candy

Kilwins Knoxville, Knoxville, 4/12/22

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exterior – 408 S Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902

Kilwins has been in operation since 1947 and is now open in downtown Knoxville.  They sell 32 flavors of ice cream made from original recipes.  Waffle cones are available and also waffle bowls.  When you enter the long shop the front is filled with candies, caramel apples, fudges and other packaged sweets.  The ice cream is further in the back along with some stools and counters where you can sit inside and enjoy your treats.  The first time we visited they were making the waffles for the cones and cups as well as dipping Granny Smith apples in caramel.  The smell was heavenly and made you want to induldge.  We tried the Tennessee River Mud which is vanilla ice cream  mixed with chocolate chips and caramel and a praline pecan ice cream.  The praline pecan won the flavor contest, hands down, but both had excellent density and smoothness to the ice cream.  We tried the waffle bowl and it was a totally ingenious way to combine an often problematic yet very tasty cone.  The bowl was inside a plastic one so you could crack it up and eat with the tasty ice cream.  Get in there and try it.  I did try one of the caramel pecan candies but the pecans were on their way to rancid so be cautioned on the candies. Continue reading →

Ainslee’s, Depoe Bay, OR., 6/26/20

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Ainslee’s was started in 1947 in Depoe Bay, Oregon by Graham and Helen Ainslee as a salt water taffy kitchen.  They sold the business to Dale and Cindy Nelson in 1978.  It’s a large store where customers are led down an aisle that passes the large selection of salt water taffy and other candies.  Across from this line is the large machine that makes the taffy and wraps it.  You can also see the end of the machine from one of the windows in front.  They also have a large mixer going that makes the taffy that is poured into the machine for pulling and wrapping.  It is a nice diversion as you wait your turn for service.  Their caramel corn uses a normal air pop variety that produces a smaller piece.  They also have cheese popcorn and a combination called Riptide.  I’ve had combos before (often called Chicago popcorn) but theirs was different in that the cheese popcorn is secondarily coated with the caramel – so each piece has both flavors.  It was really good but a much greasier corn than sold down the street.  It was not as sweet, probably because of the addition of cheese but I was surprised how much I liked it and kept going back for another piece. Continue reading →

Jacques Genin, Paris, 12/5/14

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Caramel tasting, hot chocolate and pastry in an elegant setting. A great break spot! The caramels varied in their appeal but they have many options. The hot chocolate was so thick it was a dessert in itself.

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