May 14, 2007
The other day, someone told me that when they were young, one of their favorite candies was a lemon drop. I can understand the appeal. Read this definition from wikipedia, and tell me it’s not intriguing:
“A lemon drop is a sugary, lemon-flavored candy that is typically colored yellow and often shaped like a miniature lemon.”
I think it’s the miniature lemon part that I am most drawn too. They’re so cute! But unfortunately, when I looked up the ingredients, I saw some of my most dreaded foes, synthetic food dyes like yellow #5,6, etc. These food dyes are bad news - they have been implicated in allergies, ADHD, and have been shown to be potentially carcinogenic. It is a shame that so many products available in North America today still use these dyes, when many European countries have banned them. If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know that I have been experimenting with herbs to colour food, and guess what - other people are catching on to the idea.
I recently found these hard candies at Whole Foods Market which are made with natural ingredients, and coloured with HERBS. One of the flavours is lemon, and although not shaped like a mini-lemon, they look like little lemon slices.
And guess what - they taste good! Of course, they are candies, meaning once in a while indulgences, or maybe not at all depending on your situation. It is nice to know that for those who can indulge but still want to feel ok about what they are eating, the choices are increasing. It’s an exciting time in food history, when we are truly going back to basics, with a modern twist.
May 15, 2007 at 7:51 pm
Imagine, completely natural candy! You wonder sometimes why this is such a foreign concept to people? Perhaps because it’s easier and less expensive to use crappy ingredients but I say, no way! Thanks for sharing this tasy all-natural treat.
December 14, 2007 at 10:03 am
[...] about a great product - naturally coloured and flavoured candy canes made by Pure Fun, who have made an appearance on this blog before. I took a special trip to Whole Foods the other day, and was rewarded when I turned the corner into [...]