Zingerman's Zzang Bars and the Gospel of Candy Freshness
"Freshness. It's all about the freshness." 
Alex Hochman Zzang premium candy bars, available at Bi-Rite, Whole Foods, Canyon Market, and Cheese Plus.
Charlie Frank, managing partner of Zingerman's Candy Company in Ann Arbor, Mich., is differentiating his Zzang bars from your run-of-the-mill candy. "Most candy bars sit on store shelves for months before they're eaten. We ship ours only in small batches and we don't go through a distributor."
One bite into a Zzang Original, a salty-sweet mix of honey nougat, lightly salted caramel, and huge, butter-roasted Virginia peanuts, all dunked in 65 percent Ecuadorian chocolate, and we understand.
The nuts have a hefty crunch, the caramel drips down our chin a little bit, and the chocolate is rich and a little melty. It's the difference between a Frog Hollow peach from the farmers' market and grade school lunch canned peaches. 
Alex Hochman Charlie Frank, at Zingerman's candy kitchen in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Our other favorite, the Cashew Cow, takes crunch to a whole new level with alternating layers of cashew brittle and straight cashews. Again, it's all about the freshness, as the brittle easily shatters with each bite. The newest Zzang bar, the Wowza, is a raspberry triple threat with raspberry ganache, raspberry nougat and raspberry candies. It's extremely sweet but, as Frank joyfully reminds us, "It's supposed to be sweet. It's candy."
Zzang candy bars are available at Bi-Rite Market, Cheese Plus, Canyon Market, and Whole Foods. Price: $3.99.
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Bi-Rite Market
3639 18th St., San Francisco, CA
Category: Restaurant
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