we’re experiencing days upon days of grisailles, a damp gray existence that beckons you to crawl under a rock until the sun comes out again. hopefully, that happens before you die of starvation. to add insult to injury, i went into a cafe/tabac to buy some timbre fiscales for my s.o.’s passport renewal and who was there to greet me? none other than 2006′s version of the thenardiers, you know, the evil innkeepers from victor hugo’s les misérables? i seriously thought to myself, kill me now…until the candy caught my attention. luckily i’m easily distracted.
candy always gets noticed but i couldn’t miss these bright pink carambars. carambars are long caramels from france and every french person you will ever meet will know about carambars. carambars are an institution in france. they are shaped like longer, thinner tootsie rolls and are really chewy, the kind of chewy that sticks to your teeth and gives your jaw a workout trying to pry open your mouth after each chomp. there’s usually a joke inside the packaging. carambars were invented in 1954 in Marcq-en-Baroeul, the then small village in the north of france. the rest is history (see their website). Marcq-en-Baroeul is now a lot larger than a small village with 37,000 inhabitants; it’s considered a suburb of the city of lille. this particular carambar stood out because as a non-native speaker of french, the flavor, “barbe à papa” – just sounds gross to me. i know it means “cotton candy” and there’s nothing icky about that (though i don’t think it merits its own flavor) but literally, barbe à papa means grandpa’s beard. that’s the ick factor. i bought it for .15 cents (of a euro, about 18 cents of a dollar). i’ve heard the caramel flavored carambars are the best with a nougat filling. i think i’d be partial to fruity flavors, though after tasting this cotton candy flavored carambar, it’ll take a lot of convincing to get me to try others. YUCK. it didn’t even taste like cotton candy, which is just sugar i guess! but rather, tasted like a crayon (yes, i know how those taste). it was chewy, though, which liked. [the official carambar site (in french)] |
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[comment from tomate farcie]
Oh, my goodness, they still have these things? And they even have a website?!!! I remember Carambar straight from my childhood. They were wrapped in yellow back then, with red lettering if memory serves, and only came in caramel flavor. And they were excellent!!! We used to collect \”points\” (you had to tear off the end of the wrapper and collect that part) . Once in a while, we picked up old wrappers off the sidewalk to get more of these points… we weren\’t supposed to, of course, but that was part of the fun. Now, don\’t ask me what we got with the points, however, I really don\’t remember! Maybe more Carambars?
I totally agree with yout, though: what\’s a barbe-Ã -papa flavor doing on a Carambar? Eeeww!
Anyway, this is a cool post for me because it takes me way way way back, in a good way. You come up with the most unusual stuff, I just love my visits here (especially since you changed the display and made commenting easier) Thank you! 
Tomate Farcie
Comment by Administrator 02.09.06 @ 3:19 amHey, I was born and raised in Marcq-en-Baroeul, and the air nearly always smelled like carambars around the Delespaul-Havez factory. I do not have much of a sweet tooth, but I absolutely love carambars, because they remind me of my childhood. Maybe they are to me what madeleines where to Proust.
How much do they cost now? I think they were 5 centimes when I was a kid.
Comment by Elisabeth 02.09.06 @ 8:01 amactually, this carambar was worth 1 point. i think it’s good to assume most carambars are worth 1 point (though 5 and 10 supposedly exist). so, according to their boutique, i’d have to collect 250 points and spend 37 euros for the carambars plus shipping and handling (9.50 euros) which totals 47 euros (56 dollars – all that to get ONE DVD (chicken run, something about mary, ice age). that is one, expensive OLD dvd!
Comment by Administrator 02.09.06 @ 8:45 amelisabeth, they were 15 centimes of a euro (about 18 cents) and how fun to smell candy outside!
that does sound very proustian but i think they actually TASTED good in the past. they still might (just not the cotton candy flavored ones) i think i’ll have to look for the caramel carambars to see if those are good.
Comment by Administrator 02.09.06 @ 8:50 amyou definately should try again the caramel version, nothing compares to it.
Comment by SKIDOO 02.27.06 @ 7:18 pmnext time i remember, i will definitely get some of the caramel carambars to try. 
I love carambars, but I wish you could buy them in the U.S.
Comment by bb 05.26.06 @ 4:55 pmLeave a comment
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