In a few days children (and some adults) will don costumes and celebrate Halloween.
Originally meant as a holiday to honor and hold vigil for the dead, Oct. 31 is now associated with gaudy costumes and giving out candy.
Michael Singer of Bon App’eacute;tit released lists of the best and worst candies given out on Halloween. The lists are filled with classic favorites and loathsome products that haven’t disappeared with the times.
One prime example is Circus Peanuts. These orange, peanut-shaped candies taste like cardboard, and are not actually flavored after the taste of their namesake. Rather, they’re banana-flavored. Any poor sap that receives these abominations on Halloween should dispose of them immediately.
Other candies on the ‘worst’ list include Necco Wafers and Smarties. Tangy and tart with the consistency of talcum powder, Smarties made the list probably for the sheer volume trick-or-treaters receive rather than their taste. Necco Wafers, on the other hand, made the list because they’re nasty.
Dum Dum Pops were on the ‘worst’ list as well. Frankly, they’re too small to be enjoyed, and come in too many flavors.
Raisins also made the list, which is a misstep: they’re not candy.
Perhaps the most popular candy on the ‘worst’ list was candy corn. The National Confectioners Association estimates that 20 million pounds of candy corn are sold each year.’
Thankfully, for every piece of bad candy out there, there’s good one.
And what’s the top candy on the ‘best’ list? It’s Hershey’s Krackel, which has delighted chocolate lovers since 1938. Krackels can be found in bags of Hershey’s Miniatures. Its Nestl’eacute; counterpart is the Crunch.
In second place are Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins. To be honest, a Reese’s Peanut Butter anything is good on Halloween. Also on the list are Snickers bars. Nothing beats the combination of chocolate, nougat, caramel and peanuts in this cavity-inducing, braces-wrecking classic.
Any candy encompassed under the vague category of ‘All things sour or hot’ made the list, which includes sweets such as Warheads, Shockers (formerly Shock Tarts), Sweet Tarts, Sour Patch Kids, Hot Tamales – the list could go on. Perhaps the category of ‘anything full-size’ is more enticing. After all, why settle for fun-size?
Candy corn, named to the ‘worst’ list, was also included on the ‘best’ list. As awesome as these candies are, there were some rather glaring omissions. Why didn’t Kit-Kat or Twix make the ‘best’ list, or Jawbreakers or Almond Joy make the ‘worst’ list?
Of course, lists of these types are always up for debate. There’s no better time to continue that discussion than Saturday.
Whether you’re trick-or-treating, partying or egging and toilet-papering someone’s house, there is always time to enjoy candy somewhere in between.
The Daily Cougar condones neither egging nor toilet-papering houses.
