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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. Put two flavors out rather than one big bowl of the same thing.
The two bags we would tip into the bowls:
How much candy do you need per person?
Start from the bag, not from a guess. Our cream candy declares a 4.2 g portion, and 75 g divided by 4.2 g is 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 |
Two flavors beat one large pile of just the one, because a second piece is more tempting when it is a different one.
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 sugars line is low. The calorie line is not zero.
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 is why a few pieces at a time is how they are meant to be enjoyed.
What should you put out for guests with different diets?
Two bowls cover most tables. Our cream candy, the mint and the strawberry, holds gluten free, kosher and halal certificates and is made without gelatin. It contains milk, soy and coconut, and the packs 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, and so 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. Use 17 when you are planning quantities and you will not come up short.
Can you leave sugar free candy out all evening?
Yes. Keep the bowls below 77 degrees F, which is the maximum storage temperature printed on our packs, and off sunny windowsills. Shallow dishes topped up through the night stay tidier than one large bowl filled once.
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.