Talking Vintage Movie Theater Candy With Guest Blogger Alexis Bonari

Today's post is from Yumster Alexis Bonari. She took a look back at candy at the movie theater.
Going to see a movie simply wouldn’t be the same without candy. From Sour Patch Kids to Nonpareils, there are nearly endless options for topping off your movie experience with a sugar-induced coma. While candy has always been standard fare for moviegoers, popular candies have changed over the years. Here are some examples of vintage movie theatre candy:

1940’s -M&M’s Plain Chocolate

M&M’s were first introduced to combat a decline in chocolate sales. After their success, the M&M Mars Corporation shortened their name to M&M’s. Thanks to the breakthrough candy coating, M&M’s were marketed as a “melt-free” chocolate. Movie theatres played a major role in the initial introduction of M&M’s onto the market.

1950’s- Chocolate Cigarettes

Until the late 1960’s, cigarette smoking wasn’t touted as unhealthy. Most children would have grown up with one or both parents lighting up on a regular basis. Kids generally like products that allow them to mimic the adults around them. It’s no surprise then that candy cigarettes were all the rage during the 1940’s and 1950’s. Movie theaters, carnivals, and dime stores all sold chocolate and gum renderings of cigarettes and cigars.

1960’s – Astronaut Ice Cream

The Apollo Project and other space missions were the height of cool in the 1960’s. In response, the producer of freeze dried foods for the space missions capitalized by making Astronaut Ice Cream available to the public. Ice Cream ingredients were freeze dried at -40 degrees F into edible cubes. These marvels of modern science were sold as promotional items during science fiction movies.

1970’s- Fizzies

One of the first true novelty candies, Fizzies were tablets that a child (or adult) could use to create their own soda pop. The directions were simple: combine one Fizzies tablet with a glass of ice water to create a new taste sensation. Flavors included root beer, blue razz, and lemonade.

The theatres that sold Fizzies undoubtedly paid the price in sticky floors after the fact, as the fizzing action could get a little bit out of hand.

Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She often can be found blogging about general education issues as well as information on college scholarships. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

Guest Review: Vomit, Chalk and Chewy String

I sent the Wee von Schokolats a package of various candies from the assortment that I received from the NCA Sweets & Snacks Expo. This is stuff that I normally wouldn't eat, so I thought I'd let the experts do the talking on this one. Without further ado, a very honest review from Liesl von Schokolat:

The candy that we got was very interesting to say the least. The X-treme Sour candy tasted like vomit if you ignored the taste and chewed a bit longer it then tastes like cherry. The inside of the X-treme Sour is jelly and it is SOUR!!!
The Chocolate Necco Wafers were terrible-- they tasted like chalk. The only people who would like them is the people who are addicted to chalk. There is a very slight aftertaste of chocolate, but only I, Liesl, the chocohalic tasted it. LOL.
The Rips Whips were really good and fun to play with. Gretl made a bracelet with the candy and then ate it. She said that the candies did not taste good all together. The Baroness tried it and decided that they weren't worth the calories and spit it out. She said it tasted like chewy string with a cherry flavor. The Sour spray was very, very, very sour!!! It tasted like green apple and it made the Baron's tongue really dry. Warning: DO NOT SPRAY IN EYES.The Fini tennis balls were gums that were very sour at first, but didn't have a taste. It had a really stale texture with a weak sweet lemon flavor. It was like chewing on a slightly softer Gobstopper and it hurt our jaws to chew. The gum was very cute though.
Last but not least, the candy that I have recently eaten was a Triple Chocolate Twix bar. It was so good. It was like fudge on top of a yummy cookie. I loved it. The other Von Schoklats did not like it though, "too chocolatey" they said. Oh well they don't know what they are missing. :)

Guest Review: The Wee Von Schokolats Chew the fat Gum

I've said it before: I'm not much for gum. Mostly because I tend to lose my composure when chewing it and then I suddenly realize that I'm chomping like a cow and cracking and snapping it. Very unflattering. So when I was offered the opportunity to try some of the new flavors of Orbit gum, I hesitated. But then I thought, hey, why the heck not?! (And, I'll be frank. I've been having a bit of a bad breath problem lately. Don't know why. Just am.) So a little gum couldn't hurt.

Well, a little gum turned out to be a lot of gum, so I got the idea to have some real gum experts do the reviewing. The wee von Schokolats, Liesl (13) and Gretl (11), were given the task of tasting and reviewing an array of chewy goodness. Without further ado, here are their observations, as noted by Liesl.

While we are here at the von Schokolats' Estate, abandoned by the Baron and Baroness who have gone to Florida and left us behind, we have tried the gum that was sent to us. [Editor's note to the Department of Family Services: the wee ones weren't left to their own devices. Grammy and Grampy were there, too.] We tried many gums, but when you first bit into it, it was as hard as rock.

When we tried the Orbit Peppermint Spray we both agreed that the taste is like that of the Orbit Winter Mint gum but with a little more jazz.

The Orbit Mango Spray on the other hand, we disagree on. I believe that it has a vile taste and that it is too sour, while Gretl enjoyed the taste and dubbed it very mangoey and very sour.

The Orbit Watermelon Spring was, in my opinion, too sour to even keep in my mouth for a second. Gretl thought it tasted good, but that it tasted more like kiwi.

The Orbit Pomegranate gum has a weird smell. It almost smells like a soap that the Sugar Baby and a lot of other kids would use. Gretl believes that it taste like the gum already in stores, Strawberry Kiwi gum. I believe that it smells like a lady's deodorant and tastes like Hubba Bubba Bubble Gum that gets more sour as you chew.

The Extra Berry Smoothie Gum tastes very strong and has some sort of zing; Gretl thinks that the gum tastes like blackberry.

My favorite gum was the Orbit Peppermint Spray and my least favorite was the Orbit Pomegranate.

Gretl's favorite was the Orbit Mango Spray.

***
Thank you for your reviews, girls. Now a couple more questions.

If you could invent a gum, what would it be?

If I could invent a gum it would would be called Yum-a-licious. It would taste like a dark chocolate truffle that was filled with chocolate. My gum would also be able to make huge bubbles and half of the profit would go to some sort of charity.

Gretl's gum would be called Melgo Gum. It would be minty but you would get a splash of mango every once in awhile.

Have you ever had a memorable experience involving gum?

The only experience with gum that I had is chewing it with my braces on. (For all those who don't or never had braces, this is a HUGE no no!) Gretl's experience with gum was getting in trouble after church because she swallowed her gum and Grammie got mad.

Out of the mouths of babes, dear Yumsters.

As for me ... I actually really liked the Peppermint Spray. Very minty, without stinging. It also had a nice undernote of milky vanillaness that I liked. I actually found myself craving this gum after I tried it the first time. It would most definitely be my gum of choice.

And I totally agree with Gretl that the Extra Berry Smoothie tasted like blackberry. As for the mango and watermelon, well, I can't really judge. I really don't like those flavors in much of anything. And the pomegranate? I wouldn't say ladies' deodorant. But it did have a somewhat floral nature to it.

What do you think about gum? Do you have a favorite? And how do you chew it discreetly? I'd love to hear your advice. And if any of the von Schokolats' teachers are reading, how about giving them a little extra credit this week?

Repost: Economic Crisis in Candyland

I'm reposting this guest blog since it got lost in the shuffle and I believe it's too important to miss.

Concerned about the economic state we're in? I was doing okay until I got the following missives from Mr. Goodbar. Of course, I'm not sure which to be more concerned about: 1) The fact that he's neurotic focused enough to count the M&Ms in the package; 2) the fact that he seems to have spare time on his hands uses his valuable lunch break to count M&Ms; or 3) the fact that he just gave away a brilliant idea for coconut M&Ms. In any case, here's Mr. Goodbar's analysis of the state of the M&M:

So I counted today: In a packet of almond M&M's, which cost $0.94, I get 14 candies. If, on the other hand, I use the $0.25 peanut M&M dispenser (for which all profits got to charity), I get 13 candies. I know we're not comparing apples to apples here (or almonds to almonds, as it were), but it still seems to be quite the price differential.
Also, ever notice that in every other packet (or handful) of peanut M&Ms, there is always one that tastes different (and rather bad)? I've switched to almond because these 'off' ones gross me out.
Don't say I never wrote you anything candy-related.

UPDATE:

I got an $.80 bag of peanut M&Ms, and got 22 candies. No 'off' one this time.
So to recap:
Almond M&Ms in the packet from a store: $0.94 / 14 M's = $0.067 per M

Peanut M&Ms from vending machine: $0.80 / 22 M's = $0.036 per M

Peanut M&Ms from charity machine: $0.25 / 13 M's = $0.019 per M
Each is roughly double the price of the next cheapest, with prices rising exponentially. If they made coconut M&Ms - coating the entire coconut in chocolate and a candy shell - I figure you'd be paying about $1,000 per candy.
The charity machine is by far the best value, even with the occasional 'off' one. And think of the joy the Shriners will bring to the suffering children with their clown cars and their fez's because of my sweet tooth.
AH! The Peanut M&M packet as a warning: May contain Almonds - but *NOTHING* about peanuts. I'm so confused...
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Economic Crisis in Candyland? Visit the Vending Machine

Concerned about the economic state we're in? I was doing okay until I got the following missives from Mr. Goodbar. Of course, I'm not sure which to be more concerned about: 1) The fact that he's neurotic focused enough to count the M&Ms in the package; 2) the fact that he seems to have spare time on his hands uses his valuable lunch break to count M&Ms; or 3) the fact that he just gave away a brilliant idea for coconut M&Ms. In any case, here's Mr. Goodbar's analysis of the state of the M&M:

So I counted today: In a packet of almond M&M's, which cost $0.94, I get 14 candies. If, on the other hand, I use the $0.25 peanut M&M dispenser (for which all profits got to charity), I get 13 candies. I know we're not comparing apples to apples here (or almonds to almonds, as it were), but it still seems to be quite the price differential.
Also, ever notice that in every other packet (or handful) of peanut M&Ms, there is always one that tastes different (and rather bad)? I've switched to almond because these 'off' ones gross me out.
Don't say I never wrote you anything candy-related.

UPDATE:

I got an $.80 bag of peanut M&Ms, and got 22 candies. No 'off' one this time.
So to recap:
Almond M&Ms in the packet from a store: $0.94 / 14 M's = $0.067 per M

Peanut M&Ms from vending machine: $0.80 / 22 M's = $0.036 per M

Peanut M&Ms from charity machine: $0.25 / 13 M's = $0.019 per M
Each is roughly double the price of the next cheapest, with prices rising exponentially. If they made coconut M&Ms - coating the entire coconut in chocolate and a candy shell - I figure you'd be paying about $1,000 per candy.
The charity machine is by far the best value, even with the occasional 'off' one. And think of the joy the Shriners will bring to the suffering children with their clown cars and their fez's because of my sweet tooth.
AH! The Peanut M&M packet as a warning: May contain Almonds - but *NOTHING* about peanuts. I'm so confused...
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Guest Review: White Chocolatey Tootsie Rolls

This just in from Alexandra:

I found something new & exciting (or so I thought) at the Christmas Tree Shop. I invested my hard earned 95 cents in some Tootsie Roll Holiday Mini Chews - White Chocolatey Coated Mini Tootsie Rolls. Sounded good....I finally got around to trying them today... at first glance they reminded me of Good & Plenty candies but a bit bigger. The taste and feel I can only compare to a crayon. It's waxy! (Okay, more the feel since I've never eaten a crayon that I remember!) If I were to eat a crayon I'm sure this is what a white crayon would taste like until the coating dissolves away and the Tootsie Roll is discovered. What were they thinking?!?! There isn't even that chocolatey smell of the Tootsie Roll in the box, in fact there is no smell. Tootsie Rolls are one of my favorite candies - from the midgets to the pops, but not these! To quote the box - "The combination of flavors and textures is a wonderful taste sensation. Mini Chews deliver the Tootsie Roll taste you love and a sweet goodness you can only find at the Holidays!" Yes, the Tootsie Roll taste is there, but I couldn't find any sweet goodness. I hope Santa doesn't fill my stocking (or anyone else's) with these. Save your money or spend it on the original Tootsie Roll.

Guest Editorial: Liesl von Schokolat Sets the Record Straight on M&M's Premiums

(Editor's note: For the month of August, I'll be bringing you guest reviews from some of my favorite Yumsters. Following is the very chocolate-educated opinion of Liesl von Schokolat.)

The Premium M&M's that were bought by the Baroness and the Candy Queen were indeed overpriced at five dollars a bag but were absolutely delicious. I think I was the only one in the Baron's family that truly enjoyed them. The taste was exactly like a peppermint patty but the texture of the m&m was like that brown molding clay you use and put in the kiln to make statues. I know it sounds gross but it isn't. I really liked the M&M's.

Do you have a candy opinion that you'd like to share? Send it to me at: candyyumyummail@yahoo.com. C'mon, join in the fun!