New York - The front window at Sockerbit in New York City's West Village looks like a surrealist vision of Santa's workshop.
The Scandinavian candy store's striking display is populated by snow-white mushrooms and a herd of bearded gnomes. Stickers plastered on the glass proclaim “Merry Xmas” and the Swedish equivalent, “God Jul,” in giant letters.
Inside, the walls and floors are pristine white, and the clear cases full of colourful candies pop out at you. There are more than 140 varieties of gummies, licorices, marshmallows and more, all available to mix and match. It's an impossible proposition to resist, so I grab a red plastic scoop and paper bag. I shovel in mounds of sweets, including large sour gummy skulls, shiny golden-brown cola chews, coconut enrobed licorice allsorts and tangy-sweet mango discs.
Christmas just isn't the same without candy. As a child, I always delighted in finding the bag of gold chocolate coins, maple sugar candy and a rectangle of lemon-accented Italian torrone candy that my mother — erm, apologies, good old Saint Nick — left in my stocking. So I've continued the tradition by always including candy as one of my gifts.
On this biting mid-December afternoon, I'm here to stock up on treats for my family. I could have visited Dylan's Candy Bar on the Upper East Side or Hershey's Chocolate World smack-dab in the centre of Times Square, but I'm not looking for Hello Kitty lollipops and one-pound Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. If you look past New York City's overhyped options, you'll find a number of boutique confectioneries offering a globe-spanning array of extraordinary sweets.
Sockerbit yields a treat from across the Atlantic for my mother — a thick stick of hand-rolled Swedish candy cane made with real peppermint oil, which she insists upon because the artificial flavour just doesn't pack the same punch. Twisted up in red-and-white paper dotted with festive mushrooms, it's the perfect present-topper.
My next stop is Papabubble New York, a bit downtown in SoHo. The window at this charming shop features Santa Claus and his elves molded out of homemade hard candy.
Co-owner Lisa Klein is working at a metal counter with a colleague, wrapping up sheets of pliable candy to create a 2-foot 6-inch tube. Working in tandem, the pair begin pulling it out into a long thread just a half-inch wide. The brittle confection is cut into two-foot-long stalks, which must be constantly rolled so they don't flatten. Then these custom-ordered hard candies are cut up into bite-size barrels, revealing the initials “PBD” at their cores.
There are far more interesting images in the other hard candies sold in the store, many seasonally inspired: the Macy's Day Parade turkey, menorahs and snowmen.
The sweets come in expected flavours — peppermint, lemon and raspberry — as well as less-common options, such as watermelon-salt-chili and salty licorice. I end up walking out with a jar of pillow-shaped mango-chili drops and a bag of Christmas-themed candies, although I'm not sure who's getting either one.
After a brisk half-mile walk, I find myself on the Lower East Side at Economy Candy, which is basically Willy Wonka's version of Costco, although it doesn't boast the same acreage. Candies of every size, shape and colour are piled floor to ceiling on shelves that seem ready to buckle and collapse.
Frankly, it's more than a little overwhelming. Do you like Nestle Crunch bars? They come in a variety of flavours. Who knew? Can't stop chewing gum balls? Pick from several dozen colours. In the mood for a trip down memory lane? There's an island display at the middle of the store packed with nostalgia-inducing brands — Necco wafers, Zagnut bars and baton-size Pixy Stix. In the end, I settle on a pair of limited-edition Ritter bars for my brother-in-law and a five-pound bag of Swedish Fish Aqua Life gummies for my wife, who can't get enough lemon starfish, orange sea horses or grape blowfish.
Two days later, I head over to the Upper West Side in the early evening. As I walk up First Avenue, blustery gusts threaten to spirit away my scarf and bring tears to my eyes. I don't care: I'm on a mission. While growing up just a few blocks away, I fell in love with the handmade fruit-shaped marzipan made by Elk Candy, which my mother — sorry, sorry, Mr. Claus — would often put in my stocking. Unfortunately, the store closed in 2006, but the company's peerless almond-rich confections are still available at one place: the Sweet Shop NYC.
Turning onto 73rd Street, the warm light of the store's oval neon sign is a welcome sight. The compact space is packed with novelty candies from bygone eras, a litany of lollipops and holiday-themed sweets: candy canes, handmade marshmallows decorated to look like snowmen. Shelves on the east wall are packed with glass jars each containing a different gummy or chocolaty indulgence.
The shopper in front of me is ordering a milkshake, which sounds as appealing right now as a pot of chamomile tea at the beach. When he has gone on his way — the sound of his eager slurps swallowed up by the wintry squall as he opens the door — I sidle up to the counter. To my delight, I see a happy jumble of marzipan oranges, bananas and strawberries displayed in the case.
“Is that from Elk Candy Company?” I ask hopefully.
“It is,” the attendant affirms. “You're lucky. It goes quickly. Especially during the holidays.”
As he packs up half a pound of my childhood favourites to be split between my mother, my sister and me, I browse the other options. Although the chicken-foot-shaped gummies are intriguing, I'm drawn to the ones shaped like spicy peppers. Not surprisingly, the cayenne-chili-shaped treats are unabashedly hot. This makes them the perfect stocking stuffer for my wife, who loves treating her taste buds to the uppermost reaches of the Scoville scale.
Heading back into the deepening darkness and the bone-chilling wind, I carry two small brown paper bags. One is full of a longtime tradition; the other holds what could be the start of a completely new one.
IF YOU GO:
WHERE TO SHOP:
Sockerbit
89 Christopher St.
212-206-8170
www.sockerbit.com
More than 140 varieties of Scandinavian candies are on hand, from sour gummies and sweet marshmallows to salty licorices and rich chocolates.
Economy Candy
108 Rivington St.
212-254-1531
www.economycandy.com
This candy emporium is packed floor to ceiling with a colourful cornucopia of modern-day favourites, nostalgic brands and imports.
Papabubble New York
380 Broome St.
212-966-2599
www.papabubbleny.com
Eye-catching handmade hard candies in a slew of flavours.
The Sweet Shop NYC
404 E. 73rd St.
212-960-8685
www.thesweetshopnyc.com
Plenty of old-time novelty candies, gummies and chocolates by the pound, Elk Candy marzipan and super-thick milkshakes.
INFORMATION:
www.nycgo.com
* Martell is co-author of The Founding Farmers Cookbook: 100 Recipes For True Food & Drink and blogs at nevinmartell.com. Follow on Twitter: @nevinmartell.
The Washington Post