Flash in the Pan

I received some samples from Route 29 Napa - caramel and toffee. My wife and I are both big fans of these candies and, in addition, she has professional candy-making experience and I regularly make caramel sauces, so our taste buds were ready, and not disappointed. The caramel had a good buttery flavor and a firm but not overly hard texture. The toffee is really good, as well. There were also flavored sugars, which the PR person called "revolutionary," although I had to point out that the concept is very old. To make vanilla sugar, for example, you stuff a couple of vanilla beans into a container of sugar and let everything sit for a while. The result is sugar that has a vanilla taste. There were three flavors: vanilla, cocoa, and Meyer lemon. The flavors are all clean and could make a real surprise as something to put into your coffee or as a decorative sprinkle on cookies or even, as the company suggests, using to rim the edge of a glass for a festive drink. High marks all around. If only I had asked to sample the licorice as well.

Labels: candy, opinion, product, review