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Jenny Tries Scottish Candy

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I was going to save this post for Monday, but whatever. I felt like what the world needs today is more people ruining their teeth.

Much thanks to Scarlett Parrish for the envelope full of sugary doom!

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60 Comments

  1. Abby
    Abby

    I’m an American who lives in Scotland, and I recommend you send her Teddy Grahams! They don’t have any form of graham cracker here. Be warned that most Hershey’s chocolate will be poorly received. A lot of British people find mass-produced American chocolate to taste like ‘chemicals’.

    March 27, 2015
    |Reply
    • Trynn
      Trynn

      This American, after having tried European chocolate, thinks the same way.

      April 1, 2015
      |Reply
  2. Rachael
    Rachael

    Ahh I love this. And yes, it’s Az-dah not A-S-D-A.
    Don’t you agree that flumps is the perfect name to describe a marshmallow twist?

    March 27, 2015
    |Reply
  3. ASDA is just As-Da not separated into letters (it stands for Associated Dairies back in the day). It’s also, sadly, now owned by WalMart.

    Ah tablet, like fudge for people who think fudge is far far far too sweet and need a harder texture so they can convince themselves that they still have teeth

    March 27, 2015
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  4. Candy Apple
    Candy Apple

    Oooh! I lived in the UK for three years! I love Scottish candy! Great video. Made me nostalgic. I love tablet with every fiber of my being. Every Scottish bed and breakfast I ever stayed at had a little dish of this in the room. Wonderful.

    Asda (and you pronounce it “az-duh,”) is their version of our Wal*Mart. In fact, I think they’re both owned by the same people.

    March 27, 2015
    |Reply
  5. Candy Apple
    Candy Apple

    Oh, by the way, if I were you, I’d send your friend some root beer barrels, since root beer is exceedingly strange to inhabitants of the UK, and they think it tastes like medicine. Also, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, since peanut butter is sort of an acquired taste for them.

    But also send her some yummy candy that she will like; British people at least tend to like fruity candies….so maybe some Runts? I can’t remember if they had those there or not.

    March 27, 2015
    |Reply
    • JennyTrout
      JennyTrout

      It blows my mind that peanut butter isn’t a thing in some places. It’s so good!

      March 27, 2015
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      • Candy Apple
        Candy Apple

        Yeah, I can’t live without peanut butter, too — but remember, these Europeans have Nutella instead. They are not lacking in delicious nut spreads.

        March 27, 2015
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      • Rhiannon
        Rhiannon

        You can get Reece Peanut Butter cups in the UK nowadays and also Hershey’s chocolate though yeah we generally do not like Hershey’s chocolate. Are you able to send any of that fudge you mentioned? I think she’d probably like that πŸ˜‰

        March 28, 2015
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        • Lucy
          Lucy

          I’m Dutch and have lived in Scotland for 5 years. I’ve always had peanut butter and so has everyone I’ve known in both countries. I don’t know where the idea that it’s not popular comes from? Or maybe I just happen to always know people who have and eat peanut butter regularly?

          March 28, 2015
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          • Candy Apple
            Candy Apple

            That’s interesting. At the time I lived there, my little boy was four years old and just started Reception class at the local school. He decided he wanted to bring a bagged lunch, so I made his favorite, peanut butter and jam sandwiches. (Plus other little healthy side snacks, like grapes and carrots.)

            You would have thought I’d poured straight sugar into a plastic bag and sent that to school with him, according to his teacher’s reaction. She gave me a big lecture on dietary health. So I figured peanut butter was just not a culturally accepted ingredient for a proper meal time. Glad to hear you like it!

            March 28, 2015
          • Jane
            Jane

            Huh, when I was abroad, I mostly found that continental Europeans (French, Spanish, and Swiss) strongly disliked peanut butter. I wonder if it’s a Germanic/Romance culture divide thing?

            April 2, 2015
          • seresy
            seresy

            In my experience (American in NL for 10 years now) it’s not the peanut butter that’s oddly received but the combination of pb and chocolate. Some love it (after some suspicious sniffing and tasting) while others absolutely will never, ever have it again. It’s kind of the same for chocolate and mint combinations, outside of After Eights.

            My (Dutch) husband will have bread with peanut butter and bread with jelly at the same meal, but will never ever put the two pieces of bread together for a proper pb&j. (I just asked him why, so I can quote him correctly, and he said “there are so many reasons. You can quote me on that.” and then started trying to come up with an analogy. Apparently English lacks the knowledge of zoetbeleg. And now he’s going on about magnets and repulsion and how you have to put different stuff together and not the same and ended with “BUT IT’S WRONG”.)

            I hate stroop (outside of stroopwafel form) and he doesn’t understand that, so I guess it goes both ways.

            April 5, 2015
        • Candy Apple
          Candy Apple

          I thought I remembered seeing them at W. H. Smith, but I didn’t know if they were very popular. Glad to know you enjoy them over there; they are pretty great.

          March 28, 2015
          |Reply
          • Candy Apple
            Candy Apple

            Oops, that comment was meant for xebi. Sorry! I have no way to edit.

            March 28, 2015
    • xebi
      xebi

      We have Reese’s peanut butter cups. I get mine in Asda. Oh yes!

      March 28, 2015
      |Reply
    • AMS
      AMS

      I’m British, 45, and have always had peanut butter sandwiches, ever since I was a child – as have all my peers. I’m not really sure where the idea that peanut butter isn’t popular over here – it is.

      Tablet is lovely, but I can only eat a small bit before it sets my teeth on edge. Ditto Kendall Mint Cake.

      British chocolate is a lot nicer than Hershey’s though … I went to an American PX in Germany in the 80s and bought some American chocolate and I was so disappointed.

      March 30, 2015
      |Reply
  6. Weiszklee
    Weiszklee

    Do I see a Send Jenny Candy From Your Home Country meme coming?

    March 27, 2015
    |Reply
  7. Alexandra Aimee
    Alexandra Aimee

    Jen have you had a Sugar Daddy or a Sugar Baby before? They are like these big blocks of gooey…. carmalized sugar, sort of. The way you described the Tablet it sounded similar…. But those look really good. I’m going to seek those out….

    March 27, 2015
    |Reply
    • JennyTrout
      JennyTrout

      Yeah, it’s nothing like a sugar daddy. It’s like… the closest thing I can describe is the texture and sweetness of a maple sugar block.

      March 27, 2015
      |Reply
      • xebi
        xebi

        My husband is Scottish and sometimes I make him tablet as a sort of nostalgia gift. It’s fun to make.

        March 28, 2015
        |Reply
  8. Jess
    Jess

    You’re right Jen, Edinburgh does rock! Now I’m trying to think of Irish sweets I can send!

    March 27, 2015
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    • AnnieB
      AnnieB

      Clove rocks. People find those super weird!

      March 29, 2015
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      • Jess
        Jess

        Yeah, those or any boiled sweets really! I always loved apple drops and cough sweets! Hmmmm, can see myself going sweet shopping and none of them making it to Jenny!!

        April 3, 2015
        |Reply
  9. Carolina West
    Carolina West

    I swear, when you talked about the marshmallow twist I smelled marshmallows. I am not kidding. XD

    Also, I’ve got a candy drawer, too. ^.^ It’s the only way I can keep my little sister’s hands off my sweets.

    Speaking of sweets, why not send her some candy dots or those little wax bottles with the fruity syrup inside?

    March 27, 2015
    |Reply
  10. alix
    alix

    I don’t recall seeing ‘Red Vines’ in Scotland, and my friend in Thurso has complained of the lack of peanut butter cups. What about those big,thin slabs of Pennsylvania Dutch taffy? Squirrel Nut Zippers or Mary Janes?.

    March 27, 2015
    |Reply
    • Spockchick
      Spockchick

      We have similar to red vines here in Scotland, but they are called red bootlaces, and are thinner. Reese’s peanut butter cups are available (as Xebi said) at all Tesco stores, (3x 3 packs for Β£1.20). We actually have pinto beans here, can’t imagine how that rumour got started that we didn’t! Scotland’s west coast has a large Italian population and pinto beans are used in a lot of Italian food.

      If you are lucky enough to live in Edinburgh, the wonderful Lupe Pinto’s deli sells all manner of US treats such as root-beer, marshmallow fluff, peanut butter and jelly together in a jar (?) and Hershey’s chocolate.

      And Alix is right, root beer smells to us like TCP, or Germolene, which is a medicated spot cream. We do also have the rather special Tunnocks confectioners who peddle all manner of wafery biscuits with caramel, and have super-cute retro packaging. http://www.tunnock.co.uk/

      March 29, 2015
      |Reply
      • alix
        alix

        OMG…..Tunnock’s Snowballs…. My sister bit into one, expecting a Little Debbie’s cake. Her reaction was hilarious.
        I tend to lean. More toward cookies rather than that much candy. I’ve yet to find an American version of MacVittie’s Jaffacakes.

        March 29, 2015
        |Reply
        • Spockchick
          Spockchick

          I love snowballs πŸ™‚ There is a worrying trend here (for me) that every so ofter they sell Jaffa Cakes in tubes that are a METRE long!!! A METRE of Jaffa Cakes! That is 3’3″ of yumminess, which is DISASTER I tell you! DISASTER!

          A French confectioner called LU sell a Jaffa Cake-alike called ‘Pimms’. They used to do one with cherry jam and white chocolate. I still dream about them, even though they are discontinued πŸ™

          These are on Amazon, but out of stock at the moment.
          http://www.amazon.com/LU-Cookies-Biscuits-5-29-Ounce-Packages/dp/B0019FEOJI

          March 29, 2015
          |Reply
          • alix
            alix

            I’ve seen the Pimm’s version (cherry /white chocolate, you say? !!!), but it’s not as good as MacVittie’s.
            And a meter of jaffas is the sort of disaster I could welcome. Mmmmmmm!!

            March 29, 2015
          • Candy Apple
            Candy Apple

            I LOVE Pims. I used to buy them at Sainsbury’s, but they only had the raspberry flavor. I am dying to try the cherry version!

            I might have to order off of Amazon….we have LU’s brand here, but it’s mostly biscuits with chocolate that they carry, not the heavenly Pims.

            March 30, 2015
      • Jess
        Jess

        Oh, every time I go to Edinburgh I go home with so much Tunnock’s!! We can get Caramel Wafers,teacakes and I’ve recently discovered a shop selling coconut logs! Then again, I have an Edinburgh addiction! Roll on July!

        April 3, 2015
        |Reply
        • Spockchick
          Spockchick

          A tourist attraction that our office works with did a HUGE tunnocks give-away at an event. Aterwards they brought the leftovers to our office. There were boxes of teacakes and snowballs! Mmmm…

          April 4, 2015
          |Reply
  11. Dude, definitely do the Reeses cups and maybe actual Michigan maple leaf maple candy. I have also heard that pinto beans basically don’t exist in the UK, so burritos etc. are made with red kidney beans! That wouldn’t necessarily be the best plan for a candy package, but still.

    Also, I have a vague recollection of seeing tablet in the international aisle at the A2 Meier, or maybe at Cost Plus. Not that you need any more until age 60. πŸ™‚

    March 27, 2015
    |Reply
  12. Howdy!

    Would have replied sooner but I’ve been dying of a migraine. Now to watch the video and see your reaction.

    This, my friend, is why Scotland is the heart disease capital of Europe! Well, we’ve got to win at something.

    Besides Wimbledon. πŸ˜‰

    March 28, 2015
    |Reply
  13. For the record, “true” tablet – and the one I sent you, Mrs Tilly’s, is the best – is nothing but sugar, condensed milk and vanilla essence.

    So yeah, it will definitely melt the enamel off your teeth. πŸ˜€

    March 28, 2015
    |Reply
  14. Squeaky
    Squeaky

    Gawd, I hope someone from Cumbria (the English Lake District ) sends you some Kendal Mint cake! XD

    March 28, 2015
    |Reply
    • Candy Apple
      Candy Apple

      As an American, I really liked Kendal Mint Cake. But my favorite would have to be the Crunchie Bar. If I ever develop diabetes, I can look back to the years I spent in the UK as the reason. πŸ˜›

      March 28, 2015
      |Reply
  15. Send candy corn.

    I have Brit friends who FREAK OUT about candy corn and think one of the greatest injustices in history is that it’s almost never available in the U.K.

    March 28, 2015
    |Reply
  16. Nim
    Nim

    Do they have Pop Rocks? Because that would be an awesome thing to send. Or maybe Butterfinger… Sour Patch Kids… I’m mostly a chocolate person, but I’m wanting candy now after all this.

    March 28, 2015
    |Reply
    • Ren
      Ren

      If Pop Rocks is popping candy then yes we have that πŸ™‚ I’ve seen the actual Pop Rocks in the American sweet shop we have in Liverpool though too.

      April 9, 2015
      |Reply
  17. Sammy
    Sammy

    How about something crazy like Ring Pops or Blow Pops? Reese’s Pieces…Pixy Stix…Nerds…Hot Tamales…Jr. Mints…Jelly Belly’s

    March 28, 2015
    |Reply
    • ange
      ange

      I don’t know about the UK but we have all of that in Australia and culturally I noticed we have pretty similar lollies and chocolate.

      March 28, 2015
      |Reply
  18. SarahJane
    SarahJane

    Salt water taffy – classic down the sure treat! Candy rocks and seashells, dots, red vines, MaryJane’s, and any sort of classic penny candy. All if these make me think of going to beach as a kid. Ooh Root beer barrels! Sorry, this has unlocked some sort of sugar-crazed nostalgia, and I apologize for the spastic nature of this comment.

    March 28, 2015
    |Reply
  19. SarahJane
    SarahJane

    Buck eyes, chuckles, watermelon coconut slices, and Boston beans. Ok, I’m done.

    March 28, 2015
    |Reply
  20. Lisa
    Lisa

    I love how you say caramel! I’m from Australia so there are totally different vowel sounds when I say that word.

    March 29, 2015
    |Reply
  21. alix
    alix

    I’m told by a Scot that root beer smells like TCP (anticeptic). Si ce Hersheys bought the rights to produce Cadbury here (and change the recipes…adding cheaper ingredients) you have to make sure you get your Cadbhry from the imports. I _love_ Crunchie bars, and Curly Wurly. And for a while there was a Twixt Fino I could only get in Scotland. (rolled wafer, like Pirouettes, rather than shortbread, and toffee. Much lighter than the ones we get here.)

    March 29, 2015
    |Reply
    • Candy Apple
      Candy Apple

      Oh, god, Curly Wurlys are the BEST. We used to have a candy bar here called the “Marathon Bar,” but they discontinued it. That’s the closest thing we ever had to a Curly Wurly, so when I went to the UK, it was like visiting my childhood again.

      March 30, 2015
      |Reply
      • Spockchick
        Spockchick

        I had home made curly-wurly ice cream in a restaurant last week. It was wonderful!

        April 2, 2015
        |Reply
  22. SakiFiz
    SakiFiz

    Maybe do some traditional candy from holidays? Candy corn for Halloween, sweethearts for Valentine’s Day, peeps for Easter, etc.

    March 29, 2015
    |Reply
  23. Dawn
    Dawn

    Sponge candy!

    March 30, 2015
    |Reply
  24. alix
    alix

    If by sponge candy you mean seafoam, that’s what ‘Cadbury’a Crunchie’ bar is. (Also the ‘Violet Crumble’)

    March 30, 2015
    |Reply
  25. Honey
    Honey

    I live in the UK now, but lived in the US for most of my life and some of the stuff I really miss is :

    Twizzlers Cherry Nibs
    Salt Water Taffy
    Those chewy cinnamon candies (look like Mike & Ike’s but are all red)
    Airheads
    TGIF Potato Skins Chips (not a candy, I know, but they’re so damn good!)

    March 31, 2015
    |Reply
  26. Trynn
    Trynn

    I know it’s not candy, but my European/UK friends always want me to send them lucky charms. I don’t understand what the appeal is, but they get excited over them.

    April 1, 2015
    |Reply
    • Ren
      Ren

      We used to have them here when I was younger but then they stopped selling them! I think that’s why everyone gets excited πŸ™‚ You can get them here again now in Tescos though.

      April 9, 2015
      |Reply
  27. Pat
    Pat

    I lived in Edinburgh for a year. My friends would always ask for the hard candy, Jolly Ranchers. I had my family send bags over when they would send packages to me. Now that I am back in America, three times a year I send over Jolly Ranchers. I loved to have a piece of Tablet, with a cafe americano. I do miss that.

    April 3, 2015
    |Reply
  28. Ren
    Ren

    My favourite American sweets are Twizzlers but I also like Berger Cookies (specifically from Baltimore I think though!). I’m going to stock up when I go to Baltimore in August πŸ˜€

    I remember getting really confused when I noticed that what you guys called a Milky Way is what we call a Mars Bar! Milky Way is something totally different here. I had to warn my Americans when they came over to visit, lol.

    April 9, 2015
    |Reply
  29. Ros
    Ros

    Send Tootsie Rolls and Junior Mints. They look (and sound) so weird to us Brits.

    April 11, 2015
    |Reply
  30. Ros
    Ros

    Also Milk Duds.

    April 11, 2015
    |Reply
  31. Erica
    Erica

    I’d love to try some Scottish candy, but Sam Heughan won’t return my calls. Ah well.
    πŸ˜‰

    April 17, 2015
    |Reply

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