Going 'round In Circles All The Time or No Sugar For You!

The last candy I ate before I started overreading was a Grape Juicy Twist. Overreading is like overeating, but done online and potentially more dangerous.
I've been reading about Vertigo because "I'm so dizzy, my head is spinning" and there may be connections to almost everything good to eat or drink and the intrusive condition.
Until I get that coveted ENT appointment (guess I'll have to sit and spin until August), the Dish will be reducing it's sugar intake. Ironic, ain't it.

Meanwhile, I've turned to fruit. It's a healthier source of sugar in which I immediately overindulged.
When I looked at the nutritionist with sad velvet painting puppy dog eyes I talked about a candy blog I can't seem to quit, and she said, "Okay, don't worry about fruit for now."
No one has ever said that to me before.
I'm not quite ready to revise the name of the blog, but here are some possibilities:

* The Wisconsin Fruit Dish
* The Wisconsin Randy Dish—Feeling Amorous In The Dairy State From Eating All That Fruit
* The Wisconsin Sandy Fish (I have photos for that)
* The Wisconsin Candy Wish
* The Madison Blues (already taken, but that doesn't seem to stop people)
* No More Sugar Makes Jeanna Something Something

I'll work on it.
Expect more novelty candy, random fruit smoothies, lower sugar snacks, and photos using all but the one bit of candy I'll eat with a hearty let's see what happens attitude.
Let's see what happens.

Grape Juicy Twists

I had a green licorice Jones as a kid and was thrilled to see flavored licorices popping up years ago. But back when All Day Suckers dared you to finish them in less than 24 hours, green licorice was mint. Today they're Green Apple with flavors like Rootbeer and Cinnamon spicing up a zany selection.

But where's the mint? Not at Shopko.

Shopko, which is slowly making a run for post worthy candy, had a few Juicy Twists flavors— if you want to see them all look on the Kenny's Candy website.

I've had the Green Apple and that kind of fruity tartness along with the softer chew wasn't for me. Green Apple is one of those flavors that can easily go awry, but even the most artificial grape something can be passable.

I found the Grape Twists passable, but dull. They smell more tempting than they taste, and a bite or two of the Twists not sacrificed for a photo shoot didn't make me long for more.

Nutty Package Disappoints

It was nice to hear from the makers of the Twin Bing, one of the first nostalgic candies I talked to Deb of Debbie's Sweets 'n Treats about while she still had the store in Oak Creek. (You can order from their booming online business.)
A candy enthusiast can get excited when talking about a nostalgic favorite like the Twin Bing, so it was disappointing to sample the Palmer's Candies sent via what looked like an organ donor box. The photos were more fun to take than the candy to eat.
I'll start with the good news: The large Styrofoam box was stuffed with air pillows and did well through all the early spring hots and colds, chills and spills.
The Kiddie Chow was okay, pretty much the Puppy Chow I make each Christmas, so much easier than the elaborate cut outs the boys used to want—truly a Christmas miracle when they started asking for Puppy Chow instead of Christmas cookies.

Palmer's chow tasted like a Kit Kat and could pass for a crowd pleasing snack, nice and crunchy with the right amount of peanut butter in the center. Keep in mind I'm not one for peanut butter candy except for peanut brittle and the ridges and very top of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and this was a peanut butter themed sampler.

The Peanut Butter Crispy Yums weren't. Maybe it's because I've been dealing with a stubborn bout of veritgo (sugar makes things worse), that I'm comparing the value of Sugars to taste—there is not 19g worth of yum to every 40g of Crispy Yum.
I can't recommend the chocolate and would be surprised if anyone else could. The peanut butter was extra sweet in the Crispy Yum which was too rich and sweet all around.

The Chocolate Peanuts had the same unpleasant taste. They didn't hold up well when placed in a plastic sandwich bag and exposed to who knows what in the back of my car for who knows how long, and maybe that's a good thing. This is a generic tasting chocolate lacking any kind of complexity.
My taste testers didn't have much to say except "To be honest, it wasn't the best. The chocolate tasted more like wax than chocolate." Jackie added, "The puppy chow was ok."
The peanuts were crunchy and I didn't get a bad nut, so there you go, ending on a positive note.

Flipflops & Ice Cream Cones: Galerie Lollipops

Succumbing to a novelty lollipop makes you wonder about their history and who really invented them. A Brit may have coined the name, but we'll look to 1908 Racine for the invention of a lollipop machine. Score another one for Wisconsin.
It's hard not to think of what should have been the Seinfeld series finale—called The Betrayal, it took you backward through the story as you watched Kramer's lollipop get bigger—when thinking giant sucker. Every kid's dream, one of the easiest candies to draw, and the coolest Oz accessory besides the witch's broom.
These two Galerie lollipops screamed "summer" and although made in China and all that may infer, were fruity, tasty, fun, and more than I could handle. Watch out for sharp edges.
The orange sherbet flip flop was fun to slurp, but the hard sugar flower was initially rough on the tongue and sharper than it looks. But that didn't last too long and eventually the sucker cracked nicely, making it easy to consume despite final sharp corners. About one third flip flop was enough for me in one sitting.



I was impressed by how distinctive the cone and ice cream flavors were in the pink cone pop. The ice cream tasted and even smelled like bubble gum. The cone seemed like an artificial though not unpleasant butterscotch with a hint of peppermint. The two flavors went together nicely and the more you worked the lollipop, the more peppermint flavor came from behind the bubble gum. This sucker also cracked nicely and more quickly at the top of the cone. I thought the bubble gum after taste was a final smile.
They're a good size, just thick enough, and conducive to waving about by the sturdy plastic stick.

Summer Lovin': The Marshmallow Cone

With Babcock only a few traffic snarls away, it's always time for ice cream. And when the weather goes from snowing to 84 in a week, a marshmallow cone is a nice compromise.
I understand the nostalgic appeal of the mallow cone. If you were a frugal penny candy buyer as a child, mini cones were a colorful high ticket item that only made their way into your paper bag if you were splurging.
This is a much larger and ponderous version of the retro mini marshmallow cone that I found at Shopko.
There were a few other tempting summer themed treats along side the striped patio glasses and orange beach towels at Shopko, but the marshmallow ice cream cone is only 170 calories and contains no fat. So why not.
But then again would you care about nutrition facts if you're willing to chow down on an ounce plus of garnished marshmallow.
The marshmallow ice cream is thick and rubbery and not as much fun as the classic mini marshmallow cone. It does come with a real wafer cone which has its own wrapper, and there's a cool sugar swirl and fake jimmies on the fake ice cream.
The Galerie Marshmallow Cone is neither Peep nor classic mini, but I suspect many will be given to kids who are going to toss them after a few bites anyway.
Not quite emergency candy, better to look at than to eat, this marshmallow cone is still amusing and a sure sign that summer will jump over spring like it usually does and bring all sorts of weird and wonderful sugar along with it.