BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)

Subject: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: sian, west wales
Date: 18 Oct 03 - 03:47 PM

I've been thinking about filling in the gaps in my Santee's parcel and what delicacies from Wales might be particularly welcomed - unusual as well as tasty.

When I was a kid in Canada, my Nain (Gran) in Wales used to send parcels and fill in the corners with milky bars, malteasers (sp?), Fox's Glacier Mints, Fruit Bon Bons, etc - all of which were unknown to us, and a great treat. My aunt used to send my dad a box of home-made treacle toffee which was never a big fav. with me, but was full of memories for him.

So ... I'm not SAYING that I have an overseas Santee, but I'm wondering what trans-channel, trans-Atlantic, or ... what would Australia be? Trans-podean? ... differences there are.

Sort of an extension of the Geography of the Jello Eating World concept.

I don't think the States have Malteasers (although I think you have choc. malt candy), but Britain doesn't have Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. (People in west Wales hadn't seen candy canes until fairly recently!) The Netherlands have these nice little coffee flavoured sweeties ...

What are some other differences? Give us Santas some guidance.

(With apologies to those who can't 'do' candy for health or taste preference reasons!)

sian

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Edain
Date: 18 Oct 03 - 03:51 PM

Kendal Mint Cake is unfindable in the States

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Amergin
Date: 18 Oct 03 - 04:57 PM

Oz has Malteases or something...which is much much better than the malted milk balls here in the states...I guess they don't have penut butter cups there in Oz either...nor have they rice krispy treats...amazing...

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: GUEST,Edains Secret Santa
Date: 18 Oct 03 - 06:53 PM

I seem to remember when I was a Brownie that the Scout Shop here sold Kendal Mint Cake. Better get 2 bars cos someone will want to chemicaly analyse it and get the US franchise. Need any dubbin for your boots or a new woggle while I am there Edain? *Grin*

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Peg
Date: 18 Oct 03 - 08:55 PM

I'll bet you can't get real maple sugar candy anywhere but the States...

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Helen
Date: 18 Oct 03 - 09:14 PM

From Australia:

Yes we have Maltesers.

an online store selling Oz lollies (sweets)

Make sure you click on the drop down menu that says "Choose flavour" because some of the varieties of lollies are listed there, not just flavours of one variety. Chicos are nice - choc flavoured jelly babies. Jaffas are an Oz icon - it's a well known fact that when picture theatres (cinemas) had wooden floors which sloped down towards the front some members of the audience used to roll them down the aisles making a loud sound as they slowly travelled to the front of the theatre, stopping at the stage. I could never see the point of wasting yummy jaffas (choc centre with orange flavoured candy coating) by chucking them on the floor.

Musk sticks are another Oz icon.

A list of chocolate products from another site includes:

Bars: Mars, Bounty, Cherry Ripe, Twirl, Flake, Time Out, Violet Crumble (yummy choc covered honeycomb of the consistency of home made honeycomb, not like Crunchie Bars, which we also have)

Other: Caramello Koalas, Yowies, Smarties, Freddo Frogs, Snakes, Jaffas, Licorice Allsorts, etc

There are also Mint Patties & Wagon Wheels, etc etc. Actually the list seems endless.

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Amergin
Date: 18 Oct 03 - 10:04 PM

I like whizz fizzes myself.....

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 19 Oct 03 - 12:21 AM

Just a little hint - there are different rules for different countries governing what foodstuffs you can post in and what you can't. You may find your malted milk balls going astray in NZ, but perfectly allowable in the USA. You may find little teeth marks in your parcel via some of the more allegedly 'enlightened' areas, especially if it smells very strongly of chocolate, coffee, mint or aniseed - all these scents are used to try to confuse sniffer dogs.

Similarly, you may find if you are trying to post dairy or meat products, some countries will be OK, others will just bin it regardless of what else is enclosed. So that package of Biltong and Roquefort will just have to go to someone else.....

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 19 Oct 03 - 04:17 AM

"I'll bet you can't get real maple sugar candy anywhere but the States..."

Canada invented them!

LOL

And why anyone would WANT to eat 'em, I can't imagine!

I once got an email.. 100 Ways To Tell You're Canadian... and somewhere on that list (I think added bu Mudcatter Cluin) was "You can eat more than 2 maple sugar candies without feeling nausious"

I've never made it through -one-... blech!

:-)

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Helen
Date: 19 Oct 03 - 05:36 AM

In Oz we can send lollies & other food if it is sealed in its original packaging.

One tip, though! Sending chocolate any time between now and the end of February is not a good idea because it will probably melt somewhere along the line once it reaches the heat of summer.

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: sian, west wales
Date: 19 Oct 03 - 06:12 AM

You got there before me, Clinton! I can eat more than one piece, but only when I'm trying to prove my lineage. Normally, a nibble on a corner is about my limit!

Liz - VERY good point! I hadn't thought of that ... !!!!!

Tootsie rolls. What are they about, then? Never could figure them out, and I don't think I've ever seen them in the UK except a few specialty shops....

sian

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Oct 03 - 08:56 AM

Can jams or jellies be shipped between countries without problems? No tootsie rolls in UK? Hmmmm.

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: JennyO
Date: 19 Oct 03 - 12:00 PM

I had Kendall Mint Cake when I was in the UK a couple of years ago and loved it. I've never seen it in Oz, so if my SS can get it, I wouldn't complain - hint, hint.

WHERE ARE YOU SS? I STILL HAVEN'T HEARD FROM YOU :-(

Jenny

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: sian, west wales
Date: 19 Oct 03 - 04:45 PM

Yeh, but what are tootsie rolls supposed to be???? I've tried 'em - don't like 'em. Are they supposed to be a chocolate toffee, or what?

sian

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Helen
Date: 19 Oct 03 - 09:02 PM

I had an American friend who was mad about Tootsie Rolls and had some sent over here when she lived here for a while. She gave one (only) to me to try, and for me it was a big "So What?!". They were pretty basic, compared to some of the yummy Oz lollies we get.

The nearest equivalent we have would be chocolate eclairs, but the chewy caramel outer layer and choc centres are much nicer than the Tootsie Roll. There are lots of variations of choc eclairs, too.

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: alison
Date: 20 Oct 03 - 01:25 AM

sorry Helen, violet crumbles aren't as nice as "crunchies"...... probably a matter of taste.... we had crunchies in Ireland

if my SS happens to be in the UK - a bar of galaxy chocolate would be nice.... jsut make sure to tell me to put my pressie in the fridge or it'd melt in the heat here

slainte

alison

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: GUEST,guest
Date: 20 Oct 03 - 09:18 AM

I'm in the states and my Santee is in Canada. Any idea what a Canadian might like from the USofA that can't be had in Canada?

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: GUEST,another ss
Date: 20 Oct 03 - 10:07 AM

Hi, I'm in the UK and my santee is in the states. I would like to fill in the spaces in my santa box with sweeties. What would someone from the states like from the UK?

thanks for any help in advance.

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: GUEST,Yet another SS
Date: 20 Oct 03 - 10:17 AM

I am in Oz and my santee is in the UK. What Oz sweeties would a UK santee like, Hmmmmmmmmmm????????? We have lots of lovely ones.

BTW, I agree with Alison about Crunchies. They ARE nicer.

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 20 Oct 03 - 12:01 PM

I'm in the UK and I don't care where my SS is, just send chocolate!!

No chance of it melting here - it won't last long enough!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Amergin
Date: 20 Oct 03 - 12:41 PM

if your in oz send your santee milo bars, tim tams, maltesers, picnic bars, and all sorts of assorted lollies...(i'm partial to the eucalyptus ones myself) but do not send musk flavoured....

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Peg
Date: 20 Oct 03 - 12:48 PM

ah, true, about maple sugar. I have had some very good Canadian maple syrup...

I love REAL maple sugar candy, the kind that has not been blended with anything else. Vermont is the only place I have been able to get it. Give me that over crappy cheap chocolate (Hersheys etc.) any day. But real chocolate (homemade or European fine stuff) is hard to resist.

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 20 Oct 03 - 04:49 PM

"I love REAL maple sugar candy"

Well, in that case, all the maple sugar candy that was ever gonna come to me, I give to you!

:-)

"What would someone from the states like from the UK?"
Well, I know what this Canadian likes from the UK... Jellie Babies!

MMmmmmmmmmmmmm :-P~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Burke
Date: 20 Oct 03 - 07:28 PM

I think I've sent Maple sugar candy to all my Santee's in past years. I love it, but it's so sweet it does upset my stomach. The same with Corn Candy. Half of one of those little leaf candies is enough at a time.

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Peg
Date: 20 Oct 03 - 07:41 PM

although I do not eat sweets very often, I do not have a problem with intense hits of sugar. Must have been those days wokring as a cake decorator. Our frostings were made with butter, confectioner's sugar, milk and raw eggs! Plus whatever flavorings. I ate the stuff for meals. A slab of devil's food cake with a glop of vanilla buttercream icing and a cold glass of milk...mmm..

But I digress. The English candy I cannot get here is a round, disk-shaped peppermint, in a white and dark green wrapper. Firm but chewy, a fondant sort of texture, the surface is glittery with sugar. The name starts with a C. (not Cadbury). I think. I have seen them for sale in bulk or bags at newsagents, but not very many places. One news shop in Banbury had them last time I was there. Anyone know the ones I mean?

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: GUEST,Liz the Squeaks SS
Date: 20 Oct 03 - 08:03 PM

Ah, Lizzy, you're so easy!:)

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: sian, west wales
Date: 21 Oct 03 - 04:57 AM

Yeh, Peg. I know the ones you mean, but can't think of the name. They're kinda hard until you bite into them, then they just sort of dissolve. Bliss!

Clinton, can't you get Jelly Babies in Canada? I thought you could ...

Re: what to send to the States, I suggest Thornton's Toffee. I used to load up with the stuff to go back to Canada, but I see that you can by it in British Specialty Shops now. Must think of something else ...

sian

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 21 Oct 03 - 05:51 AM

Dear Secret Santa,

Er..... I really hope you're talking about choosing a present for me....

Having said that about chocolate, I still have a full sized rugby ball made of chocolate which has not even been licked yet, which was my Easter present from Manitas. I'm convinced that once I start it, I won't be able to stop until it's all gone, then there will be no more emergency chocolate... it's sort of like the unopened bottle of scotch or vodka that some alcoholics have around the house, just in case.....

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: GUEST,MMario
Date: 21 Oct 03 - 11:55 AM

SOLID chocolate?

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 21 Oct 03 - 01:57 PM

"can't you get Jelly Babies in Canada? I thought you could ..."

I've found them occasionally in 'import shops'... but no often enough...

:-)

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: sian, west wales
Date: 21 Oct 03 - 03:40 PM

Hmm. Add Jelly Babies to my Mother's Christmas Stocking list then! Thanks for the info!

sian

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: SINSULL
Date: 21 Oct 03 - 04:52 PM

Churchill's Fruit Gels in the pretty tin with a 3D effect. I would kill for some. They turn up at the Christmas Tree Shop here once in a while but not nearly often enough.

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Burke
Date: 21 Oct 03 - 05:05 PM

Something in a Speciality Shop may be easy for people in large urban centers to find, but there are lots of other people who would have a hard time finding it. If your Santee has never tried it, he or she might not buy it even if available. I think if it's farily unique to your country or area, you could include it anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Col K
Date: 21 Oct 03 - 07:57 PM

I am someones SS and I would like to make them happy with what I send them so all you out there keep posting, you may find that I read this post and send you something you want.
2 people I know have already recd their presents at the getaway see another thread,they were happy with what they got I think.
On the other hand I may have already decided on my presy or my recipient may already have posted here(or both).

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: NicoleC
Date: 21 Oct 03 - 11:33 PM

Well, if my SS happens to be in Scotland, what is that ugly looking oat cake thing with the chocolate and caramel, I think?   They were divine... send 'em my way if you want :)

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 22 Oct 03 - 02:50 AM

Alas Mmario - I've not opened the box to find out.. It would be nice but I suspect it's hollow. Still, it's a good pound or so of chocolate!

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 22 Oct 03 - 09:41 AM

by-the-by, Liz - sugar is addictive according to a book I read a few years back. It was first seen in Europe when Crusaders brought it back from the Holy Land & was used as medicine, a few grains at a time!

& Chocoholic is a recognised addiction I believe!

sandra (not a sweet tooth - now if it was a something savoury, preferrably lightly crumbed & deep fried, yum!)

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: sian, west wales
Date: 22 Oct 03 - 10:59 AM

Pep patties. That's what I miss from Canada - and I don't see the big ones around *there* anymore either - just the li'l ones that you used to buy for 2 cents. (Hey - why isn't there a 'cents' key on this keyboard? First I'd noticed ...)

sian

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: GUEST,Sandra in Sydney's SS
Date: 22 Oct 03 - 12:00 PM

So no point in filling the gaps in a package with candies??? and if cheese were to be included it would WALK to Sydney on its own!!!!!
BYE the bye, you can sing the Rubiyat to the tune of "Hernando's Hideaway" and it becomes an Earworm!!!
all together now
" Awake for morning in the Bowl of night
has flung the stone that puts the stars to flight
and Lo! the hunter of the East has Caught
the Sultans turret in a Noose of Light" Cha cha cha!!

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: SINSULL
Date: 22 Oct 03 - 01:12 PM

Oh Great! I finally knocked "Take Her Out Of Pity" out of my head and you sent that in!

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: GUEST,Someone's Secret Santa
Date: 22 Oct 03 - 01:55 PM

Tootsie rolls are rather plain little chocolate toffees as someone remarked above, but Tootie Roll Pops are very nice. Maybe a clue for my Santee to follow if I send a few in their package (which will be timed to arrive sometime in the month of December, not arriving months ahead!)

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Helen
Date: 22 Oct 03 - 06:29 PM

alison, or one of the other Brit-Cats,

Can you explain exactly what a Kendal Mint Cake is? Perhaps comparisons with other sweets might help me to understand this strange addiction.

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Micca
Date: 22 Oct 03 - 07:51 PM

Helen, Kendal Mint Cake is a concentrated mint flavoured concoction mostly glucose used by climbers and hill walkers for about donkeys years as emergency rations,I personaly have always preferred the Rum flavour to the mint one, more info on Kendal Mint Cake here

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 22 Oct 03 - 08:19 PM

I think you've always been able to get those Kendal mint cakes from places like REI (Recreational Equipment Incorporated).

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: JennyO
Date: 22 Oct 03 - 10:42 PM

Helen, I had some when I was overseas with the Solidarity Choir a couple of years ago. It was the white, mint flavoured variety. I don't think I would fancy chocolate covered, although rum and butter or buttermint candy sound interesting (hello ss, hint hint).

I guess the way I would describe it would be as having a similar consistency to coconut ice, but mint flavoured. I'm not normally a great sweet eater, but I found this stuff very more-ish.

Jenny

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Helen
Date: 23 Oct 03 - 01:28 AM

JennyO,

I was wondering if it is like fondant (similar to wedding cake icing) or like the inside minty-bit of a Mint Pattie.

And also, why is it worth raving about/craving for? What is it that makes it so special?

(This should test the descriptive powers of these Mudcat wordsmiths.)

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Micca
Date: 23 Oct 03 - 03:57 AM

Helen, if memory serves(and It often doesnt) it has a consistancy between Coconut ice and hard white wedding cake icing (not quite needing a hammer to break but close) mind you last time I ate it I was on a snow covered Glacier 3,000 feet up in the Alps, so that might account for the hardness. Some folks find it addictive, almost, probably the sort of folks who always have a pocket full of "comfort candies" anyway. I have always found it intensly sweet and therefore perfect for emergency rations as you would ONLY eat it in an emergency.
Bye the Bye one of the guys I used to climb with took this philosophy further and used to delibertately make hot concotions (in a vacuum flask) That you would ONLY eat as a last resort, His most memorable!!! creation was....Curried Oxtail Porridge!!!!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: sian, west wales
Date: 23 Oct 03 - 06:11 AM

I've just seen this :

Hunters in North Carolina, hoping to attract bears, are leaving bait such as 2,000-pound blocks of milk chocolate in the woods. Hunting is legal, but such tactics are a no-no, reports The Washington Post.

"This kind of baiting is especially nasty. Chowing through 100 pounds of Reese's peanut butter cups can turn a bear into a lethargic, sugar-addicted blob. Chocolate-sated bears are prone to hair loss. And some are acting downright weird from the effects of their candy binges. Biologists have spotted bears walking around in circles for no apparent reason."

sian

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: GUEST,Bat Goddess SS
Date: 23 Oct 03 - 07:08 AM

And I thought it was too much red wine that made me walk round in circles for no apparant reason

Subject: RE: BS: Secret Santa Sweeties (aka Candy)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 23 Oct 03 - 10:15 AM

Helen, from what I remember of those Kendal mint cakes is that they're inedible, but they last forever and are as tough as bricks in your backpack. I knew climbers who'd had the same "emergency" bar in their packs for YEARS. They were a standard joke when packing for climbing trips. I look at the photo of the things at the REI site and it brings to mind the distinctive smell of the inside of my climbing pack (a little duff and pitch from bashing through brush, a lot of grit from the trail and climbing, a little spilled food, a slightly sweet minty smell, along with raisins and peanuts and chocolate from gorp, a little mildew because I'm from Western Washington . . . )

SRS