Category Archives: Chewy Candy

Maynards Wine Gums

Leave a reply

Candy for wine connoisseurs? A brand of British-based Cadbury candies, Maynards Wine Gums are hot, hot, hot in the UK, which is where I first tried them. In fact, they are to the U.K. what Starburst and Skittles are to the United States. Imagine chewy gum drops in wine-inspired flavors and colors, and you’ve imagined Maynards Wine Gums.

But, don’t be fooled by the name. Wine gums are not chewing gum, but more of a chewy gummi candy. And they don’t contain any wine! They come in larger bags and smaller rolls that you can pick up from the candy aisle and take on the road for a refreshing fruity taste. These candies may not suit those who don’t like wine—or parents who don’t want their kids to develop a liking for alcohol. They come in flavors like port, sherry, burgundy, champagne and claret, as well as different shapes including kidney-shaped, crown, and rectangle. Invented by Charles Maynard in 1909, these chews have a thicker consistency than other gummies, which lets the flavor last—like a fine wine. The flavor quotient on these candies is outstanding—bright and refreshing all the way down.

I was initially lured in by a wall-sized poster in a London Tube stop. Wine Gums? I was stumped. I could tell they were candies and that I wanted to try them, but I really didn’t know what to expect. So I dashed off to a convenience store to stock up on Green & Blacks candy bars (a real candy gem!) and purchased a pack of wine gums out of curiosity. At first taste, I didn’t know what to think. They did in fact taste a bit like alcohol, but not in an overwhelming way. The flavor was unique but hard to describe. Black and red wine gums are the most popular, but yellow, green, and orange are not to be omitted. The number-one selling fruity candy in the U.K., wine gums are a product you really have to experience for yourself.

Tags: , , , ,

Laffy Taffy Ropes

Leave a reply

What’s so funny about taffy? After all, it’s just artificial colors, corn syrup and some other standard candy ingredients. When did taffy go all Jerry Seinfeld on us?

For those still wondering what’s behind the name, I’ll tell you. There are jokes on every wrapper of Laffy Taffy whether you buy it in smaller wrapped cubes or 10-inch Laffy Taffy Ropes. This gimmick has made Laffy Taffy, a Wonka brand, a frontrunner in the taffy market as well as a favorite with kids everywhere. But it kind of feels like a prize that isn’t an actual prize. (Example: The box of cereal that claims to have a prize inside, and it’s really just a Mad Lib printed on the box. Or a Cracker Jack box with a prize that is nothing more than a printed piece of cardboard.) Still, it’s kept the kids on board for a number of years, so it’ll do. Laffy Taffy Ropes come in flavors like apple, banana, blue raspberry, grape, strawberry, mango and cherry. But I am a person of intrigue, so I picked up the two-flavor “mystery swirl?? rope. Would I open it to find cherry-banana? How about raspberry-grape? Only time would tell.

I opened up the wrapper carefully so as to preserve the jokes. (“What is a caterpillar afraid of??? A DOGerpillar!) Don’t hurt yourself laughing. These are kid-friendly jokes after all. My taffy was most certainly green (apple) and pink (strawberry) swirl, which was so tightly swirled together that there was really no discernible color once you got into the “meat?? of the stick. It was more of a brownish green than anything. But my taffy rope had a soft, chewy texture and bright, fruity flavor like I expected to find. Not like salt water taffy, these fruit chews were more the consistency of a Starburst. Which is a very good thing! I would eat a few of these ropes in one sitting—I guess it’s a good thing that they sell for a quarter each. Affordable for kids and adults, Laffy Taffy is here to stay.

Tags: , , , ,

Trolli Apple O’s

Leave a reply

Manufactured by Farley’s and Sather’s Candy Company since 2005, Trolli candies came out in the 1980s. The product line changed hands several times in two decades, but they are now distributed with Farley’s and Sather’s other hard, soft, chewy, and gummi candies. The first product created by Trolli was the gummi worm, one of today’s best-selling gummi candies along with bears.

Now the Trolli brand has expanded its line to include Trolli-Os, in flavors like sour apple, peach, melon, and tropical fruits. Apple O’s are donut-shaped gummies with green on one side and white on the back. The whole candy is coated in sugar to offset the kick you get from the fresh yet tangy apple taste. With a hole in the middle big enough to stick your tongue through, these candies are fun for kids to eat—almost as fun as creepy, crawly gummy worms. But parents may prefer these treats for their kids to Trolli Brite Crawlers or (gasp!) Gummi Octopus. Other candies represent something you really shouldn’t stick in your mouth, which can drive some parents crazy. The size of each candy is larger than normal, but you can definitely manage it in your mouth all at once. Just picture a gummi bear on steroids.

Trolli Apple-O’s come in a 4.25-ounce bag. Now normally I would say that the majority of candies don’t have a large enough quantity-per-package ratio. But for these candies, I was done with the apple flavor and ready for something else by the end of the bag. So it’s just right in size. But that doesn’t mean the flavor is bad, though some would sense a slightly unpleasant aftertaste to the Trolli Apple-O’s. Overall, the fruity apple flavor is refreshing and makes a great summer candy that won’t melt in your bag. So toss some in and hit the beach or the park. You can celebrate summer any time of year with Trolli Apple-O’s gummies.

Tags: , , , ,

Harry Potter Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans

Leave a reply


If eccentric jelly beans are your thing, you’ll die for these peculiar little treats from Cap Candy. The complete flavor list includes some normal tastes, like blueberry, grape jelly, and green apple. If you’re a bit more daring, you’ll flip for flavors like grass, black pepper, and buttered popcorn. But only the truly brave (and all 5-to-10 year old boys) will be willing to stomach the grossest jelly bean flavors: booger, bacon, soap, sardine, earthworm, earwax, rotten egg, dirt, and—the kicker—vomit. I found these flavors absolutely disgusting. Still, that’s part of the charm of the candy. And if they intent was to gross me out, Bertie Bott’s Beans certainly did that. I found a surprisingly higher ratio of revolting flavors to enjoyable ones. Grape jelly was nice and fruity. Bacon and earthworm were rubbery and waxy.

This candy is part of the Harry Potter craze that swept across the world like wildfire at the turn of the century. Potter books and accompanying products found themselves in the hands of kids and adults alike as they sought a touch of magic in their everyday lives. Because of their link to the literary world, these jelly beans are sold in specialty, gift, and bookstores in addition to candy-specific shops. Other Harry Potter candies inspired by the book series include: Cockroach Clusters, Fizzing Whizbees (a popping candy), Chocolate Frogs, Jelly Slugs, and Blood Pops. Mmm, mmm good!

Is there something morally wrong with a company that can make kids eat booger- and vomit-flavored jelly beans—the same kids who wouldn’t pick up a piece of broccoli for a hundred bucks? I’d say so. Nevertheless, the clever marketing scheme behind these beans is a lesson for all candy companies: exploit what’s hot. The jelly bean giant, Jelly Belly manufactures the Bertie Bott’s brand in 10- and 20-flavor boxes. With that quality reputation, these beans have become an established treat rather than a mere passing fad in the novelty candy industry. Now, go wash out your mouth with a soap-flavored jelly bean.

Tags: , , , ,

Bubble Yum Bubble Gum Balls

Leave a reply

If you’re a kid, or if you like to eat like one, you almost certainly love Bubble Yum. The popular gum has been around since 1975 when it was created by LifeSavers. The bubble gum’s fame spread like wildfire, and it was no surprise that candy giant Hershey’s would take an interest in and subsequently acquire the brand in 2000. It’s a success story any way you look at it, considering the brand had to fend off nasty rumors soon after it arrived on the market. You see, gossip began to spread that Bubble Yum’s recipe included a foul ingredient which allegedly made it so soft: spider eggs. Once the rumor was cleared up, Bubble Yum sales climbed sky high again.

The gum is traditionally sold in soft, square chews in flavors like original pink, blue raspberry, grape, and sour apple. The recipe makes it oh-so-ripe for popping bubbles much superior to those produced by your ordinary stick of gum. But did you know that Bubble Yum is now available in gum balls? It’s true. A movie-theater box style weighing in at 4 ounces and containing just less than 60 pink, original flavor gum balls has arrived on the candy scene. How does this form of gum compare to its predecessor? These gum balls are super soft, with almost no outer candy shell to gnaw through. They actually have a fantastic flavor that last unusually long for pink bubble gum.

The packaging may be this products biggest challenge. Once you open up the movie-theater box, there is no way you are going to eat it all in one sitting. It’s not easy to store for safe keeping, because little pink gum balls come spilling out of the box wherever you try to put it. And because gum is not something most people digest, you’re not going to just sit down and consume the whole box, even with several friends helping out. That’s why gum is sold individually wrapped, or in gum ball machines—it’s just more convenient. That said, Bubble Yum fans will love the pink product in any form.

Tags: , , , ,

Mamba

Leave a reply

With all the flair of a Latin dance, a Mamba bar is an often-overlooked candy. You may have seen it in the grocery store aisle, and passed it up every time for a pack of Starburst fruit chews. Mamba is a product of Storck candy company, that makers of Riesen and Werther’s Original. Storck introduced the Mamba bar in Germany in 1953 to complement their product line and offer an affordable, fruity candy that is individually wrapped and meant to be shared.

I opened the fruit-covered wrapper to discover three separate wrapped packets: one each of orange, strawberry, and raspberry. Each of these packets has six fruit chews of the same flavor inside. To do the math, that’s 18 individually wrapped fruit chews in all—and loads of excess wrapping paper. Ladies, clean out your purses because you’ll need room for all these wrappers. I anxiously unwrapped the raspberry chew first, and popped it in to discover a slightly waxy taste that is missing that special fruity “oomph.?? It’s about the same size as a Starburst fruit chew, but rectangular rather than square. Honestly, I would never pick a Mamba over a Starburst based on this taste test. But I was pleasantly surprised to try the orange fruit chew. The consistency is a bit tougher than a Starburst, but wow—the flavor tastes like fresh orange juice, and there isn’t a hint of the waxy flavor I tasted in the raspberry. Strawberry wasn’t as refreshing. It tastes a bit fake, like the powder you would use to mix up a strawberry protein shake. But wait. Isn’t there also a lemon on the outer wrapper. Indeed there is, but I didn’t score a pack. With a Mamba bar, you get a selection of three flavors from raspberry, orange, strawberry, and lemon. If you want to be sure to get all four flavors, you’re better off buying an assorted bag.

Although Storck seems to market Mamba to kids, adults will also enjoy these fruit chews. They may not all be as tasty as the competitors fruit candies, but they are not a bad substitute.

Tags: , , , ,

Sour Bloops

Leave a reply

Fans of tart chewy candies like chewy Sweetarts will rave about these. Lance, that’s right—the cracker company—keeps these little sweet and sour gems tucked in their repertoire. And what a bag of tricks it is, about the size of an bag of M&Ms. I opened up my first package of Sour Bloops to discover nickel-sized candies staring me in the face, in colors of peach (peach lemonade), red (wild cherry), and lime green (green apple). Red seemed the most promising, so I popped it in first. It tastes a bit like those chewable wax lips that used to be popular, or those little wax bottles of soda pop. The taste gets better as you go along. Peach was next. I kind of get the pink lemonade flavor from this, and a bit more sour taste than the red. Green is the only one left to go, but I’m already a little mystified by these candies. I don’t see the major draw, as the overall consistency seems a little, well, waxy. Green apple is actually quite nice, and the flavor is very much like a green Jolly Rancher. This one didn’t seem sour either. I wouldn’t go running out and about trying to find these things—one of each flavor is pretty much enough for me. Maybe that’s why Lance is famous for other products more than its candies.

Lance has been making fabulous snacks since the days of World War I, and started up in 1913. Among the company’s first products were peanut butter sandwich crackers and a peanut brittle bar. In the ‘50s, they marketed single-serve cracker packs to restaurants—brilliant! Captain’s Wafers and Thunder potato chips are also among their best-selling products. I’d give Sour Bloops another try if they were in someone else’s candy dish, but again, I won’t go out of my way to eat these again. As far as the wrapper states, Sour Bloops certainly aren’t “intense??? chewy fruit candies. Maybe the “blooper??? was making them in the first place.

Tags: , , , ,

Lifesavers Gummies Fruit Splosions

Leave a reply


Whoa. I mean…WHOA. These are excellent. I don’t care who you are, or what you do. You are not too old to open a bag of the new Lifesavers Fruit Splosions (if you Google “explosions,??? you’re gonna come up dry) but if you try gummy candies then let them carry you away to a juicier place. I tried the sour cherry variety and discovered that these are heavenly. You can also grab a variety pack with orange, blackberry, strawberry and watermelon. Each six ounce bag has about four servings, but I’m not sure if mine lasted that long. The flavor is tangy without being too sour, and really tastes like fruit juice is fused inside. No, these aren’t going to quench your thirst, but they will please the palette just the same. If you’ve tried and dismissed other Lifesavers  gummies, don’t write off the Fruit Splosions. They are really ten times better just for the sour flavor and juicy insides. And the package says they’re made with real fruit juice: perfection in a round, gummy chew.

The Lifesavers brand, originally a hard candy available in peppermint and later produced in five-flavor rolls, was a member of the Kraft foods family before Wrigley bought the brand in 2004. But inventor Clarence Crane knew that he needed to make a candy to help out his chocolate business, which saw significantly lower sales in the summer months. Lifesavers did well, offering a more refreshing candy to the masses—one that wouldn’t melt in the heat. They were named after—you guessed it—life preservers. This was shortly after the Titanic disaster, after all. And life preservers were all the rage. Given the connection, I think it’s all too appropriate that Lifesavers liquefy their product. It’s simply a fabulous pairing and so much better than any fruit snacks that promise to “gush??? with fruit juice. Try these and you’ll soon blow up with flavor like little Violet Beauregarde from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. You’ll want another bag, and another, and another….

Tags: , , , ,

Sip N Chew Straw

Leave a reply

A huge candy straw? That’s an odd idea for a candy, but it is very intriguing. I was excited to see it was covered in sugar, though. In fact, it looked like it was just dipped in sugar right before being placed in the package. I think this is a product from the same company that manufactures the Sour Patch Kids candies because of its utterly sour taste and the pictures on the package. Sip N Chew Straws are also made by the American Licorice Company, so you can be sure that there is a reputable candy company behind this great idea.

The flavor of the Sip N Chew straw that I tried was the Chargin’ Cherry flavor. That was a bonus because my favorite flavor of any candy is cherry. I took the first bite, which was kind of tough, but the taste packed quite a punch. It was a strong sour taste, which I expected because the package said so. But other than the sour taste, the sugary coating created a delicious sweet combination to offset the amazingly sour taste. The cherry flavoring was strong, too. This candy was just covered in tasty goodness, but it was so sweet it made my tooth hurt a little bit. It was well worth it, though. It was the perfect relief to my sweet tooth cravings. The problem is, now I want to try the other available flavors. The only other flavor I’ve found, though, is apple. I’m not a big apple fan, but I’d be willing to give the Sour Apple Sip N Chew Straw a try.

Although this candy is marketed as a candy straw, I didn’t try it’s straw qualities. I was too focused on just eating the candy. The long slender shape resembles normal licorice, which I used to use as a straw for fun when I was younger. The fact is, the Sip N Chew Straw didn’t last long enough for me to try it as a straw. Once I took a bite, I didn’t want to take a chance in ruining the taste by putting it in a beverage. This was undoubtedly a pleasant treat that is ideal for candy connoisseurs.

Tags: , , , ,

Color Bubbles Bubble Gum Balls

Leave a reply

Color Bubbles bubble gum brings back a lot of memories for me. As a kid, I remember going into the candy store around the corner from my house and often buying a cellophane tube of colorful pieces of bubble gum for a quarter. I don’t know if it was the attractive multi-colored balls of gum that showed through the transparent cellophane or if it was because the gum was so good, but it was one of my favorite items at that candy store. Each package contains ten pieces of bubble gum and each of them is a different flavor, although it was quite a pleasant surprise when there were two of the same flavor side-by-side. This meant that I could chew both pieces at the same time for bigger and better bubble blowing capabilities.

Once your teeth bite down for the first time on one of the balls of gum from the package, your taste buds are immediately subject to the sugary taste that you would expect with a piece of bubble gum. But the exciting part about this kind is that you want to hurry up and chew the flavor out so you can move on to the next piece. Some of the flavors include grape, cherry, blueberry, among other common flavors that have a proven success rate of tastiness. The only problem is that the flavor lasts so long in each piece, it could take you a long time to get through the entire pack. With only 15 calories and no grams of fat per piece, you can even chew the gum without feeling guilty about it.

I like putting a few different flavors in my mouth and chewing them together. This creates a tasty combination to chew on for a couple hours or so. The more pieces of gum, the bigger the bubbles you can blow, too. And isn’t blowing bubbles the fun of chewing bubble gum?

The Color Bubbles bubble gum is made in Canada and distributed through the popular Hershey Candy Company. With a name like Hershey behind it, you can be sure that it is a quality product that you will definitely enjoy.

Tags: , , , ,