Sweet tooth anyone? Perhaps, sweets from Europe? Yes, please!

A few weeks ago we participated in a global candy swap, and we were thrilled to explore Germany’s and France’s sweet treats!

What made this candy swap much more fun was that I was paired with my good friend Annabelle from The Piri-Piri Lexicon!   She mailed us a wonderful packet with sweet treats from France and Germany to indulge in! This is a note from her with an explanation of the sweets:
Here is a sweet little package for you all to discover Germany and France. We hope you have a sweet tooth.
From Germany: Gummi Bears: these can be find in many countries but they are a real classic in Germany. People give them to kids all the time (usually in small packets). Many people use them as part of a cute wrapping when giving a gift to a child too.
Ritter chocolate: A typical and very popular German chocolate. It comes in many varieties and flavors. Hope you like that one.
Toffifee: Also a very typical and traditional German chocolate treat with caramel inside. These remind me of my first encounter with real German culture as my flat mate (who became one of my best friends) used to get them in her care packages from home when we lived together in the UK.
Hanuta: Germans are big on chocolate and nuts. This is one way of eating both together. My kids love those in their snack boxes.

 
From France: Pâtes de fruit (in different colored wrappings) These are a very traditional candy in France. My mum even makes her own. It is like a jelly fruit gum but extremely sweet. I love them.
Carambar: A school playground classic. The caramel version brings back so many childhood memories. There are jokes inside the wrapping. Watch your teeth!
Nougat: Who doesn’t know Nougat. As far as I can tell this one is quite soft compared to some others you find.
 
We in return sent her some Puerto Rican and Mexican candy.  Of course, when we received her yummy package hubby wasted no time in opening the bag of gummy bears. Both him and little one love gummies! 
I saved the candy to have a “taste testing” with little one and his friend, and to explore and learn about both France and Germany.  I set-up an area in the house with a table, and the sweets. I also pulled out our culture boxes, and found items for France: a hat, an Eiffel Tower trinket box, a small plastic camera with images from France (from Little Passports); and from Germany I had a Christmas ornament that Annabelle sent during this past holiday.

We also read the book If You Were Me and Lived In… France… by Carole P. Roman.   This children’s book gives us a glimpse of life in France from a child’s perspective.  It shows France in the map, and what names are popular as well as landmarks, holidays, and sports. I love how this book introduces the children to France in a simple, and meaningful way.  It was a perfect way to get our French candy taste testing started.

For Germany, sadly no children’s book but we did read some interesting and fun facts print-out that I had in hand (perhaps Annabelle sent it to me? Can’t recall).

Now for the “candy taste test”, I printed a one-page France and Germany booklet from Activity Village’s website.  They were perfect for the kids to write what they thought of the candy. As you can see in the picture below they even had a cup of water to “cleanse their palate.”  Their reaction was hilarious! Read below what there thoughts were.

My son and his friend on Germany’s candy:
Son:
  • The gummy bear tastes the same.
  • The Ritter taste like ice cream.
  • The Toffifee like what (Nutella hazelnut cream he didn’t write it) 
  • The Hanuta taste like a dry wafer. 

 

Friend:
  • The gummy bear taste different.
  • The Ritter taste sour.
  • The Toffifee taste good.
  • The Hanuta taste great.

 

My son and his friend on France’s candy:
Son:
  • The  Pâtes de fruit  taste sweet.
  • The Carambar taste a little hard.
  • The nougat taste horrible!

 

Friend:
  • The  Pâtes de fruit taste a little sweet. 
  • The Carambar taste good.
  • The nougat didn’t taste good.

 

All in all they had a great time taste testing the candy! It was fun, and we tasted some of the sweets too. My favorite the nougat and Toffifee!
What are your favorite global sweets??

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4 Comments

  1. I do believe candy might just be the best idea for exploring another culture! I enjoyed the little note that Annabelle wrote…fun to get an inside look behind them all. Also…that book sounds great!

  2. Love what you did with these. This is such a fun swap. Interesting to see that they found the cArambar hard.

  4. Thanks dear, and you're right! It was a fun way to explore another culture. The kids really enjoyed themselves.:)

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