Planning on moving to Canada?
November 9, 2000 2:32 PM Subscribe
Planning on moving to Canada? Think twice. Not only will be abandoning the Land of Liberty, not only will you have a different election to worry about, but you'll also have to acclimate yourself to strange, foreign candy.
You know, the one thing I missed more than anything when I moved from Canada were the mint Aero bars. (Admittedly, I was 12).
posted by Jeanne at 2:39 PM on November 9, 2000
posted by Jeanne at 2:39 PM on November 9, 2000
I don't know what a "Clamato rimmer" is, and I sure as shootin' don't want to find out.
posted by mimi at 2:58 PM on November 9, 2000
posted by mimi at 2:58 PM on November 9, 2000
Strange and foreign, snarkout? For expat Brits, Canada would feel like home: Smarties, Aeros, Crunchies, Kit Kats. Yum. And proper tea as well. (As opposed to theft.)
posted by holgate at 3:03 PM on November 9, 2000
posted by holgate at 3:03 PM on November 9, 2000
you don't have smarties down there?
wow, you take some things for granted up here
posted by starduck at 3:34 PM on November 9, 2000
wow, you take some things for granted up here
posted by starduck at 3:34 PM on November 9, 2000
Hey, they got KitKats in the U.S. of A.
Gimme a break! (sorry)
BTW, do they have Moon Pies in Canada?
posted by BozLee at 3:41 PM on November 9, 2000
Gimme a break! (sorry)
BTW, do they have Moon Pies in Canada?
posted by BozLee at 3:41 PM on November 9, 2000
Kit Kats yes....
Well, sort of. There is a very big difference between Canadian and American "chocolate" bars. In Canada the biscuity parts are wrapped in chocolate. In America, chocolate isn't the same. It's "chocolatey-candy" or something like that. Try the Kit Kat challenge. Take one Canadian and one from the states you can even see the difference let alone the taste thing. Canadian chocolate is darker that it's American friend.
This is pretty much the same for all "chocolate" bars.
posted by heather at 4:01 PM on November 9, 2000
Well, sort of. There is a very big difference between Canadian and American "chocolate" bars. In Canada the biscuity parts are wrapped in chocolate. In America, chocolate isn't the same. It's "chocolatey-candy" or something like that. Try the Kit Kat challenge. Take one Canadian and one from the states you can even see the difference let alone the taste thing. Canadian chocolate is darker that it's American friend.
This is pretty much the same for all "chocolate" bars.
posted by heather at 4:01 PM on November 9, 2000
They DO have Smarties here in the US, actually. It took me two months to find a package, but they have them.
Unfortunately, they are NOTHING like Canadian Smarties. They are those sour, chalky candies that you get at Halloween. In Canada, I believe they are called "Rockets".
Canadian candy is SO superior to American candy. There isn't even a comparison. Just try a Wunderbar or a Crispy Crunch or an Aero and TRY to tell me I'm wrong.
posted by Succa at 4:31 PM on November 9, 2000
Unfortunately, they are NOTHING like Canadian Smarties. They are those sour, chalky candies that you get at Halloween. In Canada, I believe they are called "Rockets".
Canadian candy is SO superior to American candy. There isn't even a comparison. Just try a Wunderbar or a Crispy Crunch or an Aero and TRY to tell me I'm wrong.
posted by Succa at 4:31 PM on November 9, 2000
Those sour candies weren't Skittles were they? Wherever the hell they come from. I dunno, here in Australia, we seem to just about have everything mentioned above, so I have no idea whats Canadian, or American or British or whatever.
Oh and we have Tim-tams too.
posted by aki at 4:43 PM on November 9, 2000
Oh and we have Tim-tams too.
posted by aki at 4:43 PM on November 9, 2000
Canadian chocolate has it's ancestry in British chocolate, which is very different then most American candy bars use. There's some way to get that British-style chocolate in the states, but it's generally regarded as a cooking chocolate.
I saw a 2-hour documentary on chocolate once, and was oddly (or perhaps not terribly oddly, when I think about it)enraptured by it.
Oh, and mimi, Clammato Rimmer is basically celery salt, perhaps with some other stuff thrown in. Its for people who want Ceasar's, but don't know what the stuff on the rim is.
posted by cCranium at 4:53 PM on November 9, 2000
I saw a 2-hour documentary on chocolate once, and was oddly (or perhaps not terribly oddly, when I think about it)enraptured by it.
Oh, and mimi, Clammato Rimmer is basically celery salt, perhaps with some other stuff thrown in. Its for people who want Ceasar's, but don't know what the stuff on the rim is.
posted by cCranium at 4:53 PM on November 9, 2000
Unfortunately, they are NOTHING like Canadian Smarties. They are those sour, chalky candies that you get at Halloween.
Aren't they disgusting? Yes, the closest thing we have to UK/Canadian/Australian/etc Smarties is M&Ms. Of course, M&Ms contain American chocolate. It's not difficult to get good quality chocolate in the US, it's just that it's only available in gourmet-type bars rather than fun novelty bars like Aero. Oh, by the way, aki, US Smarties are quite different from Skittles. Their texture is akin to that of baby asprin or chewable vitamins.
posted by redfoxtail at 5:04 PM on November 9, 2000
Aren't they disgusting? Yes, the closest thing we have to UK/Canadian/Australian/etc Smarties is M&Ms. Of course, M&Ms contain American chocolate. It's not difficult to get good quality chocolate in the US, it's just that it's only available in gourmet-type bars rather than fun novelty bars like Aero. Oh, by the way, aki, US Smarties are quite different from Skittles. Their texture is akin to that of baby asprin or chewable vitamins.
posted by redfoxtail at 5:04 PM on November 9, 2000
What's with the strange graphics on the Canadian kitkats?
Are they some sort of declaration of Canadian pride to be red and white? The American ones are so much different.
Actually, now that I see them both, I prefer the graphics on the candian bars, why do the american ones require a picture of the candy inside?
posted by mathowie at 5:05 PM on November 9, 2000
Are they some sort of declaration of Canadian pride to be red and white? The American ones are so much different.
Actually, now that I see them both, I prefer the graphics on the candian bars, why do the american ones require a picture of the candy inside?
posted by mathowie at 5:05 PM on November 9, 2000
Wow, I was thinking of moving to the states, but now that I know about the chocolate bar quality I'm thinking twice. I like BabyRuth's and you can't get them here in Canada.
posted by cburton at 5:39 PM on November 9, 2000
posted by cburton at 5:39 PM on November 9, 2000
Aki said Oh and we have Tim-tams too.
I didn't know that we'd exported them that far. (For some of the history of Tim Tams, check here.)
On the general chocolate thing, it's because in the U.S. you can call something "chocolate" which has only a very small amount of cocoa butter. The requirements in other countries are significantly higher. Why minimise the amount of cocoa butter in chocolate? Because it's more expensive (but yummier) than its alternatives.
posted by grestall at 6:00 PM on November 9, 2000
I didn't know that we'd exported them that far. (For some of the history of Tim Tams, check here.)
On the general chocolate thing, it's because in the U.S. you can call something "chocolate" which has only a very small amount of cocoa butter. The requirements in other countries are significantly higher. Why minimise the amount of cocoa butter in chocolate? Because it's more expensive (but yummier) than its alternatives.
posted by grestall at 6:00 PM on November 9, 2000
There are some decent chocolates here in the U.S. I'm partial to Ghirardelli, myself.
posted by harmful at 6:07 PM on November 9, 2000
posted by harmful at 6:07 PM on November 9, 2000
Strange and foreign, snarkout? For expat Brits, Canada would feel like home: Smarties, Aeros, Crunchies, Kit Kats.
Same stuff in Australia. American brands aren't as popular here. Please, M&Ms don't come close to Smarties.
Anyway, what's NAFTA good for if it's not to help the Canadians wipe out those inferior US brands?
posted by lagado at 6:29 PM on November 9, 2000
Same stuff in Australia. American brands aren't as popular here. Please, M&Ms don't come close to Smarties.
Anyway, what's NAFTA good for if it's not to help the Canadians wipe out those inferior US brands?
posted by lagado at 6:29 PM on November 9, 2000
Please, M&Ms don't come close to Smarties.
Indeed they don't. But they do come a lot closer than Smarties* do. M&Ms don't come in those colorful cardboard boxes, either. I wish they did. It's so festive.
*US
posted by redfoxtail at 8:06 PM on November 9, 2000
Indeed they don't. But they do come a lot closer than Smarties* do. M&Ms don't come in those colorful cardboard boxes, either. I wish they did. It's so festive.
*US
posted by redfoxtail at 8:06 PM on November 9, 2000
gretstall: I meant that, in addition to all those great cocoa wonders, we also "... have Tim-tams too". And not as in, we share them with other countries. Speaking of which, have TimTams been exported far and wide? And if not, why not?
posted by aki at 8:52 PM on November 9, 2000
posted by aki at 8:52 PM on November 9, 2000
Tim Tams are manufactured in Australia by Arnott's biscuits which is a local brand.
So do you mean you have a lot of hungry dope smokers in your country too?
posted by lagado at 10:45 PM on November 9, 2000
So do you mean you have a lot of hungry dope smokers in your country too?
posted by lagado at 10:45 PM on November 9, 2000
Shall I widen the discussion to mention CyberCandy, which offers an incredible variety of comestibles to a salivating British public? Yes, I should.
As for the difference between American and Commonwealth chocolate: I read once that Hershey's recipe involved mimicking the original "sour milk" taste of Quaker chocolate in Pennsylvania. Brits, Canadians and Aussies are more accustomed to the Cadbury's recipe...
And mathowie: KitKats have had the red and white wrapper (apart from during WWII) since they first came out of the Rowntree's factory in York back in 1935. (I'm still not convinced that the Chunky KitKat is the way forward, though.)
posted by holgate at 11:36 PM on November 9, 2000
As for the difference between American and Commonwealth chocolate: I read once that Hershey's recipe involved mimicking the original "sour milk" taste of Quaker chocolate in Pennsylvania. Brits, Canadians and Aussies are more accustomed to the Cadbury's recipe...
And mathowie: KitKats have had the red and white wrapper (apart from during WWII) since they first came out of the Rowntree's factory in York back in 1935. (I'm still not convinced that the Chunky KitKat is the way forward, though.)
posted by holgate at 11:36 PM on November 9, 2000
My nod for the most subtly skewed Canadian candy is the popular brand of peanut butter cups. Here in the States, their name brand is Reese's. In Canada, they're just Reese. To an American eye, the name looks strangely unfinished without the possessive. For the first time I had an inkling of what it might be like to slip into a parallel universe.
On another topic entirely, some of the stores here in Seattle have Aero bars. I've seen them, but never tried them. What are they like?
posted by kindall at 12:11 AM on November 10, 2000
On another topic entirely, some of the stores here in Seattle have Aero bars. I've seen them, but never tried them. What are they like?
posted by kindall at 12:11 AM on November 10, 2000
Aero bars are like breathing in chocolate and feeling it condense in your mouth. The texture is just amazing: firm and satisfying to bite into, yet also light and airy. The chocolate itself is decent but nothing special, it's all in the texture.
Unfortunately, every Aero bar I've had here has been horribly stale, which makes me wonder about the local distributor's source for them. The ones I had back on the East Coast were a lot fresher.
posted by grimmelm at 12:43 AM on November 10, 2000
Unfortunately, every Aero bar I've had here has been horribly stale, which makes me wonder about the local distributor's source for them. The ones I had back on the East Coast were a lot fresher.
posted by grimmelm at 12:43 AM on November 10, 2000
When I was but a wee bairn in the oh-so-ancient 1970s, my dad would sometimes bring an Aero back from work -- or even better, an orange Aero -- and snap a piece off for me and my sister. Sheer choccy luxury.
They're not the same now, and haven't been since the Nestlé takeover of Rowntree's back in the 80s. Too many brand-diversification exercises, redesigns, consultant-fuelled idiocies. Don't these people realise that confectionary means so much more than just food?
(And no, I've never understood the North American predeliction for peanut butter and chocolate together.)
posted by holgate at 4:03 AM on November 10, 2000
They're not the same now, and haven't been since the Nestlé takeover of Rowntree's back in the 80s. Too many brand-diversification exercises, redesigns, consultant-fuelled idiocies. Don't these people realise that confectionary means so much more than just food?
(And no, I've never understood the North American predeliction for peanut butter and chocolate together.)
posted by holgate at 4:03 AM on November 10, 2000
And while we're discussing parallel universes (or neighbouring countries, whatever :-), we call Kraft Dinner Kraft Dinner, not Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. (wow, I feel like I'm Joe, and I Am Canadian now :-) Oh, and you can buy Dill Pickle chips in Canada.
And now that Yoohoo and Barqs have finally made their way up north, I never need to go to the states again.
Unless I want to get warm. :-)
posted by cCranium at 5:07 AM on November 10, 2000
And now that Yoohoo and Barqs have finally made their way up north, I never need to go to the states again.
Unless I want to get warm. :-)
posted by cCranium at 5:07 AM on November 10, 2000
Oreos are different in Canada too. The chocolate tastes weird. Not weird, that's a pejorative term. It's just different from the dark chocolatey/Criscoey goodnes I'm used to in the good ol' US of A.
Just one more thing I'm packing in my goodie trunk when I move.
posted by likorish at 5:34 AM on November 10, 2000
Just one more thing I'm packing in my goodie trunk when I move.
posted by likorish at 5:34 AM on November 10, 2000
i think i miss all the vachon cakes the most. developed a bad habit for them in the high school cafeteria and it haunts me to this day. vachon was even recognized in canada post's millennium collection.
Canadian Favourites: A unique taste of home is a source i'm going to check out. i want those pirate cookies!
posted by heather at 7:15 AM on November 10, 2000
Canadian Favourites: A unique taste of home is a source i'm going to check out. i want those pirate cookies!
posted by heather at 7:15 AM on November 10, 2000
Speaking of strange, foreign candy....
Guatemala has its own prepackaged junk food to offer, but the stuff from the local shops is really more interesting. How about a big, slimy chunk of candied squash? Lots of molasses candy, due to the ready availability of sugar cane, often mixed with toasted sesame or pumpkin seeds. Some of it is quite good, if you don't mind your candy with a bitter, burnt edge--it's almost reminiscent of a good stout.
The nastiest, er, the most culturally-unique candy I've had is Chinese milk toffee. Truly revolting, to my tastes, like drinking sweetened condensed milk. I was once in the position of having to eat large amounts of it due to etiquette. I still shudder at the memory.
I have, however, become very fond of powerfully salty Dutch licorice (dissed by the boys at bad-candy.com ever since my family hosted an exchange student. It's hard to find here, but worth the effort.
posted by MrMoonPie at 8:20 AM on November 10, 2000
Guatemala has its own prepackaged junk food to offer, but the stuff from the local shops is really more interesting. How about a big, slimy chunk of candied squash? Lots of molasses candy, due to the ready availability of sugar cane, often mixed with toasted sesame or pumpkin seeds. Some of it is quite good, if you don't mind your candy with a bitter, burnt edge--it's almost reminiscent of a good stout.
The nastiest, er, the most culturally-unique candy I've had is Chinese milk toffee. Truly revolting, to my tastes, like drinking sweetened condensed milk. I was once in the position of having to eat large amounts of it due to etiquette. I still shudder at the memory.
I have, however, become very fond of powerfully salty Dutch licorice (dissed by the boys at bad-candy.com ever since my family hosted an exchange student. It's hard to find here, but worth the effort.
posted by MrMoonPie at 8:20 AM on November 10, 2000
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posted by snarkout at 2:33 PM on November 9, 2000