"candy" news and stories

Admit it. Every year, you dig into the Halloween candy stash well before trick-or-treat hours begin, right? There's no shame in sampling the sweets -- we all do it. But as long as you're at it, take it up a notch by pairing your candy with a glass of wine. Here are nine suggestions.

Hershey's Milk Chocolate
There's a little bit of cherry tucked into this dark-chocolate bar so an Australian Shiraz is a great match. Choose a Shiraz that's jammy and full of wild-raspberry notes.

Whoppers
Malt's chalky flavor is something you don't want to mess with -- it lingers in your mouth long after you've consumed a few Whoppers. Pinot Noirs from Napa are the perfect fit and won't overpower malt's flavor. Instead, it's a harmonious coupling. Schug 2007 Pinot Noir, Carneros, Napa, California, has hints of milk chocolate and assertive bursts of black cherries and plums, offset by a little smoke.

See more pairings after the jump.

No one is going to claim they eat Halloween candy because it's good for them. But the Daily Beast ran the numbers on calories, fat, carbs and sodium for 40 top treats, and found that of the almost 25 pounds of candy per person that Americans eat annually, some sweets are definitely less fattening than others. So you can pick your Junior Mints or Hershey's Crunch Bar with all that knowledge. Just sayin'. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are on the list, and all we'll say is that it's better news than we thought. Almond Joy? Ouch, but you'll still be our BFF. Visit the Daily Beast for their rogues' and winners' gallery of candies.

• Zombies, witches, and ghosts, step aside: The scariest Halloween character is the candy.
• Verjuice is the latest power ingredient? That's just sour grapes.
• Yes, German wines are "hellishly difficult," but so what? Drink your riesling.
• And if you're in Limoges, eat your innards.
• The Lambs Club has, as the name would suggest, "an excellent way with lamb" -- and a few other dishes, too.

With a length of more than two feet of rubbery goodness, the Vat 19 gummy worm is the perfect solution for all of you who prefer your candy mutant looking (the worm version of the irradiated ants in the 1950s horror flick "Them"). In fact, the company claims it's the world's largest worm, at three pounds (and it offers a couple days' worth of calories, 4,000 to be exact).

Don't worry about eating it all in one sitting, though (and, frankly, we don't even want to go there) -- it has a shelf life of about a year. And if you need something a little more cuddly than a huge worm, you can always opt for Vat 19's five-pound giant gummy bear.

Would you accept a little bag of baby carrots as a substitute for, say, a mini Snickers bar in your Halloween trick-or-treat sack? Neither would we. We love carrots; really, we do, but the "Eat 'Em LIke Junk Food" campaign and now the "Scarrots" trick-or-treat gambit is pushing it. The editors at Eatocracy give us the skinny on what's hot and what's not for Halloween. A hint: candy corn is still Miss Popularity. Since, Americans will most likely spend $2 billion on candy this year (we kid you not), it's time to choose wisely. And then get some dental insurance.