A new Hughson sweets shop is crunching the competition with its crispy freeze-dried candy

Don’t worry: Despite its name, no goats were parched to make the candies offered at the Central Valley’s newest sweets shop.

The Parched Goat opened its storefront in Hughson on July 1, selling freeze-dried versions of well-known candies. The family-run business started manufacturing the treats in 2021 and has since wholesaled to local grocers and farm stands across the region.

But owner Megan McMenimen, a longtime teacher, said she wanted to do more in her own community. So she and her family opened the shop on Whitmore Avenue in a retail strip between Chuck’s Butcher Shop and Rico’s Pizza. Stepping inside the small store is like a trip to Candy Land, with shelves and racks filled with brightly colored treats.

You’ll recognize many of the candies, from Skittles to gummy bears and Twix candy bars. But you probably have never seen them in their dried-out, puffed-up versions — or tasted the difference freeze drying makes.

First, the candies typically expand, so a small sucker comes out almost the size of a golf ball. In fact some candies need to be cut down before freeze-drying, because they grow so big. The process removes all water from the sweets, which concentrates their flavors.

And finally there is the crunch, which can go from a light crispy meringue texture to solid-yet-soft on the inside chunks. After that initial crunch, most melt away quickly. The unexpected textures and intense flavors make them oddly addicting, giving everyone’s sweet tooth more reasons to rejoice.

McMenimen makes 150 regular flavors, and about 50 or so other seasonal or limited edition offerings. She is also always experimenting with new candies and snacks and adds new options each week. They sell for $7 each, or three for $20 in the store.

“If I can make someone’s day a little sweeter, I will. I like reinventing the candy into something else,” she said. “That’s the fun of it, every candy turns out differently.”

The 39-year-old Hughson native’s journey from educator to candy maker was a surprise to her, too. A teacher for the past 15 years, most recently at Great Valley Academy charter school, McMenimen decided to take a year off at the start of the 2019-2020 academic year. Little did she know a global pandemic would interrupt her return and also give her an opportunity to try something new.

With her teaching career thwarted, McMenimen got entrepreneurial. She and her daughters, who she now homeschools, had a little experience in business after starting a small online shop about seven years ago selling aromatherapy bracelets with proceeds going to charity. But then she got the idea to make gluten-free backpacking snacks for her husband, Daniel, whose whole family has celiac disease.

So the family purchased its first freeze-drying machine for $5,000, nearly wiping out all its savings. While experimenting, McMenimen threw some Skittles in one day to see what would happen and the proverbial light bulb went off. Everyone she gave them to raved, and she kept trying more varieties and taking suggestions for new candies.

Now her two daughters, 14-year-old Tara and 13-year-old Emily, work with her in the business. The candy-making process is pretty simple. The freeze dryers sit in a chilly temperature-controlled room in the back of the shop. The candies are laid out on trays, and then the machine runs for anywhere from 6 to 12 hours, gradually removing every last bit of moisture.

All the label making and packaging is done in the shop’s backroom kitchen. Before finding their Hughson space, the manufacturing was done in a commercial kitchen. With everything consolidated in one space now, McMenimen hopes to expand her company’s reach.

The sweets already are available in the area at O’Brien’s Market grocery stores, Rodin Farms fruit stands and The Fruit Yard restaurant and market. They are also sold at a kiosk at Vintage Faire Mall in north Modesto, as well as malls in Nevada and Washington.

McMenimen has recently partnered with the Hayward-based makers of Big Hunk candy to freeze-dry the nougat bar treats specifically for the company. That’s also why it is one of the few candies named by brand on the labels, while the others have more vague names because of licensing rights.

Of course there have been some fails. Chocolate and licorice do not freeze dry, nor does peanut butter on its own. But the trial and error has also lead to happy discoveries, like candies covered in Mexican seasonings like chamoy. Other offerings include sugar-free, fruit and other snacks. McMenimen also makes custom orders for birthday gifts, parties and any other occasion.

She is generous with samples and answering customer questions about her candies. After “How does it taste?” she said one of the most frequently asked queries is about the business’s name.

The idea came in part from her husband’s use of goat trails while camping and hunting. The parched part, given that the candies are dried out, came naturally after that. When running possible names by friends, The Parched Goat got the most reaction and was the most memorable, so it stuck.

But, again, no goats were involved in the making of these treats — parched or otherwise.

The Parched Goat, at 6724 E. Whitmore Ave. in Hughson, is open noon to 6 p.m. daily. For more information call 209-985-3439 or visit theparchedgoat.com.