Award-winning Chicago pastry chef Mindy Segal has created THC-infused desserts that are inspired by her own favorite candies and chocolates. She has partnered with local cannabis company, Cresco Labs, to create her line of Chef Led Artisanal Edibles that consist of gummies, hard sweets, chocolates, and fruit chews.
Mindy Segal, owner of Mindy’s HotChocolate, a Chicago staple, joined with Cresco to concoct and test over 20 flavors of candy. They dwindled down these flavors to their favorite six and transformed them into their final gummy and candy forms, delicious little things you can buy right here in Chicago. Below we dive into the six flavors of Mindy’s new THC-infused edibles and where she got her inspiration for each.
Honey Sweet Melon
Sorbet was the inspiration behind the Honey Sweet Melon candy. Mindy takes cantaloupe, pours honey over and lets it sit for about a week before then making it into a sorbet. The gummy captures the honey-drenched melon essence and has hints of floral lychee in it as well.
Cool Keylime Kiwi
Whenever Mindy eats key lime cheesecake, she automatically thinks of kiwis. So she wanted to merge the two flavors together; she starts by juicing fresh kiwi then folds it into batter, which she puts on top of a graham cracker crust. The result is a tropical, bright, and sweet treat with a citrus bite.
Fresh Picked Berries
Although it seems simple, the fresh-picked berries flavor is actually the most complex of Mindy’s flavors. She takes several preserves and compotes and sandwiches them between shortbread cookies. Then she mixes all the preserves and layers them into a Linzer torte flavored with pistachio and orange blossom. We definitely are impressed with the flavor combination.
Glazed Clementine Orange
You won’t find just orange in this candy, Mindy uses kumquat, tangerine, and clementine to get the orange flavor to pop. To get that powerful flavor into gummy form she distills candied peels from these different fruits to transform them into the candy we love.
Botanical White Grapefruit
Mindy was inspired to create this flavor by the Greyhound cocktail, a combination of grapefruit and gin. She juices white grapefruit, which adds a sweetness to the traditionally tart grapefruit flavor, and adds gin to it. She then blends it into a sorbet and you just can’t help being reminded of a fresh, cool summer cocktail on a hot day.
Lush Black Cherry
Cherry-flavored candies can often end up tasting like cough syrup, which Mindy desperately wanted to avoid. Instead, she simmers cherries until they become thick and glossy. The resulting gummy has an almondy sweetness with hints of vanilla, citrus, and cocoa — a far cry from traditional cherry flavors.