Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Plum

This plum-flavored boiled sweet comes to us from Haitai, the people who brought us the Melon candies. In fact, it has a lot more in common with the Melon candy than with the nama ume ame plum candies I recently profiled.

The initial flavor is subdued, almost bland. Can it really be that the plum flavor manifests as a fragrance but not at all on the tongue? A piece of rock candy with the mere hint of plum blossom perfume? Consider how watery a real plum is. This sensory sleight-of-hand presents a nice example of how confectionary works of art can imitate life.

This is one candy you'll want to bite into. No more pulling punches; the natural plum flavor explodes in your mouth. The crunch is familar -- this candy is the equal of any ordinary boiled sweet, fracturing well and leaving just a bit of residue on the tooth.

Well worth a try.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

absolutely delicious but no sense of plum-- and who cares, really? i enjoy a plum but not nearly as much as pure hard sugar.

Candybowl said...

Some people notice the first crocus of spring. Others don't notice flowers unless they're staring at the Magical Gardens of Disney. It's good to know which one you are and I applaud you, kate, for completing your voyage of self-discovery...CB