There is a little sweet something that I love about France......it is called the Carambar. A chewy, caramel tasting sweet that is totally delicious. Carambars are not soft and they are not hard, they fall somewhere in the middle with a smooth texture that can melt slowly in the mouth or can be gobbled up with a couple of greedy bites. They do come in other flavours - lemon, orange raspberry and strawberry - but as far as my taste buds are concerned they are not a patch on the original.
The Carambar is to France what the Fantale is to Australia or the Hershey Bar is to the United States. At the risk of inciting a heated debate, I think the carambar wins hands down. Along with the champagne, truffle and fois gras gastronomique feasts that France can offer in abundance, please don't forget to sample the delights of the humble Carambar.
I defy you to stop at one...I can't, xv.
image - carla
Yum!
ReplyDeleteI love Carambar - became quickly addicted to them when I was living in France. Closest thing I could ever find in the U.S. was a Sugar Daddy/Baby.
ReplyDeleteso tempting and cute with the little striped "shoes" and "hat'--it's like a caramel, yes?
ReplyDeleteYUmmmmm Vicki! I love this post! I will be searching these down. I love how you describe the details of this little French treat~
ReplyDeletexx's
My mouth is watering at the thought!
ReplyDeleteOh there's something about caramel Vicki - it's colour, it's texture & of course IT'S AMAZING TASTE! I snuck off to the movies late Friday arvo to see a beaut little Aussie film 'My Year Without Sex' & what should I find in the Candy Bar but a new Dark Chocolate Kit-Kat - so I bought 2 & sat up the back & totally pigged out! Your Carabar sounds divine, a much more elegant version of the old Fantales (which have recently shrunk to half their original size!)
ReplyDeleteMillie ^_^
I will have to try these. They are actually on a website that I ordered some lovely tea towels from ( http://www.saveurdujour.com/index.php )
ReplyDeleteGo take a peek at the lovelies they have :)
I hope you have had a wonderful weekend.
LuLu~*xoxo
Oh Vicki if it is anything like the Fabtale then no wonder you can't stop at one!! Yummy, yummy
ReplyDeleteAlison
I can't stop at one either. Have a jar in my office and love them!
ReplyDeletexo~Tracie
Yummies...my mouth is watering after your description!
ReplyDeleteI knew I had neglected something on my two trips to France! Now I have an excuse for a third visit! I love the packaging as well! xx
ReplyDeleteNo debate needed, I agree France reigns supreme on almost all subjects, indulgences, and culinary offerings. And yes, I'm jealous of you, very jealous! :)
ReplyDeleteI must look for them. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThese are fatal. A box would not suffice. Please hide them when I meet you in person some day. LPxo
ReplyDeleteHello, Vicki-
ReplyDeleteHappy to see you are a connoisseur of candies.
You are right. French traditional candies have much more flavor, and taste of sugar and natural flavors, not artificial anything.They are the best: when I am in Paris next I will look for the Carambar. There are several sweet shops in Paris that specialise in old-fashioned candies.
In Arles recently, just off the main square, I found an old-fashioned candy shop/patisserie that had the most brilliant hard candies, long roll-shaped, fruit flavors. I wish I had purchased more. So delicious--takes you back to childhood.Seemed hand-crafted.
Happy days, www.thestylewsaloniste.com
Oh my...must try this! Sister lives in Paris. Will have to ask if she's tried it! Thanks for this!
ReplyDeleteKirsten
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ReplyDeleteYum, delicious. I'd have to eat a lot of those, and that could be bad.
ReplyDeleteI loved your post on ballet slippers. So classic and timeless.
Thanks as always for your tasteful and beautiful posting. xo
hi vicki....OH well if it is kind of like a FANTALE...I am a fan!
ReplyDeletedoes it have a question like the old fantale wrappers?? (not sure if they still do that myself)...
sounds yummy scrumptious...
I have been watching the TOUR DE FRANCE on SBS...BOY the weather looks awesome over your way...
(bit sick of the cold weather now here in melbourne..christian loves it thou for the skiing at BULLER!)..
have a lovely week...xx andrea from oz!!!!
Thanks for giving us the low down on such a tasty looking sweet meat.... I can't wait 'till I'm next in France to have taste....and I will.Oh, by the way...I gave you an award for being so supportive to me at the beginning of my blogging journey... I'm sure that you will not hold it up as the most magnificent moment in your carreer !!!!! but I just wanted to say thank you.I have just received your book and can't wait to start reading it.Your house and the photogaphic contentlook amazing.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, thank you so much. XXXX
Well, the other day my friend came back from France and she took those with!
ReplyDeleteThey melt in your mouth, so good.
Hope you will have very nice week.
Best wishes
Magdalena at Color Sepia
I was watching a French Movie last night called "Ca$h" and these treats were featured in it. If it's like a Fantale Yummy.
ReplyDeleteVicki, you couldn't be more French!!
ReplyDeletei munched on these all my childhood..i don't know the Hershey bar or the Fantale but yes, you're right carambar is so so special..
don't they even make ice-cream with it now?
I love Carambar. My kids also got addicted during their yearly summers at their grand parents in France. I also bring some back with me. I remember as a little girl growing up in a small village in France, I would stop daily at the local "Tabac- presse" and buy a carembar for a few centimes...
ReplyDeletethanks for bringing back these memories
I love Carambar. My kids also got addicted during their yearly summers at their grand parents in France. I also bring some back with me. I remember as a little girl growing up in a small village in France, I would stop daily at the local "Tabac- presse" and buy a carembar for a few centimes...
ReplyDeletethanks for bringing back these memories
Oh yes, Vicki, you make the Carambar sound so appealing. I love your candy loyalty- though I don't think that the Hershey bar is really the best chocolate..but the name makes you think of the USA. (Chocolate is made better from many places of the world, don't you think?)
ReplyDeleteStill, I know what you mean about candy and mood. I like Violets-are they from England? The smell and color puts me in another time. We have locally made candy in Puerto Rico, too, one of my favorite is a type of sesame candy...(consequentially, it's in my current post!)
Enjoy you Carambar.<3
I have been enjoying these since on holiday here in France. They are delicious!
ReplyDelete. . . and there is the Carambar over THERE. . . and here is me over HERE. . .
ReplyDeleteyes please.
ReplyDeleteSounds delicious. I need to get my hands on one now.
ReplyDeleteyuuuum, they sound so good right now :)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.hardtosaywhatitis.blogspot.com/
Sounds delicious, Vicki. I will put them on my "to try" list. XX
ReplyDeleteI've got a sweet tooth right now....
ReplyDeleteit's so darn hard to balance summer and blogging ...I'm out to change that today!!!!
Be still my heart ... I must find one of these to 'taste test!'
ReplyDeleteOh yes, for sure!
Ooh, I am intrigued! Hubs loves caramel - I think he might overdose on these!
ReplyDeleteAhh, sweet temptation!
ReplyDeleteHi Vicki,
ReplyDeleteNever had the pleasure! What do you think they equate to in the UK?
Ok, how can I live in France and not have tried this yet? Argh, I'm about to head to my supermarket and I'll definitely check this out. My guy is a bit of a caramel fanatic, so I'm sure he'll thank you as well ;-)
ReplyDeleteI have never had one of these. Must add them to my must try list. Merci!!!
ReplyDeleteand so many recipes nowadays with carambar. A smell of youth!
ReplyDeleteI do prefer champagne now.
A bientôt
christian
Sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteI could eat them all!! Loved them in France....
ReplyDeleteNathalie
can i find these in the states? they look delicious and i honestly wouldn't put hershey's up against a whole lot.
ReplyDeleteall I can say is "yum"!
ReplyDeleteI tried these in France and couldn't get enough. I'm going to have food fantasies now.
ReplyDeleteYour description was perfect .. .
ReplyDeleteI can feel that "just right" consistency .
(yum,indeed)
jjjj
i always need a chewy candy.
ReplyDeletesome people are crunchers, and some are chewy people.
i am chewy...i am going to check them out.
xx
I luv these yummy suckers!!! My aunt first git me addicted after her trip & now I lament often for these chewy delights.
ReplyDeleteIm such a English? Aussie candy freak. Years overseas as a child ruined me for Hersheys...tooo waxy. American mass market chocolate has too much junk & not the rich amount of cocoa liquor. Thank God for the internet!!! Yup I order confections.
This sounds really good.
ReplyDeleteI do love a good caramel! Looks very tempting. Ax
ReplyDeleteThe problem is to be able to stop...after one bite I turn into the Carambar monster...
ReplyDeleteVikky you forgote to mention the most importent of all about carambar ... the "charade"(game) inside the paper ! we use to buy those after school just for the cover , the caramel is so sticky , it was also a good stuff to get ride of baby teeth a bit faster .
ReplyDeleteYummy!! I LOVE Carambar!
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite candy ..
ReplyDeleteSound very delicious. i will put it on the list "To Try" for my upcoming trip to Europe this fall. Thank you for introducing me to the Carambar ;-)))
ReplyDeleteDear Vicki
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say that I've got your book last Saturday and am in love with your writing style, gorgeous images and the way you look at life. I read it little by little every evening and savour every sentense. So glad this beautiful book is a part of my collection. You are wonderful!
x
Sounds fabulous...but at the risk of being a self-loathing American, virtually anything would beat out a Hershey bar!
ReplyDeleteYum! Wish I had one right now.
ReplyDelete-Julie
Ah ouiiii, le carambar! Ca me rappelle tellement de souvenirs!
ReplyDeleteOh geez, another thing to get addicted to! Carla makes everything look so tempting!
ReplyDeleteOh these sound so good...I am going to have to remember these and try them the next time I visit France.....yummy! Love learning about new sweet treats.
ReplyDeleteThey sound do yummy. Never had them before, but they look and sound delicious. Thanks for sharing them with us. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteThat's what I love about you Vicki... an Aussie who loves her food! I'm so with you! A-M xx
ReplyDeleteSounds delicious, looks like the Cadbury flake wrapper.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of this before. I am going to paris at the end of august and will look for these. Thanks for the heads up :D
ReplyDeleteLooks and sounds dangerous. I can see it now... me, lost behind piles of wrappers... haha.
ReplyDeletexo Isa
I think it's a good thing this delight is not sold in Canada -- I'd be a goner!!
ReplyDeleteOh, boy. I'm not sure why I ever bother eating anything but chocolate! Well, and coffee. And wine.
ReplyDeleteAs a child, after buying the dayly bread for my family, there was always a difficult choice to make with the few centimes left: should I take a Carambar or a Malabar?
ReplyDeleteThis still remains a Cornelian choice 40 years later...
Ohhh Im so enchanted! Thank you for sharing Vicki~~
ReplyDeletexo Noel
I didn't know that Carambars were french !
ReplyDeleteMakes me think, I haven't eaten one in YEARS !
I'm gonna have to do something about it...
And now I know I'll have to taste Fantale when I go to Australia
I just had one of these the other day...it nearly pulled a filling out! So pretty a whole lot of them together like that!
ReplyDeleteNot fair! I read this post immediately after reading part of The French Woman series where you instructed us to not snack between mealtimes! What's a woman to do? Maybe candy doesn't count as snacking? Maybe?
ReplyDelete