Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Avocado fudge

Fallbrook candy shop offers unusual dessert

Two of more than a dozen flavors of avocado fudge: Vegan Dark Chocolate Chili Peanut and Butterscotch Salted Caramel
Two of more than a dozen flavors of avocado fudge: Vegan Dark Chocolate Chili Peanut and Butterscotch Salted Caramel
Place

Retro Candy & Toys

213 N. Main Avenue, Fallbrook

While a military brat living on Camp Pendleton, I kicked off my high school career going to Fallbrook HS (go Warriors!). I took that 45-minute bus ride every day for a couple of years and got to know the streets of Fallbrook well. At least, certain streets. During a recent visit to Fallbrook’s Old Town, I realized I’d never explored the “Friendly Village” in full. So it caught me by surprise to spot a sign advertising “Fallbrook’s Famous Avocado Fudge.”

How could I miss something famous that involved the home of my alma mater, especially since it highlighted the county’s number-one edible crop? More importantly, how could I not know my favorite superfood could be used to make a dessert?

Sponsored
Sponsored
Apparently this is where he hangs out when Moe’s is closed.

So I stopped in to Retro Candy & Toys, a shop filled with colorful sugary treats ranging from Jelly Bellys to novelty soda pop, plus a life-sized homer Simpson wearing an ode to avocados in T-shirt form.

I asked a few questions at the shop’s glass counter, which featured a variety of avo-fudge flavors including dark chocolate rocky road, vanilla bean, and strawberry cream. The guy running the show wasn’t as sugary sweet as his wares, but he did reveal that the trick is taking a fudge recipe and replacing butter with Hass avocados.

At $3.50 apiece, I took home the Vegan Dark Chocolate Chili Peanut and Butterscotch Sea Salt Caramel. Since I don’t have the world’s biggest sweet tooth, I called in a couple of experts to help with the tasting: my niece and nephew.

Avocado and candy, two great tastes that only go together in Fallbrook.

We dug into the chili peanut first. The chocolate was certainly dark, as advertised, tasting quite like the recent generation of chocolate bars you find in specialty markets with labels advertising 72% cacao. Texture-wise, it hit close to fudge, though a little softer, with a hint of graininess compared to traditional fudge. It was tasty and nutty, but even my young nephew thought it could have handled more spice.

The salted caramel was another story. It tasty every bit the role of a caramel candy — almost exactly like Brach’s, which set the standard for such things for me as a child. My niece cited a toffee flavor, and we all admired the rich and creamy texture that had been missing from the vegan dark chocolate.

Most importantly, I got to be a cool uncle and represent my one-time not-quite home town. I don’t know how “famous” this stuff is, but I’m willing to spread the word. If you can get B vitamins, folate, potassium, and vitamin K in dessert form, why not?

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Hike off those holiday calories, Poinsettias are peaking

Winter Solstice is here and what is winter?
Two of more than a dozen flavors of avocado fudge: Vegan Dark Chocolate Chili Peanut and Butterscotch Salted Caramel
Two of more than a dozen flavors of avocado fudge: Vegan Dark Chocolate Chili Peanut and Butterscotch Salted Caramel
Place

Retro Candy & Toys

213 N. Main Avenue, Fallbrook

While a military brat living on Camp Pendleton, I kicked off my high school career going to Fallbrook HS (go Warriors!). I took that 45-minute bus ride every day for a couple of years and got to know the streets of Fallbrook well. At least, certain streets. During a recent visit to Fallbrook’s Old Town, I realized I’d never explored the “Friendly Village” in full. So it caught me by surprise to spot a sign advertising “Fallbrook’s Famous Avocado Fudge.”

How could I miss something famous that involved the home of my alma mater, especially since it highlighted the county’s number-one edible crop? More importantly, how could I not know my favorite superfood could be used to make a dessert?

Sponsored
Sponsored
Apparently this is where he hangs out when Moe’s is closed.

So I stopped in to Retro Candy & Toys, a shop filled with colorful sugary treats ranging from Jelly Bellys to novelty soda pop, plus a life-sized homer Simpson wearing an ode to avocados in T-shirt form.

I asked a few questions at the shop’s glass counter, which featured a variety of avo-fudge flavors including dark chocolate rocky road, vanilla bean, and strawberry cream. The guy running the show wasn’t as sugary sweet as his wares, but he did reveal that the trick is taking a fudge recipe and replacing butter with Hass avocados.

At $3.50 apiece, I took home the Vegan Dark Chocolate Chili Peanut and Butterscotch Sea Salt Caramel. Since I don’t have the world’s biggest sweet tooth, I called in a couple of experts to help with the tasting: my niece and nephew.

Avocado and candy, two great tastes that only go together in Fallbrook.

We dug into the chili peanut first. The chocolate was certainly dark, as advertised, tasting quite like the recent generation of chocolate bars you find in specialty markets with labels advertising 72% cacao. Texture-wise, it hit close to fudge, though a little softer, with a hint of graininess compared to traditional fudge. It was tasty and nutty, but even my young nephew thought it could have handled more spice.

The salted caramel was another story. It tasty every bit the role of a caramel candy — almost exactly like Brach’s, which set the standard for such things for me as a child. My niece cited a toffee flavor, and we all admired the rich and creamy texture that had been missing from the vegan dark chocolate.

Most importantly, I got to be a cool uncle and represent my one-time not-quite home town. I don’t know how “famous” this stuff is, but I’m willing to spread the word. If you can get B vitamins, folate, potassium, and vitamin K in dessert form, why not?

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Rebecca Jade, Stoney B. Blues, Manzanita Blues, Blame Betty, Marujah

Holiday music, blues, rockabilly, and record releases in Carlsbad, San Carlos, Little Italy, downtown
Next Article

Houston ex-mayor donates to Toni Atkins governor fund

LGBT fights in common
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader