Food
10 Sweet Facts About Your Favorite Candy Part 2
In staying with the facts about yours and our favorite candy and chocolate treats, we’ve found ten more facts about some of your most favorite sweet snacks. And you won’t believe what we’ve uncovered about those epic goodies you just can’t seem to say no to, no matter how hard you try. Read on and take a look. You’ll be surprised at some of the candy that made the list. Who knows … there may even be some of your favorite treats from when you were but a youngster yourself? But who says you’ve gotta be a kid to love candy? We sure didn’t!
10. Not All Twizzlers Licorice Candy are Actual “Licorice”
You may be surprised to learn this, but Twizzlers Candy has been around since 1845. That sure is a long time for the world to have been enjoying licorice candy. It’s actually Y&S Candies that started the company way back when, but it’s now a subsidiary of The Hershey Company. These days, they offer a lot of variations of their candy that started out quite simply enough. Multiple fruity flavors, and in all sorts of formats, like the quite famous “Pull and Peel” that seems to be quite popular among children. But back in the day, the only flavors that could be found by one and all were of course the standard strawberry red and of course the black licorice. And for the longest time that was indeed enough. The world was used to calling the type of candy licorice, but in actual fact, the only licorice that Twizzlers offers is the black flavor, as the red flavor contains not a single ounce of licorice extract, a common ingredient in all licorice. That’s what gives authentic licorice its pretty familiar taste. The strawberry sort are made with corn syrup, artificial flavoring and enriched flour.
9. Pop Rocks Were Actually Pulled Off The Shelves After Only 8 Years On The Market
Of course they made a serious comeback later on and many children (and adults) have had a blast with these little candies … literally. We mean, who hasn’t tried these things? Even if it was just to see how they popped in your mouth? Well … curiosity will get you hooked, as it did for many throughout the late eighties and nineties. The candy was first introduced in 1975 by a team of chemists of all things. Their names were Leon T. Kremzner and William A. Mitchell. They worked for General Foods and they stumbled across this recipe in their work. They actually made the first batch in 1961 but the company held off on releasing it to the masses for a whopping 14 years. Well, it finally made it to the public, but was pulled from shelves, as it didn’t have a very long shelf life, and it wasn’t in great condition by the time it made it to willing customers. Kraft Foods finally granted ownership to Zeta Espacial S.A. and they continue to release the candy to the rest of the world, while in North America, the candy is released through Pop Rocks Inc.. These days, it’s readily available to one and all.
8. BPI Funnbar Candy … For Those Willing To Add A Few Inches On Their Biceps
And who says all candy is bad for you? Certainly not the folks at BPI Sports, a Supplement and nutritional company that specializes in meal replacements and the many products used by those living a fit life. But it seems that many in the diet industry have been looking for some sweet treats while they grow tired of all the whey protein and what have you, as the company launched these chewable bite-size candies a few years back. They even got a familiar face to endorse the company, and he actually generated a wee bit of a buzz for the candy that many have compared to Starburst Candies. Talk about “saying your prayers and taking your vitamins.” Hulk Hogan himself claimed to chomp down on these tasty treats while he worked on the old “pythons” of his, and he convinced quite a few to follow suit. The Funnbar actually comes with many flavors in one package, very much like Starburst, only it doesn’t contain as many calories of course. It comes packed with 15 grams of protein per bar and they are sugar free and gluten free. So while your neighbor on that treadmill beside you keeps chugging on that shaker full of vanilla flavored protein powder, hand him or her one of these and make his or her day. After all, like many of the sweet treats we enjoy, it’s always important to spread the joy.
7. Starburst … The Candy So Great, They Renamed It Twice!
And speaking of Starburst …The candy was introduced in 1960 in the United Kingdom, but they didn’t go by Starburst back then. At its inception the candy was actually named Opal Fruits. The first and original flavors that were offered at the time were strawberry, lemon, orange and of course lime. They were finally introduced in the States by the year 1967 and thus went under the name M&M’s Fruit Chewies. Now, we’re all sure that we can all agree that we more than understand a name change on both occasions as the names don’t quite scream “Eat Me!” as their third and final name did. And at the same time, it’s kind of hard to garner a following for a product when you keep renaming it, isn’t it? It doesn’t catch on as fast, because you’re always changing it. Starburst finally started being referred to as Starburst before the start of the 1970s. And we can all be thankful for that, as it just rolls off the tongue that much better, now doesn’t it? It’s now offered in a spectacular amount of flavors and the candy takes the cake as being one of the most popular chewable candies in the world.
6. Candy Cigarettes Were Banned Between 1953 and 1967 In North Dakota
Now how are these for the most controversial candies on the list? Who didn’t buy a package of these and pretend to be the star from some film they saw on TV? We’ve all been there, we’re afraid, and while cigarettes are definitely bad for you, the Hollywood magic we’ve all been subjected to over the decades told us that they were in fact “cool.” So, while we couldn’t actually grab a package of actual cigarettes as we played like we were James dean and all the other cinematic icons with a bad habit, we turned to these candies and made like we were as “bad” as they were. But as it turns out, these candies were indeed banned from the shelves of markets and corner stores for a pretty long while in North Dakota, and all because the government of the area felt like these candies glorified the use of cigarettes. Interestingly enough, these candies are actually still banned in some regions of the world, and for the very same reason. For example, in Canada, the packages aren’t allowed to resemble real cigarette packages like they do in the States. They usually are packaged with Popeye on the cover … a wholesome enough brand association, the Canadian government believes. But they are completely banned in countries like: Ireland, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and many more.
5. Jolly Rancher Inc. Originally Produced Ice Cream
It was in 1949 that a gentleman by the name of Bill Harmsen founded the Jolly Rancher Company. He named it that because he figured that the name would suggest a hospitable environment that his clientele would enjoy and flock to. At first his products were specifically sold in Denver, Colorado, and ice cream was at first one of his main offerings. But it was because of the customary cold weather in that particular region that his ice cream didn’t do all that well among patrons. He soon realized, though, that his customers were enjoying the candy year round, no matter what the weather conditions. So it was because of this that he put all of his focus on the candies themselves. Now talk about putting all of your eggs in one basket! Or maybe we should say candies in one basket. The hard candy treat is offered in many great fruity flavors as well as other interesting mixes, like Fire Stix. They were taken over in ownership a few times over however, the first take-over was made by Beatrice Foods, and ultimately, Hershey decided to purchase the candy after the Leaf company owned it for a little while.
4. If That Kit Kat Jingle Stays Stuck In Your Head … That’s Because It Was Meant To Be
The very first Kit Kat bar was introduced in the month of August, way back in 1935. It is perhaps the most popular wafer-style chocolate bar in existence and there’s very good reason for that. It’s definitely delicious and the company has succeeded all these years on their dependability and consistency at producing a quality bar that consumers have definitely grown quite accustomed to. But we wonder how many of those consumers have favored the bar because of how it tastes, or rather, are there other forces at play here? Cue the horror movie overly dramatic theme music here …. As it turns out, the theme song that the Kit Kat commercials always feature was actually designed to stay in your head long after you hear it. Psychological researchers have actually studied and determined that it was written with this intent and the more you hear this song, the worse it’ll get. Of course the design here, is that when you’re in line at the market, the song may still be stuck in your head after the last time you saw the advertisement, and instead of passing up the opportunity to “have a break,” you’ll dish out the few bucks to enjoy yourself a snack that was long ago decided that you were going to have, and long before you left the house. Interesting how that works, isn’t it? Oh the advertising geniuses at work amaze us to no end. Now if you’ll excuse us, we think it’s time for a break. Now what to have, what to have …? “Give me a break, give me a break …” We’ve got just the thing!
3. Kit Kat Bars Come In Some Pretty Unusual Flavors In Japan
And speaking of Kit Kat bars, they actually are offered in some pretty peculiar flavors all around the world, and probably the most peculiar is the Green Tea flavor that has sparked quite a bit of interest in recent years … especially in Japan! Kit Kat bars were only introduced to japan in 1973. That’s definitely a long time from when they were first introduced to the US and North American markets. But since then, Japan has definitely run with the idea of the bar, as many flavors have popped up in the area, and some of them are indeed quite peculiar at that. Some of the peculiar flavors are of course Soy Sauce, Green Tea, Sake, Tokyo Banana, Wasabi and so many others. In North America, other flavors that have done pretty well are Orange, mint, dark chocolate and of course white chocolate.
2. White Chocolate Isn’t Chocolate At All
Now there are quite a few out of us all that don’t like chocolate at all—yes, as crazy as it sounds—it’s quite surprising indeed, but there are those that favor white chocolate instead. The sweetness of white chocolate can definitely tip a few in its favor and also with that sweetness is a particular creamy flavor and texture to go along. But what if we told you that white chocolate wasn’t chocolate at all? Would that shock you? Perhaps not, as many have been privy to this little bit of information for quite some time, as the secret was out a while ago. But perhaps all of you in the know can’t exactly say what white chocolate is made from to begin with. Any guesses? It actually doesn’t contain any cocoa solids… not a trace of them. So what is it made of? Well, at the end of the day, white chocolate is made of a combination of sugar, milk solids and the only trace of cocoa comes in the form of the cocoa butter they throw into the mix. Cocoa butter is extracted from cocoa solids by the heating process during manufacturing, essentially separating the solids from the fatty content, hence the butter. It is this ingredient that is rather predominant in white chocolate. Other dietary fats like milk fat are added to the process that give us the wonder that is white chocolate as well.
1. The Mary Jane Wrapper Hasn’t Changed in Over A Century
As the late, great Tom Petty once said: “Last dance with Mary Jane, one more time to kill the pain, I feel summer creepin’ in and I’m tired of this town again …Well, I don’t know, but I’ve been told …You never slow down, you never grow old …” Some things just never grow old. But they do happen to accumulate a few years of existence, don’t they; no matter how young they might seem in spirit. And in saying that, the Mary Jane candies haven’t changed all that much in over a hundred years. Actually, they haven’t changed at all. Talk about maintaining the status quo. The peanut butter and molasses flavored candy was originally made by the Charles N. Miller Company and later purchased and continued to be made by the Stark Candy company, not to be confused with Tony Stark of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, of course, and finally by the Necco company most recently. It was originally named after Miller’s aunt, Mary Jane. The wrapping hasn’t changed at all however, and that stands despite the amount of times ownership of the rights and recipe has changed hands. The infamous color and “little girl” illustration remains atop the candy. The only unfortunate thing is that Necco closed its doors in 2018 and it’s unclear as to whether this classic candy will ever again be redistributed by another company, and sadly, we may just have had our “last dance with Mary Jane.” Yes, we may have lost this candy to the years, folks and that’s a tragedy in and of itself, but let’s hope somebody decides to take it up again and hopefully they too keep the classic wrapper intact. Fingers crossed.