Hi Crunchies

Marshmallow is mostly air and sugar syrup held together by gelatin, which makes it an almost perfect candidate for freeze-drying. Take the water out and you are left with the air structure alone — rigid, crisp and hollow.

The change is total. A soft, squishy, slightly sticky sweet becomes something that crunches audibly and then vanishes on the tongue. Children find this genuinely funny; the texture does not behave the way a marshmallow is supposed to.

The flavour is clean vanilla with no artificial edge, which makes it a useful palate change from the fruit bags. It is also excellent dropped into hot chocolate — the pieces crisp for a second, then dissolve.

The 1.5 oz bag is one generous serving — 42.5 g of candy that looks like far more than that once it is poured out, because freeze-dried candy is mostly air. It is the size to buy if you are trying a flavour for the first time, and the size that fits a lunchbox or a jacket pocket without being crushed.

Store it sealed in a cool, dry place. Moisture is the one thing that undoes freeze-dried candy — an open bag left out will slowly go soft, so press the seal shut properly and it will keep its snap.

• Freeze-dried chewy fruit candy
• Strawberry and mixed fruit flavours
• 120 calories per serving (6 pieces)
• Contains Soy
• Snack Kings LLC, Linden NJ