Pure Fun

Organic Candy Canes

12 canes, 6 ozs., $4.99
available at health and fine foods stores
We bought them at Wholefoods Market.
For more information visit www.organiccandy.com

Cool Yule idea or what? Shelf Life was unsurprised to discover that these organic canes are a runaway hit; this is an innovation whose time has come. Like many people, Shelf Life has fuzzy and nostalgic feelings about candy canes – but not necessarily the good kind. Literally, we do indeed have memories of fuzz: as kids, we gnawed on our Christmas canes for maybe a second before we lost interest – most of them tasted artificial and far too sweet – only to find them later covered with lint. The truth is that candy canes are almost always better in theory than in practice. So kudos to The Pure Fun people for resolving to build a better striped stick; the organic candy cane really is an inspired notion, and perfect for parents who want to give kids a healthy and fun alternative. Additionally, the package is a knockout. These little hooks, then, are everywhere this season – but are they likely to snag a place in our hearts? Well, yes and no. Our specially convened tasting panel (3 elves, 3 Santa’s helpers) found them slightly underwhelming. The canes tasted surprisingly low on mint, albeit authentic, and didn’t wow our palates. On the other hand, they didn’t feel synthetic or grossly sugary, and so didn’t wear out their welcome after the first five minutes. Overall verdict? These charmers elicited a twinkle or two, and can certainly be trusted around kids.

THREE AND A HALF STARS***1/2