"candy bars" news and stories

Peek inside a vending machine. Photo: salimfadhley, Flickr.

What do AOL's vending machines look like? "White Castle burgers, five different varieties of Hot Pockets, Klondike bars and Oreo ice cream bars next to a sign offering a discount for Weight Watchers. I think it's safe to say that our vending machine area is being used as a Skinner box," reports Kristyn, a fellow AOL employee.

One employee's behavioral experiment is another's paradise. "I'm really, really jealous," says Jon over at MTV Networks, after being informed of AOL's snack excesses. Featuring far more pedestrian fare like Rice Krispies Treats, Nacho Cheese Doritos and Reese's Pieces, MTV's vending options won't turn any heads. Jon laments that the only real stand-out is the 25-cent can of Coke. "I guess that proves that international conglomerates are in cahoots!" he says. Or it's just a ploy to keep people awake and alert for optimum productivity.

Other big companies aren't faring much better. Jen gave us the scoop on IBM's snack selection, which was similarly standard, with plenty of chips, candy bars and the like. Still, they do try to push some healthier options. "There's a green leaf next to anything that is considered a 'balanced choice,' " says Jen. "It shows IBM's effort in trying to bring about some healthy options to a typically unhealthy way to get food." Don't expect to see any quarter Cokes, though. "The prices are really high, almost $2 for a small bag of chips," she notes. "Price alone would be the reason I wouldn't purchase from the vending machines." Maybe this is IBM's way of discouraging vending machine snacks in favor of fresh fruit or brown-bagged options?

Sometimes you feel like a candy bar nut. Sometimes you don't. Can you ID these popular (and some not so popular) candy bars by looking at a cross section?

See all our fun food quizzes and share your score in the comments below.

I might not be the best person to talk about chocolate. Growing up, my favorite candies were generally the tart, fake-fruit flavored ones, like Smarties, Sweet Tarts, Lemonheads, Runts, and certain Jolly Rancher flavors. However, even in the midst of my deepest obsession with the sour side of the candy chain, I still had a special place in my heart for a few chocolate treats. Reese's cups, Caramello, and Chunky bars have always held a strange power over me and I've never been able to walk past a bowl full of M&Ms without grabbing a handful. After I got married, my wife dragged me over to the dark side, and I discovered the wonders of dark chocolate, particularly when paired with red wine. Even now, though, I will sometimes indulge my deep appreciation of plebian chocolate treats, especially when my wife isn't looking.

Recently, though, I came across an article that makes me a little worried about the future of my favorite mass-market chocolate goodies. Some candy companies, including Hershey's and Nestle, are substituting cheap vegetable oils for cocoa butter in their chocolate bars. While this saves a lot of money, it also reduces the creaminess and flavor of the chocolate; some consumers have described the new products as tasting "waxy and artificial."

On the bright side, the FDA has ruled that products which do not contain cocoa butter cannot refer to themselves as chocolate. Consequently, many former "chocolate bars" now boast that they are "made with chocolate," are "chocolate candy," or have "chocolate coating." Most of the major candy companies have unsuccessfully fought this, while smaller manufacturers are desperately supporting the labeling restrictions.

While Nestle and Hershey's try to decide if they're willing to spend a few more pennies to ensure a top-quality chocolate experience, you might want to take a long, hard look at your candy bar. After all, if you're willing to splurge on calories and cash, shouldn't you get the best possible chocolate experience?

Of course, a lot of people would argue that National Candy Day was actually a few days ago, on Halloween. But today is the official day.

Let me throw open the comments section and ask the question: what is your favorite candy? If you had only one candy that you could eat for the rest of your life, what would it be? This is ridiculously hard for me, but I guess if pressed I'd have to say Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (or peanut butter cups in general).

(And if you're looking to buy candy online, check out Hometown Favorites and Sweet Nostalgia.)

I stumbled across a list of candy bars that had their heyday well before the 1950s and have since been sent to the great vending machine in the sky. I can think of several sweets from today that should be sent to candy bar heaven, most notably the noxious Yorkie Blue Ice.

But let's delve back into the past and take a look at some candy bars of yore. At right is none other than the Chicken Dinner. In case you're wondering it was not intended to taste like roast chicken. The imagery was designed to convey the fact that the bar provided wholesome nourishment. Why Sperry Candy Co. never created a meat and potatoes bar is anybody's guess.

One candy bar that was invented with health benefits in mind is the Vegetable Sandwich. Unlike the Chicken Dinner, this baby must have tasted exactly like its name. Created in the 1920s, this healthful snack contained cabbage, celery, peppers, and tomatoes.

Nobody can accuse the makers of the Fat Emma of trying to promote healthful snacking. I'll forgive Pendergast Candy Co. for the politically incorrect name since it invented this treat in the 1920s. Pendergast originally intended to name it Emma, but when the bar wound up being twice as thick the name was changed.

There are several other bizarre bars on the list, including two named after strippers: the Sal-Le-Dande (Sally Rand) and the Gypsy (Gypsy Rose Lee). My favorite, however, is the Seven Up Candy Bar. This powerhouse takes its name from having seven connected pieces each with seven different centers. The fillings were cherry, coconut, caramel, fudge, jelly, maple and Brazil nut. Keep in mind, this thing predates Take 5 by more than 70 years. You can thank 7-Up Bottling Co. for this bar's demise. It bought the bar and retired it, so they'd have exclusive rights to their name, no matter the spelling.

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