Category Archives: Retro Candy

Fizzies Drink Tablets

Alka Seltzer for children? Yes, indeed. Enter Fizzies drink tablets, a candy tablet that is not meant to go in the mouth, but in a 6-ounce cup of water to make a fruity drink mix. The outer packaging of this candy looks enticing. Fizzies come in seven flavors (lemon-lime, root beer, sour apple, orange, blue razz, fruit punch, and cherry) and the animated Fizzard the Wizard character adorns the colorful wrappers. Fizzard casts spells like “balla bo berry, turn to cherry” and “floo fly florange, turn to orange!” And his spells most certainly work—when placed in water, the tablets turn a regular glass of water vibrant colors, adding a dose of flavor and fun for kids who are more interested in eating candy than drinking their recommended dosage of water.

Once the kids taste this water, however, they are likely to spit it out. Though the effervescent tablets are advertised as a good source of vitamin C (equaling 100 percent of your recommended daily value), kids may not be fooled into gulping this stuff down. It doesn’t taste as sweet and fruity as Kool-aid, nor does it taste like a soft drink. The end result is actually closer to watered-down medicine. The orange isn’t bad though, and reminded me of Airborne, the anti-cold medicine. On the plus side, these are calorie free and should make moms happy. The hands-down best part about this candy is watching it dissolve and turn your water colors. Different colored tablets can be combined to create new colors and flavors, which adds an element of learning to the mix.

If you recall, Fizzies first became popular in the 1950’s and 60’s, so parents seeking a nostalgic treat may need to snag one of these tablets just to recall the unique drink-making experience. Fizzies are manufactured today by Las Vegas company Amerilab Technologies, who also create Drinkin’ Mate, a special effervescent tablet meant to relieve hangovers. Who knew?

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Pez Candy

What candy is more fun to eat than Pez? These little candy tablets come in assorted fruit flavors, the most popular of which are strawberry, orange, lemon and grape. But their true appeal is in the fun containers featuring cartoon characters, celebrities, holiday icons, animals, and even video game characters. Pez dispensers are collectable toys available in convenience stores, grocery stores, toy stores and elsewhere for around a dollar. You can buy refills packs of the candy or, since they are so affordable, purchase another container which comes with two or three new packs. The dispenser opens to hold an entire pack of Pez, so you can toss it on your desk or in your car and enjoy the candies one at a time—straight from Santa Claus’s mouth (or Mickey’s… or Spiderman’s… or a random clown’s…).

Pez originated in Vienna, Austria as a peppermint meant to cure smoker’s breath. In German, the word Pferrerminz (which means peppermint) was shortened to create the name Pez. (If you need some useless trivia at a social gathering, pull that one out—you’ll be the only one who knows.) But since adopting the popular fruit flavors, sours, and more, Pez has permeated candy culture worldwide. In the United States, nearly 3 million of these candies are sold every year. That’s a huge number, but believable since these are so affordable and because they make great gifts.

From stocking stuffers to Easter basket contents, I’ve owned many Pez dispensers over the years. They are equally fun for kids and adults, which is why they’ve retained their popularity for so many years. There’s something great about a candy that you can interact with, share with friends, and always count on to brighten your day. My favorite Pez flavor is a tie between strawberry and orange, but I’m a big fan of the assorted flavor packs. My favorite dispenser ever? That’s a tough one. But I must confess that I did break down and purchase the turtle from Over the Hedge because he was just that adorable.

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Pixy Stix Revisited

Please keep in mind that there are other reviews that are posted by others who may or may not have the same opinion on this candy. They will post their own reviews in the future on this candy which they believe to be incredible.

Does it get any better than Pixy Stix? I mean, seriously. It’s as simple as flavored sugar in a paper straw that you can just pour directly into your mouth. The only thing that would make it better is if they could just ingest the sugar directly into your veins. The small Pixy Stix are great if you just need a quick sugar fix and some quick energy, but the bigger mega-sized plastic ones are ideal for an all-night sugar high. With a variety of flavors – cherry, blueberry, grape, and orange, among others – you are sure to not be disappointed by your taste options. The best thing about the small paper ones is that you empty the entire thing into your mouth in a matter of seconds. The trick is to be sure that the paper doesn’t get wet or else it will moisten the sugar and slow it down from getting in your mouth.

I have a long history with Pixy Stix. In high school, my friends and I would go out for a night on the town and my drug of choice was sugar. I would load up on a couple of the giant Pixy Stix (preferably cherry) and a Jolt Cola or two. I would be wired for the entire night. This combination made for some exciting and fun-filled nights that otherwise wouldn’t have been without the Pixy Stix. I also used to carry a couple around with me to my classes. Whenever the teacher started rambling about the Egyptian mythology or something, I would take a few “hits??? from the Stix just to help me stay awake for the entire hour.

I’m sure many other people have similar stories. Since these simple yet awesome pieces of candy genius have been around for several decades. The Willy Wonka Company has added other flavors to the popular Pixy Stix line, too, including cinnamon, apple, melon, and Maui Punch. Since it is a subsidiary of the larger Nestle candy company, confectionary lovers can be sure that their favorite sugar-filled straws will continue to satisfy their proverbial sugar-tooth with its simplicity and sugary goodness.

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Wrigley Juicy Fruit

 

There is only one fruit gum filled to the brim with juicy goodness. It’s the chewing gum that lay siege to all other chewing gums. It’s taste that makes the god’s weep with joy upon consumption. It’s the taste that’s really, really gonna move you. Move you from here to Timbuktu. It’s the raw power of the Juicy Fruit. Packed with so much Juicy Fruitiness you have no other choice but to go into a seizure like state upon chewing this extraordinary stick gum. It’s the gum that brings the party with it wherever it goes. It’s the gum that is a party all on it’s own. It needs no help from any other outside resources, it can handle any obstacle thrown it’s way. It is the most original chewing gum out there today. Nothing can say it is like the Juicy Fruit, and if it is, well then that’s blasphemy. You can not call yourself apart of the Juicy Fruit, you are an impostor! There is only one true Juicy Fruit and that’s the Juicy Fruit!

Juicy fruit is the gum that you can’t help but laugh when you hear the name. Juicy Fruit? Really? That’s what they named this guy? I know that’s what you are thinking but once you have indulged in this delicacy you will know why they have dubbed it with such a silly name. Not only is the gum truly Juicy, oozing with flavor with every smack, but the surprising thing about the juice is probably your mouth. You are helping to bring out the party in every stick. In every bite. In every chew you chomp. Now the fruit is something else all together. It is packed with I don’t know how many different flavors. Probably every single one. Because it is way to hard for me to identify. My energy kicks in after about three seconds and I’m off in La La land with my Juicy Fruit. But of those three seconds I can tell you it is absolute bliss. You have so many favors running a marathon across your taste buds you would think you were smack dab in the middle of The Running of The Bulls. And your taste buds are the running from the bull guys and the flavor are the bulls charging across the field. Take it from me, this is something you have to get on before it’s too late and you are ninety years old and break a hip trying to do the dance of joy.

Pixy Stix

 

 

Anybody who has had a pixy stick can attest to the story about to be unveiled. Alright let me take you back to elementary school. Maybe fifth grade, maybe fourth somewhere in that time frame. I was an active young kid to say the least, who wasn’t. I’m going trick or treating and God knows what my mother let me wear. So I’m out running around with my friends and one of them gets what looks like a stick of power. I ask him what he got. He tells me has gotten the infamous Pixy Stick. My first reaction is Pixies. The little fairies. And he says to me not Pixies, Pixy. Kind of like Pixy Dust. Ah, ha. So he tears open the top tells us to open our mouths. He pours a little in and says what do you think? Give it about five seconds and you feel like a Pixy has just slapped you in the face with Pixy Dust. You are flying around the town at the speed of light. This was the most amazing thing I had ever tried. There we were, all of my friends thinking we were flying like little Pixy Fairies. When I get home my mom looks at my eyes rolling around in my head ike a Disney cartoon character and asks what I had. Nothing I said. Didn’t fool mom. From there on out she inspected the candy I had gotten that night. Probly a good thing.

Everyone and their mother has had a Pixy Stick. Even the older folks who say they don’t like sugar, has had a Pixy Stick. It’s flavored powder put in a little stick. That’s the concept but the idea is that it’s a little pixy wand filed with pixy dust. At least that’s what we thought growing up. The bad part is that when we had pixy stick fights we would get save up as many as we could and have a pixy stick war! We would tear open the tops of countless amounts of pixy sticks and throw them all other one another. Then out came the parents to ruin the fun we were having. But not before we would turn on them. Pixy dust was everywhere. All over us, our friends, our parents, the front yard the house from trying to clean it off. Mom wasn’t mad so much as not happy about the ants that would follow the next morning. In short these little guys are much more fun than meets the eye. It’s a Pixy Stick. How much more fun could it get.

 

Tootsie Rolls

 

 

Tootsie Rolls are, quite literally, a national institution. For over 100 years, the Tootsie Roll has charmed the young and old alike – all over the world. In 1896, Austrian immigrant Leo Hirshfield brought his recipe for Tootsie Rolls to the U.S. He began selling them in a small confectionery store in New York City. He named the candy “Tootsie??? rolls after his 5 year old daughter who was graced with the nickname “Tootsie???. Hirshfield’s success continued to grow over the years, and so did the Tootsie Roll name. The recipe for Tootsie rolls has never changed over the years, nor has their signature wrapping/packaging – making Tootsie Rolls one of the most recognizable candies of yester-year.

I adore nostalgic candy and have been eating Tootsie Rolls since I was a kid. I mean, who doesn’t love Tootsie Rolls? They are chocolaty, chewy little morsels of goodness. They are a low fat candy and they are simply irresistible. There is something so pleasant about biting into a soft, sweet nugget of Tootsie Roll. Whether you get the original size, mini-midgees, midgees, snack size or even the granddaddy of all Tootsie Rolls – the GIANT roll, you can’t go wrong! Tootsie rolls are a chocolate flavored candy that will never go out of style. No other candy has ever come close to matching that unbeatable taste, freshness and likeability that the Tootsie Roll has. Today, Tootsie Rolls are produced using the same basic recipe that Hirshfield used over a century ago. About 62 million Tootsie Rolls are produced every day and they never stay on the shelves long! My grandmother used to keep a jar of Tootsie Rolls in her kitchen. Even after my Grandfather lost his teeth and began wearing dentures he still insisted on eating the sweet little candies. He claimed that he ate them as a child and would continue to eat them in spite of the “trouble??? they caused. He’d sneak a few, hand off some to me and we’d sit on the porch savoring the flavor of the little “rolls???. I’ll never forget that. Tootsie Rolls definitely get the Sheriff’s badge of approval for being one sweet, tasty and classic candy.

Candy Necklaces

Candy necklaces are one of the few candies I absolutely loved as a child and continued to love as an adult. When I was little, I wore them on my neck and wrists to class and would nibble on them when the teacher wasn’t looking. Later on, I found that they were a great conversation starter at parties and would take a bagful with me. I made many fast friends this way! Everyone I know loves candy necklaces. I mean, what’s not to love? It’s wearable candy! They basically taste like Smarties, but there is just something so satisfying of pulling and eating them off of that thin little string that makes them so irresistible.

They’ve been around since the 1960’s and I’m sure that one day my “future kids??? will be sporting them as well. Candy necklaces are just so much fun! Each string features red, pink, blue, green, yellow and white round candies that have a hole in the middle. They have been looped through some stretchy white string and have a distinct smell. It’s sweet and almost chalk-like, but oh-so-familiar. You can sport some on your neck like a choker, or wrap it around your wrist a couple of times for a trendy and edible bracelet. I don’t recommend wearing them in the heat, though. I made that mistake one day and ended up with colorful but sticky “tattoos??? thanks to the necklace and bracelet I was wearing (but saving to eat later). The candy dyed my skin! Not to worry, it was nothing a little soap and water couldn’t take care of. Candy necklaces are a great nostalgic treat, if you don’t believe me, try one for yourself!

Nik-L-Nip Sour

Please keep in mind that there are other reviewers who strongly disagree with this review. They will post their own reviews in the future on this candy which they believe to be incredibile.

Now I have seen people chew on some strange things in my day, tobacco, cigars, and even peanut shells. But I have never had the urge to put a hunk of wax into my mouth and chew and chew and chew until I could chew no more. But for some reason that I cannot possibly fathom, somebody has decided to combine ordinary wax and a sorry excuse for fruit flavoring in an attempt to strike it rich in the candy business. Are you kidding me? This has got to be one of the sorriest excuses for candy on the market today! And yet this ridiculous creation has somehow managed to find it’s way into my bag of candy for review so you, the reader, may not have to suffer as I have. Woe is me!!! Whoever thought that chewing on artificially flavored wax sounded like a good idea should be pelted mercilessly with there own strange excuse for candy until they beg for forgiveness. Then they should be pelted some more.

My first real gripe is that these “fruit flavors??? are completely artificial! I had a hard time distinguishing what horrible flavor I was forcing into my mouth, and against my better judgment I would sample the next excuse for a flavor with my tongue screaming in agony after each bite. Again I freely punish my taste buds so that you the reader can make an informed decision before suffering the same fate as I. After biting into this wax “treat??? and I use this term loosely, your mouth is greeted with what tastes like an old melted otter pop. I guess this is the sad attempt to give you a reason to continue chewing on……..wax. Another claim on the packaging is that these little bottle shaped pieces of wax are “really sour??? when in reality these wax bombshells are mildly sour at best. What a waste!! Think of all the perfectly useful candles that were not made in order to create another batch of these waxy abominations!! I don’t know, perhaps I’m being too harsh in judgment here. But I could think of about a million other things I would rather be chewing on then some wax. Hey- anybody want to share an artificially flavored piece of wax with me? I didn’t think so.

Candy Cigarettes

 

So your ten years old and see pops puffing away on his cigarette. You want to be just like him. You want to be the James Dean of the block, and want to look like him in every way. So you throw on your denim wash jacket and open a pack of your candy cigarettes and think you’re the talk of the town. You look so cool with that thing hanging out of your mouth, and you are puffing like it’s the real thing. Then all of a sudden your mom walks in and catches you. Busted. Not only are you reamed for smoking candy cigarettes, but are grounded for trying to impersonate dad. And then you get it from dad for getting him in trouble for sneaking a smoke when he told mom he quite. Ah the good old days.

Though they look just like the real thing, they taste a little chalkier than I remember. I used to munch away on the gum ones, and as bad as this sounds, could finish a pack a day. I somewhat remember I had some sort of satisfaction when I was done, but these have a hard candy substance that almost makes you want to smoke real cigarettes to get that taste out of your mouth. Though they were probably the reason I became a smoker in the first place nothing can replace the memory of me, puffing away like it was the real thing, next to dad, who unbeknown to me was about to be in the same trouble I was. And though they could have a little more flavor, it is  probably best they don’t. That way kids wont get the bright idea to start smoking at a younger age. So in short, good move by making them the chalky unsatisfying taste you have when you ???light??? one up.

Strawberry Pop Rocks


 
Pop Rocks are awesome. They are little rocks that pop in your mouth! And they flavored them like strawberries! Who could possibly want more? One of the most pleasing things about these exploding little candies is that you put a handful in your mouth and let the little rocks serenade you in their own special sort of way. The sound reverberating through your nasal cavities and sinuses can be quite invigorating. Now contrary to popular belief, when mixing pop rocks and your average cola you will not die. But even if this urban legend were true, it would be quite worth it because the pop rocks themselves are so unbelievably delicious. The popping in my mouth!! It won’t stop!

One cannot overlook the entertainment value of this yummy candy as well. First you must find an un-expecting youngster, one who has never had the luxury of tasting pop rocks before. Then ask them to open their mouth, and without hesitation pour the entire bag of Pop rocks in!! Finally step back and watch in glee as the haphazard young person starts crying and flopping on the ground as they try to figure out what kind of craziness is going down inside their mouth. Who knew that a simple chemical reaction could bring so much joy to the world?