Freeze-Dried Candy

At Sticky’s Candy Emporium we like to keep our ears open for up and coming sweet trends. We first heard the rumours of a crazy new process — well the process of freeze-drying food wasn’t new — but freeze-drying candy? Oh yeah, now that was a new — and brilliant idea. We had to try this out for ourselves so made a trip south to the heartland of crazy foods. 

We fell in love with this stuff. All the moisture was vaporized from the candy and — what was left afterwards was light and crunchy, and so intensely flavourful! If you know our in-store candy curator like we do, you will know that she was going to dive into this full on to begin testing and creating. 

No sweet treat in Sticky’s Candy was safe from her freeze-drying experiments while she learned the process and delved into what worked, and what didn’t work so well. We would see her wandering the aisles in her pristine lab-coat, basket in hand selecting various candies for the freeze-drying process. She had a gleam in her eye that we hadn’t seen since Root Beer Fest 2019.

One of the benefits of the freeze-dried candy is that it doesn’t stick to dentures or dental work. Grandma’s favourite Werther’s Candy are now back on the okay list! Another benefit is the candy has a longer shelf life and a new and improved flavour and texture.

We asked our Chief Candy Curator, Sherri, about the freeze-drying process and she gave us a bit of insight into the science behind it. 

“Freeze-drying is a preservation technique that dates back to the early 20th century, primarily used for medicinal and military purposes. The process involves freezing the product and then gradually removing its moisture through sublimation, converting ice directly into vapor. This method preserves the food’s structure, nutrients, and flavor, making it a perfect fit for creating crunchy yet flavorful candies.”

Freeze-dried candy has become a customer favourite at Sticky’s Candy Emporium. Some of our most popular freeze-dried candies are: 

Starblasts: Original Starburst with a freeze-dried crunch! The best way to enjoy these is to suck on them for a few seconds until they start to dissolve on your tongue. 

Sour Red Berries: When freeze dried these berries imported from Finland become Light and Crisp with a sour punch. These tasty berries are made with a vegetable concentrate of elderberry, red grape, black currant, apple, and radish. Yes we said radish!

Original Ranchers: Jolly Ranchers come out light, crispy and airy…think crispy cotton candy! Green apple, cherry, watermelon, grape, and blue raspberry flavors.

Achoos: Hi-Chews after freeze-drying are light, airy, crunchy, and still bursting with those amazing fruity flavors: grape, strawberry, mango, and green apple.

Original Skittlers: Skittles are now crisp & airy! The freeze-drying process removes moisture and creates air bubbles which cause them to puff up and explode. Strawberry, green apple, grape, lemon, and orange flavors.

Taffy Bombs: Each assorted piece of Taffy is bursting with flavor and has a crispy texture that immediately melts in your mouth.  Dental work hasn’t allowed you chewy candy? Now you can enjoy again.

Tropical Ranchers: Tropical Jolly Ranchers come out light, crispy and airy, another crispy cotton candy like treat. Mango, lime, fruit punch and golden pineapple.

Wildberry Skittlers: Freeze drying intensifies the Wild Berry Skittles flavors of berry punch, strawberry, melon berry, wild cherry, and raspberry.

Sour Bubble Gum Bottles: A crunchy twist on the fizzy, bubblegum bottles! Once freeze dried, these chewy delights become incredibly airy and light. After the first bite these scrumptious delights will literally dissolve in your mouth. The texture is different but the taste is insanely enhanced!

Peach Rings: Freeze Dried Peach Rings are a crunchy twist on an all time favorite gummy! You’ll get all the same peachy, juicy flavour.

Werther’s Caramels: Caramel is one of our favourite candies to freeze dry. Werther’s Caramel is amazing,  Once freeze-dried, the caramel transforms from a chewy texture to a new, airy, delicious, crunchy and melt-in-your-mouth texture.

Mars Bars: Oh, yes, we even freeze-dried Mars Bars! Freeze drying intensifies the light and airy caramel and fluffy nougat with still a touch of chocolate. You have to try this out of this world treat!

As culinary creativity knows no bounds, the future of freeze-dried candy holds exciting possibilities. With the growing demand for unique and novel treats, we at Sticky’s are continuing to experiment with flavours, textures, and combinations that push the boundaries of sweet indulgence.