What is the ultimate Halloween candy? Round 4: Ring Pop v. candy necklace

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This is Day 4 of our Halloween candy wars. Read day one , day two and day three . Each day this week we'll post a new battle featuring more Halloween favourites. Don't forget to vote for your favourites to have your say.

What is the ultimate Halloween candy? In Wednesday's sweet smackdown , Coffee Crisp triumphed over Crunchie by just a hair. Today, our crackerjack panel – reporter Dakshana Bascaramurty, Web editor Cliff Lee and nine-year-old candy aficionado Alvaro Geiger – munch on candy bling to see which accessory is sweetest of all.

Ring Pop

Vital Stats: Jewel-toned hard candy on a plastic ring that screams, "My allowance is more generous than yours."

Claim to fame: Last year, Nick Cannon presented his wife Mariah Carey with an enormous diamond and pink sapphire-encrusted ring styled after a Ring Pop at the couple's vow-renewal ceremony. Sure, this version can probably be pawned for more cash, but can you eat it? The candy has been a recurring motif in their relationship: Mr. Cannon apparently proposed to Ms. Carey in 2008 with a real ring hidden in a Ring Pop wrapper.

Taste: One lick of the shellacked, plastic-y surface of this edible rock and you can really taste the "buffered lactic acid." Take caution when biting (unless you can pay for porcelain veneers) but also when licking (or risk sending a stream of sticky goo down your hand).

Expert opinion: "What's good is if you do this [starts furiously licking]for a very long time. It starts coming in and I've done it for so long once that your whole mouth is filled with the water [i.e. saliva]" - A.G.

Rating: 11/30

Candy necklace

Vital Stats: These pastel pellets strung onto elastic string are Rockets' harder, less-chalky cousin.

Claim to fame: It probably wasn't long after their mid-20th- century invention that they were plucked from the necks of babes for more adult purposes. A candy necklace is the key ingredient in a titillating scene between Emily Blunt and Mary Lynn Rajskub in the R-rated flick Sunshine Cleaning. These edible accessories have also inspired an industry of candy g-G-strings: a go-to gag gift at bachelorette parties.

Taste: If you're able to gnaw one of these off its chain without chipping a tooth (or losing an eye), you're rewarded with a rather ho-hum hit of plain sweetness without any other more complex flavours. You're better off leaving the necklace intact.

Expert opinion: "Smells like mothballs." - C.L.

Rating: 15/30