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SALMIAK LICORICE LOLLIPOPS (Finland)
Made by Fazer, these are lollipop versions of classic Finnish salmiak + licorice hard candies. How intense you find these will likely have to do with how you experience salmiak. Some find it shockingly strong, others not as much. Many grow to love it after repeated tries. The enclosed order, from mildest to strongest: salmiakki < super salmiakki < tyrkisk peber.
CANDIED HABANEROS (Colorado)
Candying fruit is a millennia-old practice; here Colorado-based confectioner Kimberly Bannick gives it a new spin by applying the process to habanero peppers. Toute Douceur’s candies are often like this one: playful, experimental, and classic at the same time. These candies are unquestionably habanero-spicy, but their heat is made more elastic by the infusion of sugar and complement of dark chocolate.
CHAMOY PULPARINDO (Mexico)
This popular Mexican candy, made by de la Rosa (founded in 1942), showcases the wonderfully multi-taste flavor of chamoy, which is spicy, sour, sweet, salty, and umami all at once. This candy’s spicy heat is brightly full-flavored, with the richness of tamarind balancing out the intensity of chile.
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CANDIED CLEMENTINE (Aix-en-Provence, France)
Candied fruit is the original gummy sweet. Honey-soaked fruits appear in the ancient Roman cookbook Apicus. In China, candied fruit dates back to the Sung period (960-1279 CE). 13th century Arabic recipes offer the earliest recipes for fruit candying as we know it today. In medieval times, the practice migrated into Europe. Confiserie Leonard Parli has been making whole candied clementines since their founding in 1874. Its candying requires soaking over time. When the process is complete, the entire clementine is saturated with sweetness: firm on the outside, lusciously soft on the inside.
BANANINHA PARAIBUÑA (São Paulo, Brazil)
The banana was introduced to Brazil in the 16th century, through the establishment of banana plantations by Portugese colonizers. Since then, bananas have become an essential part of Brazilian cuisine. There are many versions of banana sweets in Brazil, among them the bananada, a small bar of cooked bananas and sugar. Family-owned Bananinha Paraibuña has been making banananda candies since 1975. They have grown from a one-person operation to employing just under 100 workers; from local to international distribution.
XL SOUR RAINBOW TWISTS (Spain)
These wonderfully large gummy candies engage many senses at once: sight, taste, and touch too (with their mix of textures: chewy exterior, soft center). Vidal Candies was founded in Spain in 1963; today they are an international inventor and producer of many new gummy and licorice varieties.
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CLASSIC CARAMELS, UNIQUE FLAVORS (Oregon)
Wildwood is a small, award-winning chocolatier based in Portland Oregon. They source ingredients thoughtfully and draw inspiration from the natural environments of the Pacific Northwest. Four lovely flavors here: salted caramel, fennel pollen, cardamom, and rosemary.
SOFT CARAMEL BITES (Netherlands)
These unique caramels are made by Dutch candy company Lonka (whose name is short for “London Nougat Candy”). Lonka was founded in 1920; today it is ownd by Swedish company Cloetta (which itself was founded by Swiss brothers in Denmark in 1862). These caramels transform over time in the eating, with an initial dry firm bite changing through the chewing into something soft, dissolving, and a bit surprising.
KORIVKA (Ukraine)
These “cow caramels” are distinctly different from the buttery flavor and super-soft, gooey texture that characterizes many American-style caramels. These have a sweetened condensed milk flavor and their texture is firm and slightly crystallized, with a moist center. They are classics in Ukraine and throughout Eastern Europe: several versions can be found in different countries, but the cow theme and the caramel’s characteristics are similar throughout.
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These are mild, sweet incarnations of Chinese preserved fruit (huamei/li hing mui are more intense, salty versions). Preserved plums are known to settle the stomach - they are often used as a cure for nausea and morning sickness. Tang Hoi Moon Kee has been making preserved fruit candies since 1968. Today they distribute their spiced fruits around the world.
For more on preserved plums, read Connie Chang in bon appétit.
NAMA UME AME (Japan)
Ribon has been selling “Raw Fresh Ume Candy” for 30 years. This sweet has an intense salty-sour-savory umeboshi center in a mild candy coating, thus revealing the ume’s intensity in layers (unless you choose to crunch it, releasing a burst of flavor). In Japan, umeboshi is seen to be good not only for digestion, but for boosting the immune system, detoxification, and more.
CARDAMOM FENNEL SEED DIGESTIVE (New York)
Hudson Valley-based Chikka Chikka makes a modern version of an Indian after-dinner sweet. Mukhwas are mixes of seeds and spices, often colorful and candy coated. They are eaten after meals to freshen breath and support digestion. They are also delicious! Chikka Chikka’s fennel and cardamom version is sweetened with maple syrup and packaged in a lovely carry-it-with-you tin.
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SUNFLOWER HALVA (Russia)
This is one of a few variations (sesame, peanut) of halva that are common in Eastern Europe. This one is made by Russian candy company Azov Confectionery, which sells candy domestically and throughout the world.
HAZEL JONES (Oregon)
Based in Portland, candy company Oregon Bark makes chocolate-enrobed candies in wonderfully innovative flavors. Hazel Jones combines hazelnut butter, rosemary, and dark chocolate to create a rich, crispy sweet that is also just a little bit savory.
PISTACHIO CANDY (Italy)
This is a hard candy with a creamy center, made by Italian candy maker Rossana (which has been making hard candies since 1926). The unmistakable flavor of pistachio permeates the candy distinctly but delicately, to wonderful effect.