A visit to the local sweet shop

As my readership knows, the local sweet shop, which I adore, is going to close in September, so imminently. I love sweet shops in general and this sweet shop in particular, because of the quality of their products (they make one of the best fudge I ever ate) and because the staff is so warm and friendly, as a sweet shops staff should be. Its closing is very bad news for the town, I genuinely think it lose some of its warmt and friendliness. So I went to the local sweet shop this afternoon. I bought the usual cream fudge, also liquorice, some lucky dips and chocolate. It will not be enough to keep them in business, but I will have enjoy their sweets before they close down.

Farewell to the local sweets shop?

This picture is taken from that photos file my dad sent me, and which I mentioned on this blog recently. This is a picture of cream fudge, I think it is the recipe which has Caramilk bars in the middle. I love cream fudge, this one is among my favourite because it is so indulgent. I have here a sweets shop that supplies me in cream fudge when I feel like eating some. The sweets shop also has lots of other things, liquorice and cream soda and, well, pretty much everything one can dream of in terms of candies, chocolate bars and pretty much everything that you used to indulge yourself with as a child.

But sadly, and this is the topic of this post, it will be closing in September. The loca sweets shop. The community sweets shop. For the dumbest reason: the rent is too high. Which is the reason why most businesses close here. And many have recently. I say it is a dumb reason, because the shop is very successful: they always have customers in, many families with kids eagers to try everything and parents unable to refuse them at least one treat, often themselves wanting to rediscover classics from their old chilchood: toffees, Hershey's bars, marshmallows,  Nerds, etc. This is why I find the possible closing of the sweets shop downright tragic: it was not only selling pieces of happiness, it was also soothing nostalgia and preserving memories. Seriously. This is really sad news.

Kouign Amann

Ma femme m'a ramené ce kouign amann de son voyage en Bretagne. C'est une pure orgie de sucre et de beurre. Il fait un peu doux pour manger du kouign amann et l'apprécier parfaitement (je crois que c'est un dessert à manger alors qu'il fait froid), mais c'est quand même délicieux, surtout avec du thé ou une tasse de lait.

A time for sugar

For the first time in four years, I was back in Québec for the "temps des sucres", which means the time when we the maple syrup and its products get made. It was also Easter. So it was and it is still a wonderful time for my sweet tooth. I had for the first time in four years (four years!) maple butter and maple taffy. I don't care all that much about the taffy, although it was nice to taste the very distinctive taste of maple and smell its spicy perfume. And maple taffy, like maple syrup, has a lovely amber or golden colour. But I was happier to have maple butter on my toasts in the morning, as it is something I cannot get in Europe.

And I got a dark chocolate rabbit for Easter. Dark, not with milk. A sign that I am older I supposed. It was quality stuff. As a child, I usually had one by Lulu or sometimes the Pères trappistes. I might still buy some, leftovers from Easter, out of pure nostalgia.

Liquorice

I am warning you, this post is completely trivial, compared to the previous ones this month. I am now a regular customer of the local sweet shop. It is usually my fudge provider, but I do buy other things from time to time. This week, I bought some liquorice candies. I am not the biggest fan of liquorice, I used to have pipe shaped ones when I was a kid, but that never was my favourite dessert. Still, it is nice to get the old-fashioned flavours from time to time. Because there is something I find ancient about the taste of liquorice, I don't know why.

Déprimants gâcheurs de fêtes

Certaines écoles au Québec ont décidé d'interdire les bonbons pour l'Halloween, parce que c'est mauvais pour la santé. Un autre article ici, la réaction de Marie-Claude Lortie (que je n'aime pas d'habitude, because des propos d'une vacuité ridicule, notamment lorsqu'elle parle de Sarah Palin) ici, celle de Richard Martineau ici. Je suis d'accord avec eux. L'Halloween n'est pas un jour ordinaire, la valeur festive du 31 octobre devrait être une excuse suffisante pour relaxer les interdits et certains règlements concernant l'alimentation dans les écoles. Que va-t-il arriver l'année prochaine, on va interdire les déguisements de vampires, sorcières et fantômes parce qu'ils sont trop violents? La nature même de l'Halloween c'est 1)d'apprivoiser ses peurs. 2)de faire bombance (comme dans les sociétés primitives on mangeait les surplus qui ne pouvaient pas être conservés indéfiniment). Si on dénature la seconde caractéristique (commune à bien des fêtes), ce qui est déjà aberrant, dénaturera-t-on un jour la première?