Valentine's Candy? Most Dandy!

Well, I've almost made it the entire week without being too negative about Valentine's Day.  I must be getting soft in my old age.

Or, maybe I just don't care to hold a negative attitude towards things any longer.  Yeah, I like that answer better.

Anyway, it's the day before Valentine's Day, but it's also the first FOODIE FRIDAY post that I've done in...oh...six months now?  I guess I just kind of lost interest in talking about food because I had such a limited supply of topics to choose from.

But since tomorrow is a day of love, I thought I would use this space to talk about some of the foods that one might enjoy best around this time of year.

Specifically, Valentine's Day candy.

Certainly, the candy industry is huge right around this time of year.  Did you know that approximately 48% of all gifts purchased for Valentine's Day include some form of candy?  And that approximately $1.1 billion will be spent on Valentine's Day chocolates and candy this year?  That's a lot of cavities!

And keep in mind that not all candies are limited to the ones found in heart-shaped boxes.  Here are five different candies that one might be given on Valentine's Day.  I know that whenever we had Valentine's Day parties at school, I sampled most of these at one point.  Some were delicious, others not so much.  But you couldn't have Valentine's Day without them.

CINNAMON HEARTS

Okay, let me start by saying that I am not a fan of cinnamon.  I am not a really big fan of hot foods to begin with, but something about cinnamon hearts makes me want to be in close proximity to a water fountain. 

That said, I can make an exception for Valentine's Day.  I can probably eat a couple of them here and there, but I would definitely not gorge on them.  I don't really want to go around with my mouth on fire, even though cinnamon is just as good of a breath freshener as peppermint (which I like a lot better).

Yeah, that's something I want to invent.  Peppermint hearts.  They could be like cinnamon hearts, only white in colour.  Make it happen, candy companies all over the world!  Make it happen.

CONVERSATION HEARTS

Really, the only candy I dislike more than cinnamon hearts are conversation hearts.  At first glance, they look good enough to eat.  They come in an assortment of pastel colours and they have all sorts of really neat messages on them from "BE MINE" to "I LOVE YOU" to "YOU BROKE MY HEART YOU IGNORANT BASTARD".

(Actually, I made that last one up.)

Certainly if you want to send a message to the one you love, conversation hearts are a fine method to express that love.  If anything, I even think that there are places out there that you could design your own messages.

It's just too bad that the majority of conversation hearts taste like an antacid tablet.  Total chalky mess!  The only ones that I could even stomach are the ones made by SweeTarts. 

And speaking of which...

GUMMY CANDY HEARTS

I have always been a huge fan of gummy candies, and just in time for Valentine's Day, they have entire tubs of gummy candies available for sale.  Of course, some are cinnamon flavoured (which I try to avoid), but some are a delicious cherry flavour, which I absolutely love.  Some are of the same consistency as a gummy bear, while others are more like a gumdrop, but regardless, either one is fine with me.

HERSHEY AND REESE CHOCOLATES

For the record, when it comes to chocolate I am not very fussy.  I can handle the really expensive stuff, and I can handle the stuff you might find on sale at Dollar Tree.  To me, chocolate is chocolate is chocolate. 

And certainly some of the names that you see on display during Valentine's Day would be Hershey and Reese.  Of course, Hershey has the market cornered on holiday confectionaries.  After all, there's a Hershey's kiss for every single holiday on the calendar, and Valentine's Day is no exception.  Where else can you find bags of Hershey's Kisses in red and white wrapping?

(Well, aside from Christmas, anyway.)

But Hershey also makes a Valentine's version of their miniature chocolates as well.  And you can't have a Valentine's Day party without mini Reese Peanut Butter Cups.  Well, unless you're allergic to nuts, that is.

LINDOR CHOCOLATES

But, for an occasional treat, I have to say, Lindor chocolates are definitely very delicious indeed.  There's really not a flavour that I don't like of these delicious chocolates.  But they are really expensive.  A three pack costs almost two bucks!  But soooooooo worth it!

Of course...if one were to wait until February 15, all that candy would go on sale for 50% off...hmmmmm...