It’s time to fill the witch’s cauldron to the brim with candy. Sugary gummies, candy bars, suckers, and more are ready. Soon, trick or treaters will search for their desired treasure while you hope they don’t dig deep enough to find the favorites that you hope to enjoy after 10 o’clock.
But what is in your favorite Halloween candy?
Nougat is an aerated type of candy containing egg whites and sugar syrup or honey to give it that light, sweet cream bite that is reminiscent of meringue. It usually contains roasted nuts or candied fruit. Like caramel, peanut butter, and other soft textures, it’s often encased in a chocolate or taffy shell.
For those milk chocolate favorites, the candy contains 12% or more milk and 10% cocoa to give the candy its light, creamy taste. White chocolate contains more milk than milk chocolate at 14% and 20% cocoa butter—but what makes it the most different from milk chocolate is that it doesn’t contain any cocoa solids. Meanwhile, dark chocolate candies have very little if any milk, up to 12% depending on the brand, as dark chocolate is made with at least 35% cocoa to create its beloved bitter flavor. But chocolate isn’t only found in chocolate bars.
For taffy fans, it’s easy to know what makes it your favorite. Made by stretching the candy mixture until it becomes a fluffy and chewy candy through the tiny bubbles produced, taffy is a favorite for those who want to revel in the sweet flavors. What makes it difficult is trying to explain the difference between taffy and options like toffee, licorice, and gum. Taffy uses a combination of some variation of sugar and butter with coloring and flavoring, giving it the sweet, light taste that differs from other candies.
Hard candies taste so sweet because the syrup is mostly sugar. In fact, most hard candy is nearly 100% sugar by weight, with only a tiny amount of other ingredients added for color or flavoring. But when you crave candy canes and lollipops, you aren’t expecting much more to be included. The Halloween classic candy corn includes honey and flavors like vanilla, along with the classic yellow and red color additives.
And after you recover your favorite candy from the cauldron, there’s a sweet dessert you can add it into, making your Halloween goodies last a little longer.