The candy that required a passport
I’m not much of a candy eater. I’ll have some, on occasion, but I’m much more of a savory than sweet girl.
But put a box of Smarties in front of me, and I become a changed woman.
I’m not talking about what most Americans call Smarties—those cellophane-wrapped tubes of sweet-sour powdery discs. I’m talking about candy-coated chocolate Smarties, Nestlé’s entrant into the space occupied in the United States by M&Ms.
The thing is, these aren’t like M&Ms at all. They’re bigger. Wider. Flatter. And the candy coating is thicker. The whole thing tastes utterly different—Smarties have a creamier taste than M&Ms, with a much milkier chocolate flavor—and because I grew up overseas, where Smarties were much easier to acquire than their American cousin, that taste reminds me of childhood.
In Germany, they came in a cardboard tube with a plastic lid, almost like something that would hold a little tiny poster. I used to savor the Smarties, tipping the tube so one would fall into my palm at a time, then holding the candy on my tongue like a Communion wafer, letting the candy coating soften before biting into it in search of the chocolate.
Thanks to the power of the Internet, it’s possible to acquire Smarties in the U.S. All one has to do is place an order with any of a small number of specialty food purveyors. But me? I flew to Canada for my latest fix. The friend I visited had them at her house when I got there, and we ate them all weekend long.
My last stop before the plane? The duty-free store, not for liquor or tobacco or make-up or jewelry, but for a big bag of mini-boxes of Smarties. I’ve been rationing them out one box at a time. And I’m not sharing them with anyone.
Laura
Anita
jen maiser
Kristina
The Inadvertent Gardener
Marisa McClellan
I find myself not really craving sweet. I do like some really really dark chocolate, which I buy on occasion.
What I really crave: salty fried green plantain chips, which are difficult to find here in NE Ohio. I on a rare occasion (once a year) can find a plantain green enough to fry crispy. Generally I have my dad bring back chips for me when he travels back from Colombia (doesn’t that cound as local?). I also really love boiled yucca or fried yucca “fries”. I have yet to spot fresh yucca here, but I can find frozen yucca at a latin foods market in Cleveland (although the market just closed – sigh).
If I were to pick a sweet item it would be arequipe a kind of caramel they make in latin America (it’s soft and you eat it with a spoon). I can’t really eat it by the spoonful like I used to, I do love it stirred into coffee though. My dad occationally brings some back for me. I make the jar last as long as possible.
You’re making me homesick! I also used to love the cardboard tubes, and the lid always had a letter on.
I have a Canadian friend in Texas and she feels the exact same way as you do! The last time I sent her some she had to take back the ones her daughter had already shared – said the kids couldn’t fully appreciate the wonder of the Smartie.
Chiot’s Run, all those options (sweet and savory) sound awesome! As I said, I’m generally a savory person, so this is a departure for me, but a tasty one. :-)
Jenny, the letter on the cap was the best! When I was a kid, I always thought you could collect them to spell S-M-A-R-T-I-E-S, but it turns out it was an effort by the company to help teach kids how to read, or at least how to say the alphabet.
Cheryl, that’s awesome. I agree — they should not be wasted on the unappreciative!
I met my first Smarties soon after I met my Canadian husband. We were visiting his family in Montreal, and I needed a chocolate fix. I was looking for M&Ms and he said, oh no, you must try Smarties. It was love at first bite.
The best thing about Smarties when I was little was lightly licking the red ones and then using the red dye to “paint” my lips. When I smell a Smartie, that’s what comes immediately to mind. I live in the U.S. now and M&M’s just aren’t the same. I can’t introduce my kids to Smarties either since my kids are gluten free and Smarties have wheat in them
Am I crazy, or do Smarties taste slightly of orange? No matter, I love them—far more than M&Ms.
Though, for the record, I like those powdery disk Smarties too.
Lydia, I love that this is just another example of how awesome Ted is. I wholeheartedly approve! ;-)
Michele, that is so sad for your kids! I love the story of your painting your lips with the Smarties — I seem to recall trying similar experiments as a kid, myself.
Tea, good question…I’m going to have to go back into my stash and check that out. And to be sure, I don’t hate the powdery disk Smarties, but they hold no candle to the chocolate foreign kind.
Hmmm … I have to confess my very American tendancies here. I prefer M&Ms. I like Smarties, but I’d reach for M&Ms before Smarties. I do agree that while the descriptions of the two candies sound very similar, the reality of the candies is worlds apart.
Susan, worlds apart is right! And hey — I don’t judge — you’re absolutely welcome to prefer M&Ms to Smarties. That just means more Smarties for me!