Canadian Candy Challenge - Week Three

This week the candy challenge will be a head to head battle royale between two similar candies - one US and one not. I give you: M&Ms VS. Smarties. While in the US, Smarties are chalky sour candies, kind of like a Tums that makes your mouth pucker and that you only see at Halloween, here in Canada, Smarties are candy covered chocolate buttons not completely unlike M&Ms. And yet, they ARE different. Check it out! We decided to compare plain candies, although Smarties and M&Ms both come in several flavors. Smarties (see left) are somewhat bigger and flatter than M&Ms. They come in roughly the same colors as M&Ms, with the addition of pink and purple, however, the shades are slightly different. But, appearances are only part of the comparison. There is also the taste test. The Smarties shell is thicker than the M&M shell. But, the chocolate inside each Smartie is of a much higher quality. Unlike M&Ms, Smarties do melt in your hand, but they do seem a lot sweeter. So, the chocolate is better, but it take you slightly longer to get to that tasty chocolate. Devoted Husband was torn because of this point. He liked the Smarties chocolate, but he didn't want to chew through .0000078 of a inch more of a shell to get to the inside. Personally, I liked the Smarties better, but you do get a lot more actual candy in a bag of M&Ms. CONCLUSION: It's a draw for Devoted Husband, but I'm leaning towards Smarties. Anyway, yummy chocolate means everyone wins! A SMARTIES FACT! Smarties were introduced in 1937 and are still the most popular sweet and one of Nestle's major confectionery brands. When production of Smarties resumed after the Second World War, Smarties were made with plain chocolate because of the shortage of milk. Also, Smarties tradition dictates that you eat the red ones last. I haven't the foggiest idea why, but you just do.