Senjaku Hokkaido High Concentration Milk Candy

Candybowl remains miffed that when a milk candy last graced the bowl, nobody took it. Things are different this time -- that package featured a cow, but this one does not.

The japanese character on the front of the packages means "dense." As in high-concentration. Not a description of the people who couldn't figure out that a cow signifies milk (not meat) flavor.

There's nothing fancy about this candy. Perhaps reflecting a Hokkaido peasant lineage, this milk candy is rough-hewn and unrefined in appearance.

The only taste is sweet, delicious milk. Looking at the ingredients list, it's clear why: this candy contains milk, whey, condensed milk, and cream. Indeed, if Candybowl reads the package correctly (a big if) it contains 35% milk. The candy loses marks for having corn syrup as its main sweetener, but there's nothing unnatural in the flavor.

The crunch is very nice, with an acceptable amount of gumminess. The flavor intensifies into notes quite reminiscent of vanilla ice cream. Mmm ... ice cream.

Mmmm.....

Kasugai Gokusho Shogi Low Calorie Candy

Here is a low-calorie candy from Kasugai. It comes in two flavors, grape and lemon.

Sugar free candies have vastly improved over the past few years, and this candy certainly follows that trend. It contains a low-calorie sweetener called erythritol. Candybowl is happy to try anything once, and is happy to report this sugar substitute gets it done.

Almost. The first reaction to the grape candy is "very tart." Artificial grape, like Now & Laters. It is clear that "no sugar" means no mercy from the sourness. But since they are just one calorie each Candybowl tried the lemon, which is supposed to be sour, and it was.

The crunch is fantastic. Chips slough off at the slightest contact with a tooth, and pulverize into a clean (and very tart) sand. No residue at all.

Good candy.

Kanro Changing? Candy

Leave it to the candy geniuses at Kanro to come up with such an unconventional boiled sweet. This changing candy offers three flavors -- grape, apple, or soda flavor followed by a plunge into unknown flavor territory.

Starting within the realm of the knowable, the apple candy tasted initially like apple. Not totally realistic apple flavor, but close enough and without some of the chemical notes that can afflict some artificial apple flavorings. Upon sucking, another fruit flavor, slightly more realistic, melted through. Candybowl will not say what it is, for it would then no longer be a surprise.

This morsel has a slightly rough appearance, but is smooth on the tongue. The crunch yielded no surprises, and left an acceptable amount of residue on the tooth. Having waited for the second flavor to come through on the sucking, Candybowl discerned no additional flavors in the center.

A fine offering from Kanro. Try one and see where it leads you.

UHA Matcha and Azuki CuCu Candy

As Candybowl has noted, UHA's Cucu line includes some of the most elegant hard candies around. So it was a pleasant surprise to find this Matcha and Azuki bean candy. Matcha is powdered green tea, and azuki is a red bean often used in Japanese desserts.

Initial flavor notes are very mild green tea and cream. Upon further sucking, slight notes of bean emerge. The crunch is, of course, excellent. This is where the bean flavor really shines, overtaking the tea and forming a delicious, earthy blend.

The package features a dog made out of cubes of candy. Why not?

Another great candy from UHA.