Unusual Candies From Around The World (Slideshow)
Hotlix Insect Candy — USA
People have been eating insects throughout history and many cultures still do today. It makes sense: insects are plentiful and a good source of nutrition and protein for a growing global population with limited food resources. This California sweet maker takes that trend to a whole new level with a range of chocolate-covered and candy-dipped insects and (ahem) scorpions. It's candy with a cringe-factor.
Osama bin Laden Kulfa Balls — Pakistan
The jury's out on whether you can still get these sweets in Pakistan (though most people insist you can). A Kulfa ball is a milk-and-coconut flavored hard candy popular in sub-continental Asia. This one comes in a pack branded with Osama Bin Laden's face... and also some tanks and missiles.
Popin' Cookin' Happy Sushi House
This is a great candy choice if you enjoy literally playing with your food before you eat it. (And who doesn't, really?) These little packets of powder and liquid are mixed together for a gastronomic sensation that forms the candy right before your eyes. We're not sure how good all of this chemistry is for you, but it is an interesting candy-experiment.
Ting Ting Jahe — Indonesia
This spicy, ginger-flavored candy is so incredibly gooey and sticky that it comes wrapped in edible rice paper. While it has been popular in Southeast Asia for years, it's now also becoming a popular global export too. Incidentally, variations of this candy have been enjoyed for hundreds of years across Indonesia.
Lightning Bugs Gummy Candy — China
Who wouldn't like their candy to light up before they eat it? The actual gummy, in the shape of a wormy-bug-thing, is pretty standard but this also comes with a special set of battery-powered tweezers with an LED at the end that lights up when it's clamped around something; in this case it makes the gummy appear as though it's glowing... like magic!
Wasabi Kit Kats — Japan
This is like your regular Kit Kat with a kick... a big kick. Wasabi is a Japanese horseradish that's incredibly spicy and usually eaten with savory dishes but the recent trend has been to also add it to a variety of sweets too. This creation is a limited edition only available once a year and sells out very quickly.
Salsaghetti — Mexico
This uniquely Mexican watermelon flavored candy comes in red strings that look spaghetti noodles and also comes with a sachet of tamarind sauce for dipping. It's chewy, sweet, spicy, and sour all at the same time.
Salmiakki — Finland
This is one of the deceptively simple-looking, dual flavored candies. Beneath the initial sweet licorice flavor is an incredibly salty licorice undercurrent made by adding ammonium chloride to the candy. Ammonium chloride is usually used in cough medicine and shampoo, but don't panic. It is edible and makes an appearance in bread making and crisp snacks from India and Pakistan too.
Takoyaki Drops — Japan
Many people enjoy fried octopus, so why not turn it into a candy? Takoyaki drops are candies made to taste just like Takoyaki, which is a meal made from batter-fried octopus topped with Japanese mayonnaise and green onions. So it's a sweet that tastes like meal... two birds, one stone.