Lollipops
Today I am revisiting a favorite candy of mine: See’s Root Beer Lollypops. I reviewed them way back when I first around the time I first started this blog. I had found those on a candy hunt in Los Angeles long before I lived there. I was relatively new to See’s candies as a whole, and was really excited when I found the Root Beer Lollypops. Root beer flavors are hard to come by to begin with, much less good ones. So I was excited to hear from See’s that the Root Beer Lollipops will be back this summer and I was given some complimentary samples. Sweet.
The lollypops are large and feel heavy in your hand. The actual candy part is a large square about inch tall and 1/3 inch-ish wide and deep. So it’s a big lollypop, for sure. Still, it easily fits in your mouth, so it’s not impossibly big like those giant rainbow lollipops. The color is a creamy brown, lighter than real root beer but still gives off that root beer vibe.
The texture of this lollypop is nice since it’s really creamy and really gets your saliva going. The square shape quickly disappears as the lollypop melts so the shape conforms to your mouth. The edges easily become rounded and smooth.
The flavor is amazing. It’s sweet and woodsy, like root beer should be. It has some spicy notes to it, but there’s a big creamy flavor to the whole thing. It reminds me more of A&W root beer than say, Mug or Barq’s. The flavor overall reminds me of a root beer float, when you get close to finishing it and you have that mix of root beer and ice cream at the bottom of your glass. It tastes like that. Sweet, creamy, and delicious root beer.
My opinions haven’t changed since I’ve had these last. They are amazing. They last a long time too, so they’re a great after lunch sweet to keep you focused on work. I’m a big fan of these and I’m glad they’re back for the summer.
Rating: Hoard
Links See’s Candies Website
DAS Foods, makers of the DAS Caramelini that I reviewed last year, have recently unveiled a line of new all natural gourmet lollipops. There’s been a big buzz about them, especially since they were one of the main product spotlights of the All Candy Expo which took place in Chicago two weeks ago.
The lollipops have a cute tag line of “What’s your Flava?” and come in four unique flavors. One of which, the Man Bait flavor, has bacon in it. This isn’t my first time having a bacon lollipop, so I was interested to see how it compared to my previous experiences.
Each lollipop is small and delicate, about the size of a quarter and remind me of the pops I see at various candy bowls in doctor, dentist and bank offices. The wrappers are colorful with bold lettering and modern-looking black and white illustrations of the ingredients involved.
Man Bait: maple bacon: It looks like a very light, almost completely opaque, brown color with flecks of the red brown bits of bacon. So yes, there is real bacon in this. The flavor is first of the authentic flavor of the maple base: sweet and toasted. Then, a smokiness from the bacon shows through. It’s meaty, salty, and has that nice honey-ham flavor to it. It reminds me more of jerky than bacon, but its wonderful sweet/salty flavor is addicting.
Naughty Ginger: lemon & ginger: Also delicate in color it’s a light yellow brown color that’s opaque until held to a light. The flavor is softly sweet, with a hint of ginger. But don’t let it fool you, as the ginger flavor grows and gets quite spicy and powerful. The lemon sits right under the ginger taste, with a sharp tartness that compliments the ginger nicely. The whole lollipop is spicy and gives your mouth a good warm burn. It’s not for those who aren’t into eating ginger straight because of its intensity.
Caramel Me Happy: salty caramel: Opaque and a pretty dark brown color. The flavor is of sweet, toasted milky flavors, a little burnt sugar, and at the finish a good light kick of salt. The flavors are nicely balanced with neither one overpowering the other, and the saltiness is nicely mild so it doesn’t overpower the sweetness. I also gets notes of gingerbread at moments. It’s a really simple concept, yet complex flavors.
Fab-O-Pom: orange & pomegranate: This one is especially beautiful! It’s light pink in color, like grapefruit juice. You can see pomegranate seeds, dotting all over inside the candy. The flavor is immediately fresh and juicy. It tastes lightly of orange at first, almost like orange flower essence because it’s a very light and floral flavor. The pomegranate is hard to identify exactly, but it adds a distinct tartness to the lollipop which is very nice. It’s so similar to a refreshing fruit lemonade. Out of them all this one is my favorite.
A nice line of lollipops, especially for those who crave something unique. I bought a couple of the Man Bait and Caramel Me Happy for a gift a couple of months back when they were first released, and the recipients were totally smitten with them.
Rating: Will Eat Again
Links Das Foods Website
Now is this a cool novely candy idea or what? I normally don’t fall for candy gimmicks, as I’m a purist. I want candy to eat and that’s about it. However when I saw this Hello Kitty Glow Lollipop, I couldn’t help but notice how interesting of an idea it was. Unlike other novelty candies I’ve seen, the toy leftover is, well, useful. And it’s Hello Kitty.
The lollipop comes in a carton pink tube about the size of lipstick, with the Hello Kitty decal on top which glows when you press a button on the handle. The Hello Kitty head makes for a very comfortable grasping point when you hold the lollipop. The design is nice as it indicates you can suck on it a little and put it back in the case and continue eating it later if you felt like it. I’m not sure what purpose the light is supposed to serve, other than amuse or annoy someones. It’s sadly not very bright on Hello Kitty’s face.
The flavor says strawberry to me right away. The tube format really reminds me of a push pop, except a little bigger and without the freaky neon colors. The strawberry flavor is unique, I haven’t taste one like this before. It’s very berry-like, sweet, and has nice floral notes. What’s different is I taste a little melon and grapefruit in there, yet it doesn’t stand out on it’s own, but contributes and mixes with the floral notes and it comes out as strawberry. Interesting.
Very unique, tasty, and unexpectedly complex for a lollipop. Plus I get to keep the light up container. It might serve as a good light for my purse in a pinch.
Rating: Might Eat Again
I found these in a random farmers/polish market on the way to my car dealership. I walked the aisles taking in all the different foods; jams, cookies, spices, soups and whatever other interesting things that aren’t in your normal supermarket. I then spied these Coronado Paleta de Cajeta lollipops, or “Goat’s Milk Lollipops”. I’ve heard of these traditional Mexican candies before and had yet to try them. Here goes nothing!
Lovely oblong flat disc shape. It’s an interesting texture, I expected it to be somewhat soft, but it’s rock hard. It made me question if that’s the real texture, or if the lollipops were old and on the stale side.
The flavor is milky and sweet, and that’s about it. I was hoping for more deep, creamy, dulce de la leche flavors but it doesn’t have them. I also get no “goatiness” from them at all, which I’m not sure is a good or bad thing. Goat’s milk has this strange odious tang to it and I didn’t detect any of this here.
I fun thing to try but I don’t see myself craving these again in the future. At least, not unless I was offered the fresh stuff….
Rating: Will Eat Again
Links
Coronado Website
See’s Candies is a confectionery giant out in the West coast. They’ve an impressive history and have been making candies since 1921 following traditional recipes and using quality ingredients. With such quality products, it’s really hard to go wrong. It’s a shame that I’m in the East Cost, which has a sad lack of See’s products. I hope to work my way though their products as time goes on. But I can say that from what I have already tasted, they make pretty stellar stuff.
This past summer I was lucky enough to visit a See’s store while on vacation in Los Angeles. Like a kid in a candy stores, I couldn’t decide on exactly what I needed to buy, as so many of their confections could be considered a “must try”. I did decide on some of their Root Beer lollypops, as I have a big weak spot for all things root beer. They were only a small part of the purchases I made there.
After bringing my See’s swag home, I discovered that the Root Beer lollipop was a summer limited edition. I was lucky enough to catch it in stores. It’s the same format as their other lollypops, a thick rectangular mass that smells sweet with notes of wintergreen and spice.
The Root Beer lollipop was a summer limited edition and I was lucky enough to catch it in stores. It’s the same format as their other lollypops, a thick rectangular mass that smells sweet with notes of wintergreen and spice.
The flavor is awesome, it’s like a single brew, old fashioned draft root beer. The different flavor components are very separate and easily distinguishable. First there’s the creamy sweetness, followed by a wintergreen peppery hit, rounded out with sharp, spicy woodsy notes. It’s so lovely. My favorite “hard” candy root beer flavor to date, as other varieties I find are usually too heavy on the herbal flavors in Root Beer. This one is just right.
Like the Root Beer, the Cinnamon lollipop is a limited edition flavor for this holiday season. They come in attractive bright red wrappers and they call to you immediately from the shelf.
The lollipop is opaque and doesn’t resemble a hard candy at all. It smells creamy and milk, but there’s also a strong cinnamon scent that’s very “hot”.
The flavor is really interesting. It’s cinnamon, and it burns a little, yet it’s very smooth and creamy. It’s a nice mix of both worlds. I get a little mouth burn with it, but it’s very mild and it reminds me of a red hot. The creamy flavors cool off the burn and I’d imagine it being like drinking a steamed milk with cinnamon syrup.
It’s a shame that both of these are available for only a limited time. They’re so tasty! I can’t help but wonder if their short shelf lifespan is part of their appeal though.
Rating: Root Beer: Hoard
Cinnamon: Will Buy Again
Links
See’s Website
