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Friday, December 4, 2015

Is 2-year old Christmas hard candy still edible?

Well, that depends on how you define "edible".


I opened a package of Christmas candy over the weekend. And this is what I found inside. All of the pieces stuck together in a large clump.

I pried a single piece off, to see if it was good enough to salvage. And guess what? It tasted fine. It was a little soft, but flavor was fine.


So I got out a table knife and separated the pieces.


In the end, I had a nice bowl of hard candy, plus a bunch of "bits". Those bits were saved, and have been added to cocoa and coffee this week. Kinda good, if I do say so.

So my answer is, yes, 2-year old Christmas candy is still edible. But the texture has softened. In the future, if I buy up clearance Christmas candy again, I'll store it in jars, with those small packets of desiccant, and see if the candy pieces retain their original texture.

How about you? Would you consider eating 2-year old Christmas candy?

14 comments:

  1. Great idea putting the bits of candy in the cocoa and coffee! We would eat it at my house. We've had peppermint sticks get a bit soft and we still ate them.

    Angie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Angie,
      I think of those as candy cane taffy. I actually prefer candy canes to be soft!

      Delete
  2. My daughter has some candy canes from last year that she will distribute again this year, so yes, we would eat them. How were your bags stored from 2 years ago? Can you freeze candy? We're not super big on candy so we don't ever buy it.

    Alice

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Alice,
      I just had the bag, sealed and in a large ziploc. I've read that you should place hard candy in jars, with desiccant packets, ad keep sealed shut.
      When I buy a box of candy canes, for stockings, I save the leftovers for the next year, and so far, no complaints from the family.

      Delete
  3. because of the soft texture,I would use the soft candy only in baking or hot beverages like you did.
    Storing it in a jar sounds like a good idea. I'd put the bad and all in the jar. Are the small packets of desiccant food safe?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i frugal spinster,
      there are evidently some that are food safe, as I've found them in packets of beef jerky and in vitamin bottles. It's not like one would sprinkle the candy with the desiccant.

      This morning, I'm making peppermint ice cream with some broken, old and soft candy canes. Should be yummy!

      Delete
  4. Absolutely! And as you and some of your readers have indicated, there are many ways of using/eating the 'old" candy.
    Jayne

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jayne,
      I think you're right. It'd be silly to not find a use for it!

      Delete
  5. We would definitely eat old hard candy! We have eaten very old candy canes or used them in other ways, like stirred into hot chocolate or crushed on one of our cookie recipes.
    Mary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mary,
      Candy canes in cocoa is a Christmas morning tradition of ours. Oh, I forgot about adding to cookie dough. I have one of those double chocolate cookie recipes, that calls for candy cane bits added to the dough. So good!

      Delete
  6. Lili--

    If it's still hard enough to crush (not just mush :) ), you could probably also use it for stained glass cookie centers.

    Sara

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Sara,
      You know, I've always loved the way those cookies turn out. I've never made them myself, but a sweet friend gave me some many years ago, and I've never forgotten them, or her!

      Delete
  7. I would definitely give it a try. I always loved that kind of candy and the ribbon candy too, always reminds me of my grandmother :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Belinda,
      Oh ribbon candy! I pine for that every year. That is old-fashioned Christmas candy at its finest. In this bag of candy, there's a red piece that is clove-flavored. That's the flavor of ribbon candy that I remember most.

      Delete

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