Halloween Candy and Other Treats: The Favorites, the Best, the Worst, the Seasonal, the Weird

[GlorifiedRice]

If your child came home with little boxes of these:

http://www.hotlix.com/insect_candy/crickettes.html

would you think, "Neat-o" and try them with him/her, or throw them away immediately?

[Carrot Top]

I would eat them, my son would definitely eat them , my daughter would try one then give the rest to her brother.

At close to two dollars a pack, that's a slightly expensive treat to give out though. Unless, of course, you are thinking of making "home-made".

[jpdchef]

If your child came home with little boxes of these:

http://www.hotlix.com/insect_candy/crickettes.html

would you think, "Neat-o" and try them with him/her, or throw them away immediately?

←

try 'em--but I'm funny that way

[heidih]

Hey- if the kids are willing I'm cool with it. I have also seen the clear suckers with the meal worms inside. Protein- good for growing children! Of course any of this stuff I have seen has been pricey since it basically sold as a novelty item with the cute packaging (as opposed to the street food versions).

[SuzySushi]

Oooh! Now I know what to get for my stepson for his birthday!!!

For a party, a friend of his who is an entomologist once brought stir-fried mealworms and cricket cookies. The mealworms were crunchy; the cookies tasted like oatmeal-raisin (without the raisins). Interestingly, this woman is a vegetarian except for eating insects and eggs.

[nonblonde007]

In a Heartbeat! (just to see the kids squeel "groooosssss"! It's never too early for Halloween. I have 3 teen sons, and every year we throw the Biggest Halloween party, all the kids come,50 or more, including ones none of us have ever met before. We lived somewhat rural with 5 acres, Loads of places for haunting and fun. I would always go to the Asian Markent and buy every discusting (to the children) thing I could find, and there is Plenty to be found there. Pigs snout, intestine, ears, tails, bung, (yes, I did say bung) uterous, dong, (I don't recall exactly what they labeled it) fish eyes, cows blood, and any fermented fish item I saw. I would cook all this up, to be on the "no lawsuit" side, and deposit the brew into a large cauldron, along with small wrapped gifts of money and prizes. Believe it or not, the kids, girls too, lined up for miles to dunk their heads in this stinky mess, (even after I held up and demonstrated what each item was) and bob for prizes. The ones who dared to actualy taste the grossest thing won the big award. I LOVE Halloween!!! So much fun. No, It's never too early for Halloween! And Yes, I would eat that, and smile even if it made me want to gag.

[Lilija]

I've tried crickets...they're bitter as all hell. At least the kind that I ate, was. So, none for me, thanks. I doubt the flavor could even be improved with bacon and cheese, and for me, that is saying a LOT.

[racheld]

Calico Rock, Arkansas---how interesting is THAT!!!??? Sounds like a dream vacation---I Googled it, and the pic of the cliff formation the hikers are gazing from reminds me of the Indian profile on a Fifties Pontiac.

I love that area, but hadn't heard of CR before. Since you're transported to the South, any questions or translations from Bubba, Redneck, Fishin' Camp, Huntin' Dawg, Delta Deb or Garden Club languages spoken here and gladly supplied.

Welcome, nonblonde007!!

[nonblonde007]

Racheld, Thank you so much for the welcome! It is truly beautiful here, I feel like I am living a slow, sweet vacation. Just purchased a fab home and 40 acres, for the first time, I am growing my own steak and 3 dinner! Yes, translation would be more than welcome, if I can figure how to spell the things I think I'm hearing. Yeeaaahhhh buuuddy

[PamelaF]

In a Heartbeat!  (just to see the kids squeel "groooosssss"! 

Hi NonBlonde007, you have brought the kids' Halloween to a whole new level. I thought I was being edgy when I made the jello brain mold with the candy eyeballs, but cudos to you, you have moved way beyond that! I am sure you will be happy here at eGullet!

On Topic: Can't you usually find insects in lollipops and I think scorpions too, when you are in Arizona or other desert states? Personally, I wouldn't go near them. I hear that the deep fried insects that you get in Mexico are a good crunchy snack, but still . . .

[petite tête de chou]

I'd try them. I wonder if I'd lick all the flavoring off (like I do with chips) then scrump on the semi-soggy insect or just pop them in my mouth like a leggy popcorn treat.

[nonblonde007]

I found a lollipop with a scorpion in it once in a tourist shop by Mt. Rainier, Had to buy it! The boys were gagging as I sucked it closer and closter to the critter. It actually had no real flavor or texture to it. I was a little dissapointed. I Wanted to be blown away by this new thing, but...... On a similar note, I allways eat the worm in mezcal! No taste, but at that point, who realy cares!

[Susie Q]

If it's 6 months into a nuclear winter I'd try one. But not until then.

[TAPrice]

Seasonality is not just part of the farmers market.

This weekend I picked up four bags of candy, one being a pound of miniature 100 Grand bars. I really like these. It's one of the few (ok many) mass market candies I secretly enjoy. Except I can't find these in any stores.

Are 100 Grand bars produced only during Halloween? I know they used to be widely available. What pushed them aside? And what other candies now appear just once a year?

As a bonus, here is the excellent description of the candy from Nestle's official site

100 GRAND® provides a richer, more rewarding snack experience because of its crunchy chocolate, abundance of soft, chewy caramel and inherent association with money.

[Kouign Aman]

Candy corn, of course.

[pringle007]

Wax vampire teeth.. though they arent really a candy

[JAZ]

I don't know if these are available this year, but a few years ago, miniature dark chocolate Reese's peanut butter cups turned up for Halloween and then disappeared.

[baroness]

Seasonality is not just part of the farmers market.

This weekend I picked up four bags of candy, one being a pound of miniature 100 Grand bars. I really like these. It's one of the few (ok many) mass market candies I secretly enjoy. Except I can't find these in any stores.

Are 100 Grand bars produced only during Halloween?

They are available here in NYC year-round.

[Ktepi]

This isn't candy, but -- in a lot of places (here included, I discovered last year), Boo Berry and Franken Berry cereals are only carried in October.

Charleston Chew makes little boxes of Charleston Chew "bites" that I haven't seen except in bags of Halloween candy, though maybe they make them for movie theaters or something too.

And those "Reese's pumpkins" always seem much better than regular Reese's peanut butter cups -- I don't know if it's the chocolate-to-peanut-butter ratio, or if they're fresher, or if it's just my imagination (I resist the third possibility, of course).

[Toliver]

Mary Janes.

I never see them in the candy aisle in the stores, but there are bags of them at Halloween.

You can order them on the retro candy web sites, but my jones for them is sated for the year every Halloween.

[TAPrice]

Are 100 Grand bars produced only during Halloween?

They are available here in NYC year-round.

I wondered if distribution varied regionally. Then again, I suppose everything is available all the time in New York. It's truly a place of wonders.

[rooftop1000]

I think I have bought out the stock of candy corn at my local pharmacy this year...Mmmm When it snice and fresh I can actually smell it walking through a store, kind of like driving in the spring and smelling Honeysuckle

tracey

[Jaymes]

For me, it's candy corn, too.

But only because I can't stand the stuff.

It's the only candy I can think of that I don't like. So at Halloween, I buy bags of it to give out to the trick-or-treaters.

I discovered long ago that I eat up anything else.

[HungryC]

Smarties...something about the powdery, melt-on-the-tongue texture of Smarties is just perfect. The small, original size is best; the larger, "giant" Smarties don't have the same texture at all. I never eat them, except at Halloween, when they show up in big bags of mixed candy...kids don't seem to like Smarties, so I can usually cadge a few from someone else's trick-or-treat bag.

[snowangel]

I only seem to see Pixie Stix (Sticks?) close to Halloween, unless they are at the local stop and rob in a container for individual sale.

Note: The most hated candy of moms are Nerds. Give a kid a box of Nerds, and you'll be vacuuming them up until next Halloween.