Just when you thought that we’d shown you all the candy you wouldn’t believe was still
around from the days of your youth, we’re back with part two of our forgotten candy
series, and you won’t believe what candies we found out are still available. So don’t
put that hover board away just yet, because we’ve got one more trip back in time. Let’s
unwrap 10 candies that you forgot still existed part 2.
Big League Chew
When you were a kid, perhaps the baseball pitchers of the era were your heroes. Names
like Jack Morris, Nolan Ryan, Dwight Gooden, Rob Nelson, Roger Clemens and many more come
to mind. And perhaps it wasn’t just the way they got the old baseball from hand to
mitt that got you interested and watching their every move. Maybe it was the way they
stood at the mound, the way they carried themselves, and of course, the way they chewed tobacco.
It’s true, baseball players back in the day chewed tobacco and they were pretty famous
for doing so, or rather we should say infamous, as over the years, the practice has rather
fallen out of favor. But regardless, back when you were a little kid, even the chewing
of tobacco was something you wanted to emulate, but there was no way your parents would let
you chew authentic tobacco, now was there? We hope not! But there was a solution, and
apparently there still is, should you want to hit the field in your suit and tie at lunch
and throw a bunch of fast balls at the diamond in the park by your office. Big League Chew
was indeed invented by a ball player: Portland Mavericks pitcher, Rob Nelson to be exact.
He and Jim Bouton pitched the idea to Wrigley and well, it was a home run almost instantly,
many seeming to want to emulate the tobacco chewing baseball players of the seventies
and early eighties.
Bit-O-Honey
This one here goes all the way back to 1924 and many have enjoyed its simplicity since
then. It was pretty low in saturated fats and wasn’t the worst candy for you, despite
its overall sweetness. Of course back in the day, people weren’t all that worried about
fat grams and calorie counts—not like today that is. But the taste won out, and it was
all due to the all-natural sweetener known as honey. These days, it’s stressed that
we support our local honey distributors, as bees are sadly becoming an endangered species
and the possible consequences of that are detrimental to our planet as a whole, as bees
pollinate our earth and their existence is crucial, no matter how many times they give
us a bad sting or two along the way. But products like this in the marketplace are
a great way to ensure their longevity, and we hope for resurgence in sales for this brand
in particular, as it is still available to purchase. Also in this candy were bits of
almonds thrown into the honey/taffy mix, and those flavors blended quite nicely. Over the
long years since its inception, the candy has gone from the larger bar format to individually
wrapped bite-size pieces. It has been owned by many companies over the long years, but
these days, Pearson's Candy Company is their fabricator and distributor, so go out and
find them and chew away as you watch some honeybees do their thing in the park. Just
don’t get too close.
Sixlets
Candy coated chocolates are big business in the world of snacks and candy. But overall,
the winners in this category are undoubtedly, M&Ms and of course Smarties in the UK and
Canada. But before their massive success, there were other similar brands on the market
and this brand in particular was quite popular as well. Sixlets were created in 1960, which
doesn’t make them as old as some other brand names in the field of bringing candy-covered
chocolates to the masses, but it does bring them in at a peak time when candies and chocolate
had a great presence in popular culture and in society as a whole. Of course chocolate
and candy were always pretty big crowd pleasers, but perhaps not to the degree that they were
in the mid to late portion of the 20th century and of course today. They were first brought
to the market by Leaf Foods and their name was always a source of question, but many
believe that the name came from the way they were dispensed to early consumers … six
for a penny. These days, and as of 2003, SweetWorks Confections LLC makes and distributes this
brand of candy and believe it or not, the very first “six pack” was introduced in
2017. But we highly doubt that they’ll be available for purchase for a penny!
Boston Baked Beans
And when it comes to candy coated treats, it hasn’t always been chocolate at the center
of all that sweet candy coating. Of course not, as nuts were in fact available in the
very same format, and actually still are. Of course The Ferrero Group who have the rights
and own Boston Baked Beans aren’t the only ones to have thought of mixing candy and nuts
over the long years that these types of treats have been in existence, as many small mom
and pop places actually do this themselves as well, and in many flavor combinations,
some even going the savory route--and those too are quite delicious. But as far as the
sweet treats available at your local corner store, Ferrerro seems to pretty much dominate
the field, as they have their well-knowledged sweet-making hands in quite a few of the products
you’re likely to see. Their first candied treat was in the form of candied almond, and
to them, as well as many other Italians, it was known as “Confetti.” These are quite
the popular party favor handed out to guests at Italian weddings. All in all the history
of this company is enough to several videos, so we can’t go into it here, but along the
way, they created some of the most impactful candied treats and chocolates the world has
ever seen. The company changed hands a few times and their products have seen many different
packagings, but all you need to know is that you can still find these Boston Baked Beans
(among so many other products), and at the end of the day that’s a good thing, now
isn’t it?
The Bun Bar
Whoa! Now there’s a name from your childhood if there ever was one, huh? The Bun Bar was
first introduced in the 1920s. They eventually developed three distinct flavors which included
vanilla, maple, and of course caramel. What’s interesting about these is that they aren’t
bars at all, but are actually spherical and are shaped like cookies for all intents and
purposes. They’re topped with nuts and have been a favored treat for many consumers for
the long years they’ve existed. What’s interesting about these treats here and so
many others on this list is that they seem to disappear from the public eye, despite
still being available to one and all, making the average consumer think that they’ve
fallen off the face of the planet. But alas, they haven’t and are quite readily available
if you happen to have a craving for one of these good old boys. In 2015 the caramel
flavor was changed to “sea salt caramel,” which has been a trend in treats as of late.
Turkish Taffy
This tasty treat was first created by Herman Herer in 1912, which makes this particular
candy treat over 100 years old! Now that’s a long tenure indeed. After creating the candy,
Mr. Herer sold the rights to Schwarz & Sons of New Jersey and ultimately, the rights were
sold to Victor Bonomo in 1936. He was the owner of the Bonomo Company, located on Coney
Island, and he had been making and selling salt water taffy and hard candy since 1897.
Although Turkish Taffy wasn’t really salt water, as it consisted of nougat primarily,
it still adopted the name because of what the Bonomo Company already sold to the masses
in the area. What’s really interesting here is the etymology of the name, as it comes
from Herman Herer’s lineage. He was actually of Jewish/Turkish descent, so hence the name:
Turkish Taffy. Over the years, the way this was sold changed, and drastically so. Back
in the early days, it was sheeted, and broken off piece by piece with a hammer, thus sold
by the pound to clients that passed by the shop. But it later was individually wrapped,
yet the sheet style was still used, only in bite-size pieces for the clientele to enjoy. It
is unbelievable that this candy is still available, but over the long years it has developed into
an institution all its own, and no matter how small, a piece of history it still remains.
Bonomo is still the owner, and this treat is available in an astonishing 6 different
flavors, which now include: Wild Cherry, Banana, and of course Vanilla.
Now and Later
Who knew that you’d be enjoying this brand long after the “now” of your youth? Here
is yet another brand of candy that is offered by the Ferrera Candy Company, and although
there isn’t an ounce of chocolate in sight, that didn’t stop this candy from getting
quite popular since its inception in 1962. It was developed in Brooklyn, New York by
the Phoenix Candy Company. The name comes from the simple concept that the consumer
would “like some of the candy now and want some more of it later.” Quite a basis for
a name, isn’t it? It just makes sense, like how Lays Potato Chips challenges its consumers
by stating: “Bet ya can’t eat just one.” Of course these days the candy isn’t as popular
and you may have forgotten that they do exist still, but that’s only because Starburst
Candies have saturated the market and they are quite similar in theme and in their physical
form. But those of you who definitely taste a difference should be happy to know that
these are still out there, and you could always go for some now, or heck … maybe even later.
Albert’s Fruit Chews
Probably, as we look back at all this candy, the thing that astonishes us most is not the
fact that a lot of these brands are still around, but maybe it’s at how much the prices
for this stuff has gradually changed over the years. And perhaps it’s this fact that
also has us fondly remembering the days of our youth that are long behind us. Back in
the day, these candies were available for a penny a piece, and who couldn’t afford
to lose a penny or two sometimes? Besides, pennies always turned up on the sidewalk every
now and again - shining in the bright midday sun, they were always easy to spot. Other
than the low price, there was nothing particularly special about Albert’s Fruit Chews. They
were like a lot of other brands back then, yet they too were quite popular and yes, they
too can still be found, only you can’t nab them for a penny apiece anymore. But as you
walk away from the corner store with a few of these in your bag or your pocket, maybe
they too will transport you to simpler times.
Necco Wafers
This candy has quite the storied past, and although it currently doesn’t exist any
longer, have no fear, because it’s coming back, and sooner than you think. Not all
were fans of this particular candy, and we can more than understand why. Essentially
these looked like some form of medication, the name stamped or rather imprinted into
the candies themselves. They weren’t at all flashy or had anything special to offer
except for their taste, which was pretty interesting to say the least. Still, there are many that
could have taken or parted with this brand, but it did have its fans, as can be proven
by the 17.3 million dollars that Round Hill Investments paid to buy the rights in 2018.
Plans to re-launch the candy then fell through however, but The Sprangler Candy Company purchased
the rights to that company and have announced that a brand new batch of these will be hitting
stores as early as November of 2019. Now that’s great news to anyone who was ever a fan of
these. These candies were simply made with a base of sugar, gelatin and corn syrup, with
a bit of coloring thrown in. Flavors consisted of: lemon, orange, chocolate, but most peculiar
were cinnamon, clove, and wintergreen. Now we’re as excited to see these candies in
stores again as much as the next person, but please, can anyone explain clove flavored
candy?
The 100 Grand Bar
“What if I told you I could slap 100 Grand into the palm of your hand as if it was nothing
at all? Would you believe me?” A common joke made back in the day, and although it
wasn’t 100 Grand in bills that exchanged hands in those days, the recipient was just
as happy to receive a candy bar instead. Or maybe for the most part that was. The 100
Grand Bar was born in 1964 and the name carried it to some decent level of popularity, but
many have criticized its overall taste, which can definitely attest for its lack of popularity
in the current market. The candy bar contained and still contains, chocolate, caramel and
crisped rice pieces. It is still available for those of you that were fans of this particular
brand. But for those of you that are planning to look for a bar or two, be prepared to hit
the treadmill, as it definitely packs a high caloric punch … a whopping 201 calories
per bar. This is why the slogan became “That’s Rich,” alluding to the high calorie content. And
you may be surprised to know who currently makes, packages, and sells this particular
candy bar. If you guessed Ferrero, you get a hundred Grand … in the form of a candy
bar that is.
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