Food
10 Candies You Forgot Still Exist: Part 3
To partially quote good old Mulder and Scully from The X-Files: `They’re still out there.` And no, we’re not talking about Alien invaders from another planet. We’re talking about the sweet treats you may remember from your youth. And believe it or not, we found yet another 10 you may have forgotten were still among us.
10. Abba Zaba
Over the years, many chocolate and candy bars offered a plethora of interesting and tasty centers, the mold primarily taking the shape of caramel and of course nuts. But almost equally popular was the butter known as peanut butter. There have been many bars and sweets to indulge peanut butter fans with ooey, gooey centers promising nothing but peanut butter goodness, one bite after the next. And of course who are we to complain, right? We mean, peanut butter is definitely awesome, and many candy bars and their creators have profited from the creation of some pretty historic bars in the past. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup anyone? This was in fact one of the most popular candy bars to feature peanut butter as the so-called star ingredient, and the world didn’t look back since. This particular bar was a favorite of the King of Rock and Roll himself, Elvis Presley. It’s true. Apparently, at the some point in his career, he’d buy bags full of Reese’s Pieces and start chomping down on them on his way from town to town while on tour. And hey, The King is, well … The King, and his reputation with food being what it was, we’ll have to trust his tastes as being pretty much trustworthy. After all, his favorite sandwiches were bacon and peanut butter sandwiches and peanut butter and banana sandwiches, they key ingredient being … well, it’s pretty obvious by this point, or so we hope. Another candy bar you may or may not remember from back in your day was in fact the Abba Zaba bar, and although the name reminds us of yet another musical act from the long lost 1970s, the bar featured peanut butter as well. The bar contained peanut butter of course and taffy. It was first made in 1922 by Colby & McDermott. The bar changed hands a few times, but is now manufactured by Annabelle Candy. They can be found online and in most stores West of the Rocky Mountains. Furthermore, if you’ve just gotta have one of these babies, you can always find them in certain novelty shops.
9. Whatchamacallit
The Hershey Company has been around for a long time. And when we say a long time, we’re not merely talking about a few decades here. In reality, this company has been around for over a century. Now that’s definitely old, hunh? It came about in 1894 and since its inception, the company has been popping out one treat after another, and most have been quite successful with consumers. One of their bars is of course the Whatchamacallit bar, and it was first manufactured in 1978. Perhaps beyond the name, which makes it quite memorable—despite the fact that the name suggests memory loss in the first place—this treat was quite favorable, featuring … peanut butter of all things. Sound familiar? Of course it does, as peanut butter is probably the second most used flavor in candy bars the world over, and hey … what goes better with chocolate than peanut butter? However in 1987, caramel was also introduced, making this bar one that combined both peanut butter and caramel in tandem to bring consumers one explosive punch in the old flavor department. Now, with a bar that packed such a punch, you’d think people would be a little better at remembering the name, right. Of course we’re playing, as the name for this impeccably sweet treat is a play in and of itself, but worldwide knowledge of the bar dwindled slightly at the end of the 20th century, as television ads for the bar in particular, weren’t very dominant at the time, but despite the fact that many have forgotten about its existence, it’s still in production and is being sold worldwide, still.
8. Zot Z Candy Fizz
Zot Z were first released in 1968. They were made by GB Ambrosoli SPA located in Italy, specifically Ronago. The original candies were a fuzzy variety with sour centers. Now if described that way, candies like this are pretty much a dime a dozen, with many candy manufacturers trying their hand at the sour sweets we enjoy now and again, but many would argue that these here were and still are a tad different, establishing them as the genuine article and the one you should try to locate, as best you can. That’s providing you get the old call from your taste buds calling for sour treats. They still exist, obviously and can be found in certain shops and of course online. But did you ever wonder why these candies fizz in your mouth in the first place? Of course you did, especially those of you with that old inquisitive bone nagging at you every now and again. Well, it’s the powder of course, the one you can find at the center of the candy, but it isn’t just ordinary powder. It consists of unspecified acids, sodium bicarbonate and the combination of these reacts when it hits either water, or an individual’s saliva. Varieties offered included: watermelon, cherry, apple, orange, blue raspberry, grape and strawberry.
7. Chick-O-Stick
Now here’s a pretty rare one many of you may or may not remember. But for those of you that do, you’ll fondly remember munching on this special delight on those long summer nights, walking home from the park. It was a tasty treat indeed and many would swear that this one went the way of Harry S. Truman`s run as President, but no, these too are still out there. This product has been manufactured since the 1950s, and it too contained peanut butter, believe it or not, as well as granulated sugar, toasted coconut and of course corn syrup (really … what candy can be made without it?), and it also contained a load of coloring. And when we say a “load,“ we mean a boat load at that. They are also vegan, which is a plus side for many out there and a sugar free option is actually available if you’re so inclined to give them a try while still on that strict diet you happen to be on.
6. Zero Bar
And while on the topic of strict diets, this one might be a treat that many of you may remember. However, despite the name, it sure packed quite a few calories in one packet. It contained caramel, peanut and almond nougat and was wrapped up in a white coating, which was what stood it apart from a lot of other brands out there. But this feature was also what perhaps kept people away from trying this one, as they may have feared that it was white chocolate. Now white chocolate is something that is loved by many, but those who hate it, keep away from it like the plague, and they probably felt the same way about this bar. It was first introduced in 1920, and initially, the name didn’t come from a wanting to hint at a lower calorie count, but really, the name was intended to hint at a cool temperature, as in zero degrees. The campaign was successful and many purchased the bar, despite many people’s confusion at why a candy bar needed to be cool in the first place. After all, it wasn’t an ice cream bar. But, at the end of the day, a campaign is a campaign, and you win some, you lose some we guess. This one has proven to have stood the test of time and is still found out there, should you wish to spend some time in some cooler temperatures and all.
5. Bazooka Bubble Gum
If we’d ask you to conjure up memories of your past, especially your childhood, we are almost certain that this particular item would make an appearance in the movie based on your life. Perhaps you’d buy units and units of Bazooka Bubble Gum and keep them in your pocket for those quiet moments under a tree after a long baseball game with your friends. Or maybe even for those tender moments watching a movie with that girl you had an unbelievable crush on, and when you asked her if she wanted a piece and she said yes, it felt like she’d accepted your proposal for marriage instead. So yeah … the items of food from our youth and the sweet treats as well, even those as small as a piece of gum are a large part of our past and the memories of them tend to be laced and intertwined with other epic moments. You don’t believe us … just take a look back and see. This gum was introduced in 1947, so there are probably many collective memories here, especially when considering all the people that popped one of these in their mouths over and over again. They still exist, obviously, or they wouldn’t be on this list, but many have forgotten about them, likening them to the toys of their youth, the ones collecting dust in their parent’s attics or even the tool shed at the back of the yard. The Topps Company in Brooklyn, New York launched these puppies very soon after the Second World War ended, and the public couldn’t have been more receptive, wanting to turn to times of happiness, rather than times of war and peril—the marketing geniuses here hitting the mark perfectly. Perhaps equally popular to the taste of this gum were the wrappers, which included the Bazooka Joe comics, which were always rather fun to read while the first juices from the gum flooded your mouth. Ah … there are more of those memories we talked about earlier. However, in 2012, the comics were dropped, except for in Argentina, where they are still included, the name: Yo Amo Bazooka! But some include puzzles nowadays. Flavors included: Cherry Berry, Grape Rage, Strawberry Shake, among others.
4. Gold Nugget Bubble Gum
And speaking of the bubble gums of our collective childhoods, how about this gem of the past … or perhaps nugget of the past would be more of an appropriate term? We think so. The packaging here was probably even more fun than Bazooka Joe and the comic strips that came along with that aforementioned brand. Here, a kid could get really carried away, lugging a bagful of these golden or yellow nuggets around like some lost booty or treasure. The possible games and fun times were immeasurable and all that was needed was a wee bit of imagination, and hours of pleasure could have been derived from one single bag. The interesting thing here was in fact also in the sheer volume of little nuggets in each bag. This provided the consumer with many options: A) eat only a few at a time, or B) get as many little nuggets in there as possible, the result being the most epically large bubbles worthy of the respect of your friends. Well, they’re still out there. Some corner stores will have them, but these little treasures can be predominantly found at online stores, and many of them carry these little bites of joy. So order away our dear friends, and enjoy to your heart’s content. And we say, go on and shovel in as many nuggets you can at a time and blow good people, blow bubbles that’ll make the bubbles of your youths seem like insignificant orbs of air.
3. Zagnut Bars
Here’s a special one from the annals of time, and one that is quite peculiar, as it contained no chocolate whatsoever, but it was still classified as a candy bar, yet people were quick to correct you if you ever dared to label it a chocolate bar. It consisted of a peanut center and a coating of coconut. It is still released by the Hershey Confectionary company and although it isn’t as popular as many of its other products, it still does okay out there on the market. It was first introduced in 1930, and has had some prominence in the entertainment industry, it having appeared in film and television, films like 48 Hours, Hancock, as well as many others.
2. Goo Goo Cluster
This one too is over a century old, and we’d ask that you really register this latter detail, as a century is a definitely long time. One-hundred years is hardly a joke, and a product that’s been around that long cannot be dismissed. It was first introduced in 1912 by the Standard Candy Company based out of Nashville. The man behind its inception was none other than Howell Campbell. The bars contain marshmallow, nuts and caramel. They are definite bites of joy and they have been bringing said joy to the masses for many years. The funny name given this product was said to describe the caramel and marshmallow nougat specifically, alluding to the gooey factor involved. So it’s more than understandable why people were going ga-ga over goo-goo.
1. Nerds Candy
Well these here were given quite the unfortunate moniker at their inception, but perhaps it was this in and of itself that only added to their popularity. Besides, it isn’t the eighties or nineties anymore … these days, nerds are cool, and if you doubt that, just look at the popularity of the characters on The Big Bang Theory. Nerds Candy are currently owned by the huge conglomerate company the Ferrara Candy Company. They were previously owned by Nestle, and were launched by Angelo Fraggos in 1983. Coincidentally enough, they were given the Candy of the Year prize two years after they were launched, by the National Candy Wholesalers Association. High praise indeed. Nestle owned these little buggers until 2018, when it was finally that they sold the candy to Ferrara for a reputed 2.8 Billion dollars! Now that would buy you a lot of Nerds; much more than a lifetime supply. Can you imagine? Many of you who remember Pop Rocks will know that they represented some competition for these, but really, they each stood apart and did well on their own merits respectively. Perhaps, the success of this particular product came at the hands of its ingenious packaging, the two colors of candy offered in the same box, only in two separate compartments. A novelty? Definitely, but at the end of the day, what is a product of candy without a certain playful novelty to go along with the taste of the treat at hand? Then again, that can be said for any candy from the past … and still managed to stick around all these years later.