Regionally Marketed Snacks...

[jhlurie]

Yesterday, on a completely random task, I was in Lord & Taylor's in Manhattan and saw something slightly unusual--a nice little display by the first floor elevators for the famous See's Candy--which normally is pretty much only marketed in California. It kind of struck me as a big deal that folks who otherwise have to haul the stuff cross-country in suitcases or mail order it might want to KNOW that a store in New York sells it, and while considering how to post about this it occured to me that there are any number of snacks and confections which are normally only regionally marketed, but who's availability through special channels could be documented here at eGullet.

One item like this which I love is Sifer's Valomilk. Sifer's Valomilk--for those not familiar with it--is a peanut butter cup-shaped snack, which is instead filled with a kind of marshmallowy stuff. GOOD marshmallowy stuff, with CANE sugar supplementing the typical corn syrup, along with egg whites, Madagascar vanilla and a few others. As far as I used to know the only way you could get this candy was to either live in the Kansas/Missouri area or mail order it. Until I visited a Cracker Barrel restaurant, and boom--there is was. Right next to the Moon Pies.

"Mail order" is always a good answer for items like this, and it would be enough to simply document the item's existance, it's home region, it's desirability, and suggest mail order as a solution. Because you never know... once you put it down in a post here, someone may indeed know a store which caries it elsewhere...

[MarketStEl]

I was a little startled to pick up the paper recently, read the fine print on one of those Macy's 25-percent-off-everything* (*with a bunch of exceptions in fine print) bonus coupons, read the fine print, and see listed among the exceptions "Frango."

I thought these had not yet spread beyond Marshall Field's territory. I guess Federated Department Stores is getting a head start on this one item.

If you're talking about Valomilk, I can think of a few other products native to the Kansas City area that I wouldn't mind seeing in stores here on the Right Coast.

Gates' Barbecue Sauce, for one. Actually, for a while, I could find it in a spice shop in the Italian Market. The owners had problems dealing with the distributor, though, and discontinued it.

[reaganho]

Cheetos Flamin' Hot Chips... I'm from Texas and these are probably my favorite chips. They're like cheetos except theyre spicy and tangy and they dont sell them in NYC . The only time i ever get to eat them is when I go home. Theyre sooooo gooood, totally different from the regular cheetos which i do not eat.

[pansophia]

Nevermind, I misread something...

Edited December 19, 2005 by pansophia (log)

[Malawry]

See's markets between early November and Christmas Eve in kiosks in malls across the nation. Many of the malls in the DC area have See's kiosks. You have to get there while they're still around, and the kiosks do not sell chocolates by the piece like actual California See's shops do, but the fact is they are sold here.

Cracker Barrel stores carry a lot of old-fashioned regional snackies, including the Goo Goo Cluster of my North Carolina youth. I bet the Hometown Favorites website has some of these types of items as well.

[natasha1270]

In high school (late 80's), I had a severe thing for Hostess Chocodiles. Sadly, they are no longer available on the east coast.

But never fear! Thanks to the internet, all us chocodile-deprived can recapture the glory: http://www.freshchocodiles.com/ (I have no experience with this company but it is amazing what you can find out after a quick search!)

enjoy!

N.

[kpurvis]

For Halloween this year, I did a story on finding the lost candies of our youths. Most of the references were local (if you're in the Carolinas, you should know that fish camps, for some odd reason, are motherlodes of vanished candies). But I also turned up these web sites, if they're helpful:

www.candyfavorites.com. This is the El Dorado of vanished candy. They only sell in bulk, but if you've got a major jones for something strange, you can probably find it here. Definitely troll the "hard to find" section.

www.hometownfavorites. Of course. Everybody knows this one.

www.mastgeneralstore.com. If you've been to the N.C. mountains, you know the Mast. All the root beer barrels and the rest, including Walnettos, are online.

www.bigtipscandy.com. If you read "Candy Freak" and can't rest until you're have a Twin Bing, you can order the gift pack. I have the Big Tops Box on my desk and I'm doling it out, bar by bar. (The Idaho Spud really didn't ring my bell, but I'm looking forward to the Salted Nut Roll.)

[Malawry]

Shame on me--I'm an alum of Appalachian State University and I totally forgot about Mast! The Candy Barrel section of the store has some real old-fashioned favorites.

[Mayhaw Man]

One item like this which I love is Sifer's Valomilk.  Sifer's Valomilk--for those not familiar with it--is a peanut butter cup-shaped snack, which is instead filled with a kind of marshmallowy stuff.  GOOD marshmallowy stuff, with CANE sugar supplementing the typical corn syrup, along with egg whites, Madagascar vanilla and a few others.  As far as I used to know the only way you could get this candy was to either live in the Kansas/Missouri area or mail order it.  Until I visited a Cracker Barrel restaurant, and boom--there is was.  Right next to the Moon Pies. 

←

It's funny that you bring up this tasty treat. I was introduced to it at the SFA Conference in Oxford, MS this year during a dinner at Taylor Grocery. It was Halloween, and it was a sugar conference, so everyone was instructed to bring local candy. And they did. Those Valomilk things were great, but Mary Beth Lassiter (the real power in the SFA, and don't you forget it, buddy) told me this really strange story about Valomilk. She called the guy to get some and he wouldn't ship them by air, at all, as he claimed that it ruined the candy-that it broke down somehow. Now I considered this to be total crap, but a good story and forgot about it.

BUT THEN I got off a plane a couple of weeks ago and was unpacking my bag and found what else but a completely deflated and kind of gross package of Valomilk that I had apparently left in my bag during my trip (the thing was full of candy when I left as, well, they were just giving the stuff away and I hate to disappoint-free Goo-Goo's anyone?). Could this possibly be a true thing, this Valomilk doesn't fly well thing? I called the guy and he swears up and down that this is true, but I am still not convinced. I have several more packages and I am going to try to mess up my bag a couple of times in January.

And as far as the topic goes, I know that Elmer's Candy here has a list on their website during Easter about retail locations around the country, and several of them include New York City. You too could be enjoying a gold brick for the holidays! I love those things.

[jhlurie]

One item like this which I love is Sifer's Valomilk.  Sifer's Valomilk--for those not familiar with it--is a peanut butter cup-shaped snack, which is instead filled with a kind of marshmallowy stuff.  GOOD marshmallowy stuff, with CANE sugar supplementing the typical corn syrup, along with egg whites, Madagascar vanilla and a few others.  As far as I used to know the only way you could get this candy was to either live in the Kansas/Missouri area or mail order it.  Until I visited a Cracker Barrel restaurant, and boom--there is was.  Right next to the Moon Pies. 

←

It's funny that you bring up this tasty treat. I was introduced to it at the SFA Conference in Oxford, MS this year during a dinner at Taylor Grocery. It was Halloween, and it was a sugar conference, so everyone was instructed to bring local candy. And they did. Those Valomilk things were great, but Mary Beth Lassiter (the real power in the SFA, and don't you forget it, buddy) told me this really strange story about Valomilk. She called the guy to get some and he wouldn't ship them by air, at all, as he claimed that it ruined the candy-that it broke down somehow. Now I considered this to be total crap, but a good story and forgot about it.

BUT THEN I got off a plane a couple of weeks ago and was unpacking my bag and found what else but a completely deflated and kind of gross package of Valomilk that I had apparently left in my bag during my trip (the thing was full of candy when I left as, well, they were just giving the stuff away and I hate to disappoint-free Goo-Goo's anyone?). Could this possibly be a true thing, this Valomilk doesn't fly well thing? I called the guy and he swears up and down that this is true, but I am still not convinced. I have several more packages and I am going to try to mess up my bag a couple of times in January.

←

I suppose the next logical step is to try and fly with them in a pressure sealed canister of some type! (vacuum sealing may not be enough...)

[Mayhaw Man]

I suppose the next logical step is to try and fly with them in a pressure sealed canister of some type! (vacuum sealing may not be enough...)

←

This is, really, turning into a pretty big joke. I am going to SF in Jan, and then right back to DC, so they will get a good chance to blow up. It will be fun. I can't imagine that it's true, but my one highly unscientific and accidental experience leads me to believe that it might be. This may well be suited for these guys.

[phaelon56]

BUT THEN I got off a plane a couple of weeks ago and was unpacking my bag and found what else but a completely deflated and kind of gross package of Valomilk that I had apparently left in my bag during my trip

It makes perfectly good sense to me but then again.... so do many seemingly illogical and irrational things

If the Valomilk filling has marshmallow and eggwhites and is a sort of light puffy substance that is not stablized by some of the toxic goo found in freaks of nature such as Peeps... the lack of pressurization in the cargo hold of a commercial airliner might cause this.

Ever flown on a flight that cruised above 30,000 feet, gotten to the hotel and discovered that your partially used bottle of hair gel had sort of sucked in on itself and was compressed? I have. But I didn't taste it to see if it was still good.

[Mayhaw Man]

Ever flown on a flight that cruised above 30,000 feet, gotten to the hotel and discovered that your partially used bottle of hair gel had sort of sucked in on itself and was compressed?  I have. But I didn't taste it to see if it was still good.

←

One of the main things about hair gel is that you have to have some before it's a useful product. So, well, no, I don't have a clue what it's like-but I am perfectly willing to take your word for it.

[Angela Alaimo]

www.vermontcountrystore.com

Has all kinds of candy and stuff like real Ovaltine from back in the day. Actually, they've got lots of cool retro stuff that you won't believe you forgot about, since it was so popular once upon a time.

[judiu]

Yesterday, on a completely random task, I was in Lord & Taylor's in Manhattan and saw something slightly unusual--a nice little display by the first floor elevators for the famous See's Candy--which normally is pretty much only marketed in California.  It kind of struck me as a big deal that folks who otherwise have to haul the stuff cross-country in suitcases or mail order it might want to KNOW that a store in New York sells it, and while considering how to post about this it occured to me that there are any number of snacks and confections which are normally only regionally marketed, but who's availability through special channels could be documented here at eGullet.

The first time I ever had Godiva candy, the box was purchased from Burdines, a local store here in Florida.(Now a part of Macy's )I COULD NOT figure out why people raved about it. Frankly, it was lousy. Then I happened to be in a mall with a REAL Godiva Store, and bought myself a few pieces that were truly excellent. The stuff in the boxes doesn't sell well enough to insure freshness, so maybe they use preservatives, or maybe it's just the age of the things.

[miladyinsanity]

If you're a Japanophile, you probably already know of Minamoto Kitchoan. But if you don't, you should see whether there's one near you.

They've got the best snacks!