Halloween is that very special time of year when everyone is a child, even the parents. You’re either giving out candy, or receiving it. But whichever side you find yourself on, you’re always going to much on a few pieces before 9 PM. But what’s so different about Halloween candies ? Everyone seems to complain about them, and it’s not just the candy corn.
No, it sounds like candy tastes different on Halloween. Something, somehow, is different about them and no one is entirely sure why. So let’s take a crack at it.
Why does Halloween candy taste different ?
Halloween candy tastes different – less good, less pleasant – simply because we end up eating too much of it in the span of a few short hours. The prime ingredient in most candies is sugar, and after eating copious amounts of sugar, our taste buds get a little numb, figuratively.
A singe piece of chocolate is delicious, but an entire bar in a few hours doesn’t taste as good, especially if it’s interspersed with gummy bears, tootsie rolls, peanut butter cups, and then some m&ms with some skittles thrown in for good measure.
It’s an amalgamation of sweets of different flavors and textures, and it’s all in one evening. Do you know anyone who actually has some leftover candy the day after ? Maybe a lollipop or two, and a jolly rancher.
Should you eat Halloween candy all at once ?
The key, of course, is to not eat all our Halloween candy all at once. The more we space out the candy, the more our taste buds manage to get back to normal and actually enjoy each piece of candy. Also, once you train your tastes buds to like something very sweet, they won’t go nuts over something as plain as smarties.
So no, we shouldn’t eat all our Halloween candy in one sitting if we’re aiming to enjoy the little sweets. Space them out, see if you can have some until early December when the Christmas candy packs start coming.
Read also: Why Is Brown Sugar Brown ?
Traditional Halloween candies
There are candies, and there are candies that are very much loved at Halloween. Of course, you can always simply buy a big pack of mini candies, like a party mix or assortment. You risk buying some plain ones, but there might be something good in all of those too. Still, some of the most common Halloween candies are:
- Mars chocolates – Mars, Twix, Milky way, Almond Joy, Kit Kats
- gummy bears and sour gummies, they could even be snakes or spider shaped, kids still love them
- M&M and Reese’s Pieces
- Skittles, though be sure to provide these separately from M&Ms to avoid confusion
- Lollipops, Jolly Ranchers, Tootsie Rolls, Smarties, Dots, Laffy Taffy
These are some of the most common candies you can hand out at Halloween, and the one you’re likely to get if you’re in a costume yourself. Of course, there are deviations such as long taffies, extra-big gummy snakes, an entire chocolate bar, or sometimes it’s not candy. It can be something small and silly like a pair of fake vampire teeth, or a glow-in-the-dark ghost figurine.
What is the most hated candy ?
The absolute worst candy to ever give or receive on Halloween is candy corn. The problem with candy corn is the texture, and the complete lack of flavor. They have no specific taste, they’re just sweet and brightly colored. As for the texture, they’re annoyingly waxy and tend to stick to your teeth more than please your taste buds.
And the runner up is Twizzlers, or anything licorice. There are few people who outright love licorice. Most people hate it and some just tolerate it.
But something seems odd, since both licorice wands and candy corn are very much not appreciated yet they are still produced and bought each year.
What’s the best Halloween candy ?
The best Halloween candy is always the one that has some chocolate somewhere. It could be any of the mini chocolate bars, the peanut butter cups, M&Ms, anything. As long as there is chocolate, it’s the first to go.
Tips on serving Halloween candy
If you’re in the position of being an adult for Halloween and you now have to hand out candies, or take your children trick or treating, here’s a few tips on managing Halloween night and the ensuing sweets.
Make sure your children have a meal before trick-or-treating
Before you or your children even get out the door, put some good food in them. A hearty, delicious, home-cooked meal that provides nutrients and prevent the kids from digging into their candy too much.
This way your kids wont’ eat half their hoard by the time they get home, they won’t get greedy when taking the candy, they won’t be cranky by the end of the night, and most importantly they will be well fed.
Space their candies and chocolate across several days (or weeks)
Your child has come home with a bag just bursting with candy and of course they want to sig into it right away. Be a responsible parent and space out their sweets. They can have a bit every day, but not all of it at once. If they brought a particularly big catch, they could even have enough for the entire month !
We’re aware not all children will accept this. However it’s in their best interests, as well as yours. The candy isn’t going anywhere, it will still be theirs. For the sake of keeping their appetite and not eating too much sugar, they should understand the virtue of patience and the reward at the end.
Offer a limited selection of candies (3-5 kinds)
If you’re offering candy yourself, try and only offer a limited selection of candy types. Most Halloween mixes won’t have more than 3-5 types, so stick to buying several bags of the same mix, instead of creating a dizzying array of options. They way you won’t get all that digging and rummaging through the candy, and everyone is happy.
The kids are there only a couple of minutes, and each house offers something different. They will have a wide assortment of sweets by the end of the night anyway.
Use a formula to figure out how much candy to buy
Most kids take 2-3 pieces of candy. Guesstimate the total number of kids in your area, and triple that number. That’s the rough number of individual candies you should have available.
So that means if you have 87 kids in your neighborhood, you should have a minimum of 261 pieces of candy available. Add to that an extra handful or two, in case you get more numbers or some of the kids are grabby. Round up to 300 pieces. In weight that should be around 5 lbs of candy.
Also take into account the weather. If the weather is good – not hot, not cold, no rain – you’ll have plenty of people knocking. If the weather makes it difficult to stay outside the house for long, you won’t have that many people knocking, so you might as well buy less candies.
And finally, remember to think of the very little ones, toddlers, who cannot have hard or overly sweet candies. Have some small, softer candies for the toddlers. As for the parents – since babies can’t have candy – you can give them a piece of candy as well.
