87 replies to this topic

[Priscilla]

OK, the otherworldly marshmallow-caramel treat in the homely waxed-paper wrap is called a Scotch Kiss. Wowee what a flavor blast.

[Priscilla]

And, the Consort brought me another new one: coconut filling enrobed in the most beautiful pearlescent pink fondant ... the delicacy of which is quite nearly ineffable. Non-chocolate See's, what a concept.

[Amuse Bouche]

Am I the only freak who just loves the rum nougat? I like the Chocolate butterscotch, too, but that rum nougat ...

Of course, I also like fruitcake.

[chow guy]

This post made me realize that I always pop in for butterscotch squares and nothing else.

[Joe Blowe]

A nice little story about See's in today's (02/11/2004) L.A. Times...

http://www.latimes.c...ll=la-home-food (free reg. req.)

[marie-louise]

A nice little story about See's in today's (02/11/2004) L.A. Times...

http://www.latimes.c...ll=la-home-food (free reg. req.)

Thanks for posting-they captured them perfectly (although I DO still think of them as San Francisco stores, since there are so many here.)

[lorea]

See's uses Guittard chocolate.

I didn't know that! How did you ever find that out?

I'll take the Bordeaux, anyday.

[ScorchedPalate]

Molasses Chips!

Me too!

SeaCrotty likes the peanut brittle, almost TOO much.

[Priscilla]

See's uses Guittard chocolate.

I didn't know that! How did you ever find that out?

I'll take the Bordeaux, anyday.

I think it was earlier on in this very discussion -- perhaps WAY earlier on. Who was it pointed it out, was it Carolyn Tillie? Was it another See's discussion entirely? If I have the chance I will try to hunt down the citation.

Quite as exciting as See's using Guittard, I think, is reading (in the excellent Charles Perry article referenced above) that C&H makes a SPECIAL brown sugar for See's, for See's to use in Bordeaux. Deep Californianiana. Not unlike Joan Didion going to Hawaii on the Lurline.

[Gary Soup]

A nice little story about See's in today's (02/11/2004) L.A. Times...

http://www.latimes.c...ll=la-home-food  (free reg. req.)

Thanks for posting-they captured them perfectly (although I DO still think of them as San Francisco stores, since there are so many here.)

Well, they ARE headquartered in South San Francisco. And get their chocolate from Guittard's factory in Burlingame.

[marlena spieler]

Well, they ARE headquartered in South San Francisco. And get their chocolate from Guittard's factory in Burlingame.

And, hooray hooray,

at the south san francisco headquarters they have a shop, and they sell discount sees candies. nothing quite so delicious as a discount.

[Kouign Aman]

Definitely Bordeaux, absolute heaven. Second, Butterscoth Squares and third ....

Reverse that order for me.

, I've frequently heard people opine that See's marzipan is the best in the US at any price.

According to my favorite marzipan afficianado, See's dark chocolate marzipan is second only to the now closed Elk Chocolates in NYC. I think its got a lovely texture, good strong almond flavor and isnt too sweet. Good stuff!

Found in the stores but NEVER in a pre-packaged box, is Dark Chocolate-covered Candied Ginger.

I love the dark chocolate ginger. Its not all that sweet, its delightfully strong and gingery. I always thought it was not in the box because it might share too much of itself with other flavors. The 'sharing' is why the mint flavors are not included in any of the prepackaged assortments.

OK, the Consort the other day brought me some of the in-store-only dark-chocolate-covered crystalized ginger:  Really really good.  We're very lucky such a thing exists in the world.
...
Also he brought something else really really really good, which a See's aficianado friend had suggested, I think it's called Chocolate Butterscotch but I could be wrong.  It's like compressed golden brown sugar, all the way through, not as grainy as C&H out of the box but with a grainy element that is entirely wonderful.

Butterscotch squares. Yum.

I beg my SoCal Mom to mail them to her East Coast Daughter. 

When I lived in Miami, a pound of See's was the price of being picked up at the airport for my visitors.

I used to save my babysitting money to buy See's. My best friend and I split the cost of our first hand-selected pound of See's: cost us $1.40 each. We got two of each flavor, taking turns choosing til the box was full. We waited til the store was empty for we knew it would be a slow and deliberate process. The sales lady was very patient with us. We knew it was greedy not to share with others, but we hid that box from all the world, and we savoured every nibble of each chocolate. She loved the apricot bonbons (covered with orange fondant), and that's when I met my first dark chocolate raspberry-filled.

It took about 90 minutes of babysitting to pay for a one-pound box then, and it takes about the same today, 3 decades later.

[CaliPoutine]

How did I miss this thread????

I love See's. I miss See's.

I love coconut buttercream, california brittle and scotchmallow. My spouse loves the pb patties.

[Priscilla]

Hee. My Mom brought us a See's Easter box last Sunday. Sadly, no Bordeaux egg in the mix, but other good stuff. How can a chocolate-covered marshmallow egg have an almost savory depth of flavor?

Back in Feb I was in a See's getting the traditional nuts & chews heart for the same Mom's Valentine's Day and brought home dark molasses chips for Ivan and a milk chocolate See-gar for the 16-year-old, pronounced Best Milk Chocolate Ever later that evening. Makes sense, as we love Guittard chips, both milk and dark, for baking.

Eyed the Bridge Mix through the case... didn't buy any that day, but had a strong feeling that it is due for a resurgence.

[kalypso]

I like chocolate candies, and have tried a lot of them but I absolutely adore See's Candy Sure it might not be the trendiest, most upscale or most elite bon-bon on the shelf, but they have that ability to transport me to another place, another time...or just plain satisfy my sweet tooth.

My absolute favorite are the Butterscotch Squares. I could eat a pound of those in one sitting with no guilt and no regret

They would have to be followed by the Dark Chocolate Bordeaux's, Key Lime Truffles and ScotchMallows (aka Scotch Kiss). But is there really a bad one in their entire product line? I don't think so.

I have very fond Easter memories of big old chocolate covered and decorated Easter eggs from See's, usually filled with walnut butter cream. The best!

[Pierogi]

Oh.....

God.........

Dark chocolate Bordeaux are the BEST thing in the world.

EVER.

They are what I want on my lips when I die.

[Carolyn Tillie]

I  love the dark chocolate ginger. Its not all that sweet, its delightfully strong and gingery. I always thought it was not in the box because it might share too much of itself with other flavors. The 'sharing' is why the mint flavors are not included in any of the prepackaged assortments.

Actually, that is incorrect. The reason that the dark chocolate ginger is not in the box is because it is a favorite of the CEO/President and he has deemed it will *never* be removed from the roster of candies produced, but is consistently not a very good seller. It has never been included as part of the boxes and never will be, but will always be available.

I wish I could find the article online, but I remember reading it as a very lengthy introspective about the company several years ago and as a SoCal native, included bits of local trivia.

[Kouign Aman]

Carolyn, the post was meant to acknowledge having learnt from you, not to argue with you.

I am correct as to why the mints are not boxed. I had assumed the reason was same for ginger. You posted a reason for ginger that trumped my assumption.
Rest easy.

Edited by Kouign Aman, 31 March 2008 - 12:32 PM.

[Carolyn Tillie]

I am correct as to why the mints are not boxed. I had assumed the reason was same for ginger. You posted a reason for ginger that trumped my assumption.

No worries - you are probably correct on the mint assumption. It makes perfect sense for that flavor.

[prasantrin]

I've had my first taste of See's chocolates. I like them! I could see myself buying a few pieces were I ever in a See's store, and were I the recipient of a gift of See's chocolates, I'd eat the whole box by myself! With a side of milk, of course, because I thought they were a little too sweet (but not necessarily in a bad way).

Another thing I've learned about See's--they have amazing customer service. When I bit into a walnut chew, I found a bunch of walnut shell pieces. Not so pleasant, and I was lucky I didn't break my already fragile teeth. I wrote to them suggesting they add a warning to their labels. They wrote back for additional information, and they also offered to send me a replacement box of chocolates. I replied it was completely unnecessary, especially since I ate that walnut chew, anyway (just sucked around the shells in my mouth and then spat them out--and yes, I told them that, though not in those words), plus all the rest of the chocolates were gone. And I'm in Japan, and it would cost more to send the chocolates than the cost of the chocolates, themselves!

Well, they wrote again, and offered to send me a gift certificate! Now here's the ethical dilemma--the chocolates were a gift to the office, not just to me. If I accept the gift certificate, do I really have to share the bounty with my co-workers? I'm thinking not, since it was my teeth which were at peril...Oh the guilt! But if I got a box of nuts & chews, I could eat the all by myself!! It's not such a bad thing not to share...is it?

I really liked the caramel (no nuts in it, unfortunately) even though it was kind of sweet, and the chocolate-covered almonds (sort of like a bark) were good, too. The marshmallow thing was quite sweet, but I ate both of them, anyway, since I figured no one else would like them (what a sacrifice...), and I had one other thing...a butterscotch square? I liked that one, too.

I found out See's has a couple of stores in Tokyo, but a 2lb box is more than Y6000 ($60). Ouch.

ETA--I just checked...it's a 1lb box that's Y6090! Holy smokes!

Edited by prasantrin, 05 December 2008 - 04:24 AM.

[hummingbirdkiss]

4 fresh steamed dungeness crabs
2 bottles of Doctor Pepper
a huge bag of spicy BBQ potato chips
See's dark chocolate truffles

at a picnic table on Ruston way in Tacoma, WA

that is how he got me 30 years ago this week :)

Edited by hummingbirdkiss, 05 December 2008 - 07:57 AM.

[tsquare]

Well, they wrote again, and offered to send me a gift certificate!  Now here's the ethical dilemma--the chocolates were a gift to the office, not just to me.  If I accept the gift certificate, do I really have to share the bounty with my co-workers? 

Your effort, no one else suffered - I say they are all yours.

[CaliPoutine]

My sister moved to California last year so she sent me a box of See's. She knows my favorite is Coconut Buttercream, but she said they were out.

My box has ScotchMallow and California Brittle( and peanut butter patties for the spouse).

I had 2 pieces( 3 WW points). This is absolute torture. I could eat 3 more pieces, but I wont!!

[JFLinLA]

Perhaps I should post this somewhere else since it's not really about California Cooking & Baking but it is about See's. What do you all think about the original See's candy building?

Fighting to Save the Original See's Candy Building

I actually was once fortunate enough to get a tour of the facility on La Cienega but not the original one.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Perhaps I should post this somewhere else since it's not really about California Cooking & Baking but it is about See's.  What do you all think about the original See's candy building?

Fighting to Save the Original See's Candy Building

I actually was once fortunate enough to get a tour of the facility on La Cienega but not the original one.

I've also been in the La Cienaga building -- and still adore See's.... (coincidentally, today I bought two pieces from See's, two pieces from Godiva, two pieces from Michel Cluizel, and two pieces from Elbow.


The See's tasted best.

[kalypso]

I've also been in the La Cienaga building -- and still adore See's.... (coincidentally, today I bought two pieces from See's, two pieces from Godiva, two pieces from Michel Cluizel, and two pieces from Elbow.

The See's tasted best.

Carolyn, you're a woman after my own heart

Chocolate is a wonderful thing and I can certainly appreciate and enjoy all the really great products that are out on the market these days. But when it comes right down to it, See's always seems to pull me back. It's not the fanciest nor the best stuff out there, but I find myself returning and returning to it year after year, after year.

[rjwong]

Here's an update link from the LA Times blog: Original See's Candies building may get historic designation

She showed up at City Hall with boxes of See’s candy to hand out, although that wasn’t why Charlene Nichols was treated Thursday like a milk chocolate cordial.

Los Angeles Cultural Heritage commissioners .... agreed to consider her recommendation that the original See’s chocolate factory be designated a city historic-cultural landmark.

[Sprinkles]

My favorite is Mocha truffles. yum!!! Although previously Ethel M's had the best mocha truffles before they revamped everything, now it doesn't taste right.