The Heathen Palate

I would like to be someone who can appreciate all the nuances of a fine wine or a Vosges Exotic Caramel. I just ate several different Vosges Exotic Caramels - here's the description of one: Mexican guajillo chillies + licorice root + dark chocolate + organic pumpkin seeds. Another: Aboriginal anise myrtle + dark chocolate (according to Vosges - from the bushlands of Australia emerges a unique leaf called anise myrtle, imparting a strong aniseed flavor).

Did caramels really need a trip to the Outback?

I could appreciate the awesome creaminess of these caramels, but I found myself wishing they just tasted like delicious creamy caramel - not anise myrtle or licorice root.

I am a candy commoner.

I like things food snobs would be horrified by - I like Mr. Goodbar, Reese's Eggs, Tootsie Rolls, Peanut M & M's. I like to eat peanut butter out of the jar. I've eaten frosting out of the can. I like my meat and my chocolate separate. And I am not ashamed.

Don't get me wrong - I'm glad chefs and other food masters are out there doing all this exciting stuff. And I will continue to try it. But I'm just a commoner at heart - I like my chocolate with nuts, caramel, peanut butter - and lots of it!

Sometimes common is good. Just because something is exotic doesn't mean it's better (although we often think so, don't we?). We want the things we don't have. We are intrigued by those we don't know. We take the people and things around us for granted. Oh - a Hershey's Kiss - how mundane. But Aboriginal anise myrtle? Stop the presses!

At the end of the day, what really matters is what works for you. Try it all and choose what YOU like. Critics and experts be damned! You know best when it comes to you.

And you know who to call if you want some frosting!