is that I never got around to acquiring some Valomilks to try. Valomilks are a confection from the 1930's that came out of a batching mistake in a candy factory -- a batch of marshmallow wouldn't gel right because too much alcoholic vanilla extract was added. The runny stuff got poured into chocolate cups, and it was a hit. Apparently the company got bought out in the seventies, and the new owner shut the Valomilk factory down in 1981. Six years later, the old owner decided to resurrect the company, using his grandfather's old equipment and methods. They are making the liquid marshmallow in a Hobart mixer, and tempering their chocolate by hand! Rumor has it there is no actual way to eat these neatly. I think they may be right up my alley.

Having been reminded, I had to get some. I decided to buy a sampler chocolate pack from favoritesof.com, and thus also get myself some Goo Goo Clusters (which I've had, but not in years), some Moon Pies (which show up here occasionally, and which I do like), and a few other things. Reviews here once the box arrives.

Did I mention that I don't actually seem to be planning to lay off the sweets in 2005?

Comments

[eetmewithtoast.livejournal.com]

If you find Moon Pies, tell me immediately. I'll come right over. Those are so good microwaved . . .