Candy rituals

Fine foods and intense, gourmet prep may be the order of the day, but few are immune to the trashy candy ritual. Skittles, Snickers, Marshmallow Peeps, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, you name it: Now’s the time of year for not only indulging in low rent sweets but for reviving the candy-eating ceremonies of childhood.

I was reminded of this just this week, when I watched my 7-year-old in intense Skittle segregation. There on the island were five piles divided by color, which were then eaten in order of preference: yellow, red, orange, green and purple. “You don’t save the best for last?” I asked. “Nope,” she chewed. Not me. I can remember hanging on to a mini Nestle Crunch Bar for days after Halloween because it was a rare piece of chocolate in a sea of suckers, Smarties and those cheap black or orange-wrapped peanut butter chews. Same for my friend Claire, who would slowly and neatly trim the sides of waxy chocolate off a Snicker’s before separating the peanuts and caramel from the slab of nougat below. Snickers deconstructed.

For photos of this, and last week’s post on oysters, click here.