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Sugar Free Party Candy: How Much to Buy Per Person
A 75 g bag of Diablo cream candy holds 17 or 18 pieces at the 4.2 g portion size printed on the pack. Plan on 17 and one bag covers five guests taking three each. So 20 guests need four bags, split between two flavors.
The two bags we would tip into the bowls:
How much candy do you need per person?
Our cream candy declares a 4.2 g portion on the pack. Divide the 75 g bag by that and you get 17.9, so every bag holds 17 or 18 pieces. Plan on 17 and you will not come up short.
Three pieces a guest is the number we plan on when there is other food on the table, which works out at one bag per five guests. If candy is the only thing you are putting out, plan five pieces a head and divide by the 17 in a bag.
| Guests | Candy alongside other food | Candy on its own |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 2 bags | 3 bags |
| 20 | 4 bags | 6 bags |
| 30 | 6 bags | 9 bags |
| 50 | 9 bags | 15 bags |
Guests go back for a second piece more readily when it is a different flavor from the first, which is why we split the bags across two bowls.
How much sugar is actually in sugar free candy?
The FDA sets the Daily Value for added sugars at 50 g a day on a 2,000 calorie diet. A whole 75 g bag of our Mint and Cream Candy holds about 0.3 g of total sugars, from the 0.4 g per 100 g on the panel. The Strawberry and Cream bag sits at 0.5 g per 100 g.
Sugar free candy is not a low calorie food. The polyols that replace the sugar still carry calories, just fewer of them than sugar does.
The sweetness in our cream candy comes from isomalt and maltitol syrup. Both are polyols, also called sugar alcohols: carbohydrates that taste sweet, carry fewer calories than sugar and are absorbed slowly. They are counted separately from sugars on a label, which is why the sugars line reads so low. We wrote a fuller explainer on what sugar alcohols are and how they behave.
Our Mint and Cream Candy is 87.1 g of polyols per 100 g and the strawberry 86.8 g, so both packs carry the line excessive consumption may produce laxative effects. Polyols are absorbed slowly, which suits the way a party bowl gets eaten anyway, a few pieces at a time over a whole evening.
What should you put out for guests with different diets?
Our cream candy, the mint and the strawberry, holds gluten free, kosher and halal certificates and is made without gelatin. Add a bowl of the gummies below and most tables are covered. It contains milk, soy and coconut. The packs also carry a may contain warning for peanuts, sesame seeds and nuts, so write all six on a card beside the bowl.
Our sugar free Gummy Bears are the chewy option at 0.1 g of sugars per 100 g. They are made with gelatin and hold no gluten free certificate, so they are the bowl to label. Put the cream candy next to them and every guest has something to reach for without asking you a question across the room.
How do you keep a candy table working all evening?
The cream candy packs say cool and dry, ideally 59 degrees F and no warmer than 77 degrees F. The Gummy Bear pack asks for 68 to 77 degrees F, so one cool corner suits both. A windowsill in September sunshine goes well past that, as does a shelf above a heating vent, so pick the cool end of the room. If chocolate is going out alongside the candy, our guide to storing chocolate without bloom covers the temperatures that matter.
Open the bags an hour before guests arrive and tip them into shallow dishes you can top up. A bag left on the table for people to open themselves gets picked over far less than a filled bowl does.
Frequently asked questions
How many pieces are in a 75 g bag of Diablo cream candy?
Seventeen or eighteen. The pack declares a 4.2 g portion and 75 g divided by 4.2 g is 17.9, so count 17 per bag when you work out how many to buy.
Can you leave sugar free candy out all evening?
Yes. Keep the bowls off sunny windowsills and below 77 degrees F, the maximum storage temperature printed on our packs. Use shallow dishes and top them up as the night goes on; one big bowl filled at seven looks picked over by nine.
Which Diablo candy is made without gelatin?
The cream candy, including Mint and Cream and Strawberry and Cream, is made without gelatin and holds gluten free, kosher and halal certificates. Our Gummy Bears are made with gelatin, so keep those in a separate labeled bowl.