Roger Ebert and Candy

This week, film critic Roger Ebert wrote an entry in his blog about how he can no longer eat or drink after four unsuccessful surgeries for his thyroid cancer. "That sounds sad," a reader wrote to him. "Do you miss it?" The piece was wonderfully written. Of course, I wondered if he'd mention candy in his entry, and yes, he did:

"Another surprising area for sharp memory is the taste and texture of cheap candy. Not imported chocolates, but Red Hots, Good and Plenty, Milk Duds, Paydays, Chuckles. I dreamed I got a box of Chuckles with five licorice squares, and in my dream I exalted: "Finally!" With Necco wafers, there again, the licorice were the best. The peculiar off-purple wafers were space-wasters. As a general rule in candy, if anything is black, red or green, in that order, I like it. This got carried so far one day I found myself googling White Hen-style candy with the mad idea of writing an entire blog entry on the subject. During visits to a Cracker Barrel I would buy paper bags filled with licorice, root beer, horehound and cinnamon drops. Searching for Black Jack gum, I found whole web sites devoted licorice in its many forms."I like how he pointed out that his memories are of "cheap" candy, not fancy chocolates. He hit the nail on the head. Think back to some of your favorite candy memories. No doubt you can conjure up something about wax bottles, satellite wafers, Bit-O-Honeys and the like. And consider: when was the last time you really thought about the candy you were eating? Did you really savor a candy cane over Christmas? Did you think about how it just tastes so ... Christmassy? How it has its own particular mint flavor, how it forms a sharp point when you suck on the end or gets stuck in your molars when you chomp down on it? Take some time today to "be one" with a piece of candy. Look at it, smell it, taste it. Appreciate it for what it is, because you never know when you'll get to try another piece again.

Stick Up Yer Dukes, Jeffrey Steingarten; Winner Gets a Skybar

For some strange reason, the October issue of Vogue showed up in my mailbox the other day. This is quite a mystery, since I'm so not fashionable. In fact, I'm negative fashion. No doubt if I had a daughter she'd be mortified by some of my choices of dress, most often a sweatshirt and jeans. (As I'm writing this, I decided to check the mailing label. Aha! It would appear that this magazine belongs to No-Nuts. It all makes sense now.)
Well, I thought the arrival of the magazine was some sort of karmic message, because it turns out that this month's food article was called, "Dream Sweets" with the sub-head "With Halloween treats on his mind, Jeffrey Steingarten investigates America's enduring appetite for candy."
Let me begin by saying that I have a love begrudging appreciation/hate relationship with Jeffrey Steingarten. I met him once at a press conference and he was very rude and snide and pompous. (Unlike some of the other more well-known food writers at the table who were friendly and very nice.) However, I do have to say that I appreciate his research skills (although this could arguably be accredited to his assistant) and the information he includes in his articles.
(As an aside, let me comment about the art that goes with the article. There is a photograph of three little girls dressed as witches (quite creepy, actually), eating green Frankenstein cake, with the title "dream sweets" in a thin, sans serif font. What?? The title is much too crafty to be of any use. Obviously it's a play on "sweet dreams," but it just doesn't jive with the photograph. I never would've thought this was an article on candy; I would've assumed it was all about cake.) Anyhow.
So what did I learn from Mr. Steingarten's masterpiece this month?
He points out that the U.S. Census Bureau counts candy as well as people. Huh. I didn't know that. According to the article, the Census Bureau divides non-chocolate confections into six categories: hard candy, chewy candy, soft candy, iced or coated candy, panned candy and licorice. That in itself is an interesting fact and something I'll explore at a later date, when I have more time.
Next in the article he goes on to talk about some of New York's candy shops, beginning with Dylan's Candy Bar. He says, and I quote, "Dylans ... is the most perfect American candy store in existence, all three airy floors designed and decorated in the happiest possible manner, each clever colorful detail conveying the deepest candy love imaginable."
Oh, how I disagree.
Here's my take on it. Dylan's is the Disney World of candy stores. It's all glitz and glitter. It's larger than life. Everything is candy, candy, candy, from the stairs (embedded with gummies) to the music ("sweet" themed songs, like "Sugar, Sugar," played at full volume). It is an atrocity. You could almost imagine a giant talking candy bar welcoming visitors to the store with an enormous fake smile on its face. Or perhaps a snappy, scary old lady saying, "This is candy! You WILL have fun!"
His description of Economy Candy was more on-target. Here he says, "The shop is clean and happy, well organized (but neither modernized nor gentrified), and packed from floor to ceiling with candy."
He then goes on to ask, "Did you know that a cup of candy corn has fewer calories than a cup of raisins?"
No, I didn't. Very interesting, that.
And he continues. "Standing in Economy Candy, I was immersed in the sweets of my boyhood, a thousand madeleines each triggering a five-volume novel giving way to the involuntary memories released by the next candy bar. It was exhausting. There were Skybars; chocolate Ice Cubes; French Chew Taffy in chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and banana; Adams Black Jack and Clove chewing gum ..." and so-on and so-forth. Yes, this is exactly what most people seemed to be experiencing when I was at Economy Candy. I stood by the door for a few minutes and listened to the comments from people as they walked in. "It smells so good!" "Remember these?" "I haven't seen these in years!" I watched as a little girl grabbed handfuls of Jelly Bellies while her mother was otherwise entranced by rock candy. I saw a little boy's eyes light up while his mother bought him a swirly lollipop. I listened in as a woman inquired about the different types of licorice behind the counter.
See, that's the thing about candy and the one thing Mr. Steingarten got right in this article: candy involuntarily triggers memories for all of us. That's what makes it so wonderful. You just don't have the same onslaught of nostalgia when you walk into a green grocer or a butcher. There's something particularly wonderful about candy and the way a single wrapper or a whiff of chocolate can bring you back in time to that day on the playground when you fell off the swing and hit your head; or the Christmas Eve you ate so many candy canes that you ended up with a serious tummy ache; or the time you were able to spell your name out from the letters in your vegetable soup and were given a Hershey bar as a prize. That's just the magic of candy.

The Results Are In: Let's Go Back in Time!

Official results from the Candy Yum Yum! 6-year-anniversary question: "What would you like to read more about?"

No-Nuts has been busy earning her keep doing the official audit of the answers to our question: "What would you like to see more of on Candy Yum Yum!?"

I have to say Yumsters, you did surprise me a little. The number one thing you'd like to read about is old-fashioned/retro candy, followed in a tie between candy recipes and foreign candy.
I like these ideas a lot. When I originally began Candy Yum Yum!, I intended to delve into retro candy, but lately I've been star-struck by all the new Limited Editions that have been coming out. I promise, I'll be getting back to the good ol' fashioned penny candy very soon, and will be coming at you with some candy recipes, too.
As for foreign candy, I'm thinking that maybe some of you international Yumsters could help out. Do you live somewhere other than the U.S.? Write to me and tell me about some of your local candies! Perhaps we could even do a candy swap.

Other items of note: Reese's was the only brand that specifically was mentioned. Let's give it up for peanut butter and chocolate! Woo hoo!

You're definitely interested in things like organic, Fair Trade, vegan and sugar-free candy, so more on that too!

Lastly, check out No-Nuts' artistic skills. I had no idea she was both a math whiz AND an artiste!

Candy as Memory Maker

When people first hear about my blog, they always ask, "Why candy?"
The easy answer is, because I love it!
The more accurate answer is, because candy touches people's lives in ways that we don't even think about.
Tonight I went to a wake for Mrs. O. That's what everyone called her-- "Mrs. O." She was the type of person who you'd just knock on her door any given time and drop in. Her kids grew up with my brother and sisters (I came along a little later), and it was one big happy neighborhood. As I was thinking about Mrs. O on the drive home, I realized that the first thing that pops into my head when I hear her name is a specific moment in time-- Halloween, standing on her front steps (the only time you ever used the front door!), ringing the doorbell. I'd just come from my grandparents' house across the street where I got a giant candy bar (the huge ones you buy at the grocery store), and now Mrs. O has come to the door and is saying, "It's Patti! Hold on. I've got something special for you!" It was a little bag packed full of goodies, just for me!
Freeze! That's the moment-- the image-- that pops into my mind first. Of course, there are many other memories, but that's the defining one.
This made me think about our connections of candy with people. When I think about the people who are no longer here, I can associate a candy with them, just as Kris shared with us in her guest post. Here are some of my memories:

Pop Pop: black licorice, hard candies in a tin, and the time he pilfered a candy out of the Brach's Pick-a-Mix ("just sampling")
Little Grandma: Wrigley's gum
Big Grandma: Crystal mints and Nips
Uncle Henry: a drawer full of candy bars
Judy: Snirkles and late-night candy raids

Give it some thought, dear Yumsters. What candy memories do you have? I bet you'll be surprised.

Nuh-uh! I couldn't believe this when I saw it. The highly regarded British Medical Journal actually published a study entitled, "Do candy cigarettes encourage young people to smoke?"

As a health writer, I usually have to slog through pages and pages of dull medical crapola, so this was a welcome diversion. The study actually has some interesting historical tidbits in it, like this:

Currently, the two major producers of candy cigarettes in the United States are Stark (acquired by New England Confectionery in 1990) and World Candies. Today, New England Confectionery calls its candy cigarettes "candy stix."

and this:

Low prices make candy cigarettes more affordable than other confectionery, an important feature for products marketed to young consumers. Candy cigarettes often escape adults' notice because they are usually displayed on the lowest shelves in the shop.

and this:

The Connecticut Consumer Protection Commissioner publicly criticised candy cigarettes in November 1993, as part of "a barrage of symbols" that glorify smoking. In response, an attorney for World Candies stated they would "resist all efforts" to remove their "fun healthy foods" from the market just because they are "alleged to resemble tobacco products . . . ."

Hey, I'm all for sticking up for the rights of candy companies, but seriously... candy cigarettes are "fun healthy foods"? Bwahaha!

In any case, the study concluded that yes indeed, candy cigarettes do encourage young people to smoke. So where does Madam Yum Yum fit into the study, you ask? Oh fine. You knew I was holding back on you in the previous post, didn't you. Yes, the young Miss Yum Yum did enjoy her share of candy cigarettes and yes, she did experiment with smoking at a young age (including falling into the "wrong crowd" in 4th grade and helping them hide cigarettes in the last stall in the girls' bathroom, and encouraging the Baroness to try smoking maple leaves because, hey, tobacco is a leaf, right?) But now she knows it's a filthy disgusting habit (not to mention expensive) and if she ever sees anything besides "candy stix" between the Sugar Baby's lips she will beat the fun healthy food out of him.

Top Ten Candies That No One Actually Eats

A little while back I reported how a popular New Zealand candy was being discontinued and how it was causing a panic attack for several of my Kiwi friends. Some people say it's a marketing ploy by the company to draw more attention to Snifters, but no one knows for sure. In any case, it got me to thinking about some of our iconic childhood confections and how we would feel if they were discontinued here. I'm thinking about things like the aforementioned bubblegum cigarettes. Do any of us ever buy these? No. But we'd be distraught to find out that they went the way of the Marathon bar. So without further ado, I give you my:

Top Ten List of Childhood Favorites That No One Actually Eats But We All Seem To Love and We'd Be Distraught If They Were Discontinued

10. Bubblegum/candy cigarettes

9. Wax bottles

8. Wax lips

7. Candy buttons

6. Circus Peanuts

5. Boston Baked Beans

4. Bit o' Honey

3. Pixy Sticks

2. Chicklets

1. Necco Wafers

Do you agree?

Got a Light?

Check out this stash from The Connection-- bubblegum cigarettes and cigars. When I was little, these things were everywhere. It was just taken for granted that, at some point during your grammar school career, you'd get a pack of these and try to fool any adults who happened to be around into thinking that you were really smoking. Too cool for school.

There were various types. There were the bubblegum kinds, pictured above, that had the added bonus of a white powder inside that looked like smoke when you'd puff out on them. Then there were the candy kind, which were super-thin sticks of stypic pencils chalky candy with red tips. And when I reached fifth grade, I had the brilliant luck to stumble upon some chocolate cigarettes that looked real and tasted delicious.

So fast-forward to today and these things are shocking, SHOCKING! Candy tobacco products? Who would ever think of such a thing! So taboo.

I always loved the bubblegum cigars the best, so I was totally psyched to rip off a hunk and give it a chew. Unfortunately, it wasn't as good as I remembered. In fact, once I got it masticated into a good, soft glob, it started tasting like the incense they burn in church at Christmastime. Not something you really want to eat.

I can't help but wonder about the fate of candy and bubblegum cigars and cigarettes. Will they be around in ten years? Will the Sugar Baby know the sly, giggly pleasure of trying to fool me into thinking he's in the backyard training to be the new Marlboro Man? Only time will tell. Perhaps I'll save one of these packages, just in case.

May Basket! May Basket!

During the most recent visit to the von Schokolats, we took time out of our busy candy-making, Whoopie Pie-eating schedules to attend the wedding of Uncle John, brother of Big Pop and Great Jeff. There are lots and lots of uncles and aunts in Mr. Goodbar's family, so it's always fun to hear about their childhood adventures growing up in rural (as in: no heat, no electricity, no indoor plumbing) Maine. There were oodles of stories about shoveling snow off the beds, sitting the baby down on the stove, digging a sewage trench to no where, blowing up bottles of gasoline and gun powder-- you get the drift. But I had never heard the following story, which, dear reader, sums up the spirit of Candy Yum Yum. Sit back. Close your eyes. (Well, actually don't do that, because then you won't be able to read this.) Sit back, grab some Tootsie Rolls and Pixy Sticks and just envision how candy makes the world go 'round.

The Story of May Baskets (as told by Aunt Tina)
"We'd get a shoe box and decorate it with crepe paper and put some sort of handle on it, then fill the box with penny candy. We'd take it to the neighbor's house and ring the door bell and shout 'May Basket!' Then everyone would scatter and hide and the neighbors would have to find everyone before we could all eat the candy."

And that, dear readers, is what Candy Yum Yum is all about. I say, why wait for May? "September Basket!" has a nice ring to it.

The Party's Over (well, it isn't really. It's only 8 o'clock.)

Ah, what a bittersweet evening. Tonight we celebrated the high school graduation of the Sugar Baby's babysitter, the fabulous Miss Lucy. As I write this, the festivities are still going strong next door-- all those lucky teenagers with a clean slate and strong bodies that can withstand the pressures of finals, bad cafeteria food and hangovers to rival e.coli the excitement of impending adulthood.

Since we're still fairly new to the neighborhood, we didn't really know anyone, so I was on my best behavior, talking about all the socially acceptable things like motherhood ("Oh ho, yes, the terrible twos! Hahaha!") and gardening ("The tomatoes are doing exceptionally well this year, but the zucchini seems to be struggling.") But then suddenly, across the yard, I heard someone shout my name. I walked over to this stranger who assaulted me with my favorite question: "You have a candy blog?!"

All sense of decorum went out the window as we launched into a discussion of all things sweet. She's a junior high English teacher and, as one of her assignments, has her students write about the pros and cons, similarities and differences of snack foods. Oh yes, indeedy, this was a kindred spirit.

Her first question to me was, "Do you know BB Bats?"

Now, dear reader, how did you read that? Did you read it as "Bee Bee Bats" or, as she pronounced it, "Buh-Buh-Bats"? Because I was taken aback. I'd never heard them called that before! Naturally I came home and immediately did some research. Turns out the "BB" stands for "Bigger and Better" and they were first released in 1924. In case you're not familiar, these are taffy lollipops, shaped flat to resemble some sort of bat, and come in chocolate, banana, strawberry and peanut butter/molasses. They're wrapped in a waxy paper that, no matter how hard you try, always ends up sticking to the pop and the taffy is so chewy it comes perilously close to ripping out your dental work. We agreed that chocolate was the best flavor, followed by banana. The popular cousin to BB Bats are Kits, which are little squares of the same taffy, stacked up in a small brick.

I swear, I didn't even encourage her to reveal her passion for candy. She wore her sugary love on her sleeve. She asked about Ice Cubes, as many other readers have. What's the deal? she wanted to know. Why do they suck now when they used to be so smooth and melty before? (The cheaper crap oil they use now, I explained.) And what about Mary Janes? What happened to the peanut butter center? (I've never been much for Mary Jane's, but I think I do recall what she was talking about.)

"Life Savers!" she said. "Why don't they offer a roll of all tangerine?" The tropical mix is okay-- the melon is pretty tasty, but the coconut and banana are pretty icky, she said. I completely agree.

Wax Lips! Is there any nutritional value at all to them or are they merely an accessory? And candy buttons! You were either the type that spit out the paper or just chewed it and swallowed it.

It was a fabulous discussion, one that could go on and on. Unfortunately, by this time, the Sugar Baby was standing at the door saying "Bye Bye Lucy!" and so, my few moments of sweet discussion came to an end.

But remember this, dear reader: the next time you go to a party, bring up the topic of candy. It's something everyone has an opinion about and you might just learn something wickedly sassy and gossipy about your neighbors and their friends. (I mean, I didn't. But you might.)

Don't Get Excited ...

I was slogging through some press releases yesterday (delete, delete, delete) when one caught my eye. It said, "Marathon bar to make a come back." I nearly wet my pants I was so excited! The Marathon bar?! The chocolate-covered caramel chain that is iconic of my youth? The candy bar that was the cause of the initial spark of this blog?* Hooray! Only, no, it's not that Marathon. It's the U.K. version of Snickers. How disappointing.

*At work one day, back in the early '90s, before we even had access to the Internet (in the newsroom, no less!), one of the reporters said to me, "Hey, remember that candy bar that was shaped like a chain?" Holy cow, yes I did! I hadn't thought about it in years. "What was the name of that?" he asked.

We thought and thought. Couldn't come up with it for days. (Again, this was pre-Internet, in my world, anyway.) Finally it came to him and it was like, "Huzzah! Coolest candy bar ever!"

Old Timey Candy

This is so cool. It's a website of nostalgic ads with lots of candy-related stuff. This picture is from a sales book from the 1940s. There are also ads for Chuckles (assorted and all-licorice), Nickel Nacks (little boxes of candy corn, lemon drops and other yummies), 3 Musketeers (the original with three flavors!), Stark "The World's Longest Candy Roll" (looks similar to Necco Wafers), and-- you've gotta love this-- "Mason Cocoanut Queens: A luscious, tasty chocolate flavored coating, impervious to temperature extremes covers a moist, flavorful cocoanut center."

There's lots more, too. You'll have tons of fun looking at these. Which reminds me, I have an old Life Savers ad that I need to get framed to hang in the H-man's room.

Random Candy Memory: It Ain't All Good

My grandmother had a candy dish near the front door and it was always filled with clear aqua blue hard candies. They are incredibly minty, just stopping short of menthol. There's nothing sweet, fun or yummy about these mints. I hate these candies. They make me afraid to get old because I never want to like these candies because they're boring and too strong and I think only old people must like them.

Blast from the Past

Look at this! I unearthed this gem yesterday while continuing the big pack for our upcoming move. This, my friends, is a page from my scrapbook when I was a kid. It's totally falling apart. Apparently they didn't know about archival quality back then. But preserved here are some candy wrappers from the 70s. (1979-1982 to be exact, at least according to my notes written there on the page.) So what do we have? One package of orange Pop Rocks. I seem to remember buying them at Brook's Drugstore. Oh they were the coolest. Then there's several Big Red wrappers. A vision of things to come? Little did I know that over 20 years later, I'd be flat-out on my parents' couch with a pack of Big Red stuffed up my nose, trying to get rid of morning sickness.
Next, a wrapper from grape-flavored "Chew Laces." I have absolutely no memory of these. I don't remember buying them, eating them or even what they looked like.
Then we have Bottle Caps. I never particularly liked the taste of these. They come in "soda" flavors like orange, grape and rootbeer, but they lacked that certain tangy sourness that one expects from a candy like this.
Last but not least, we have this time capsule gem: a Pecan Chunky wrapper. Yes, once upon a time Chunkys weren't just peanuts and raisins. This one was milk chocolate with little pieces of pecans. Wow, it's been a long time since I've had a Chunky. A very underrated candy bar.
I wish I had saved more wrappers. It would've been fun to see what I actually ate. I've just started saving some of my recent candy wrappings. I'm thinking I might incorporate them into some sort of an art project.

Random Candy Memory: Chuckles

My parents have taken me to Barkers, the nasty discounty five-and-dime pre-WalMart store. I hate going here because my neighbor told me a story about a woman who tried on a coat and she felt some pinching. It turned out that the coat was made in some far-off land and had snakes sewn into the lining. Of course I now know this is an urband legend, but it scared the bejezus out of me at the time. Anyhow, there are candy machines in the entrance. I see a package of Chuckles—the rectangular pillow-shaped gum drop candies. Each package has a red (cherry), orange (orange), yellow (lemon), green (lime) and black (licorice). I wonder to myself why anyone would pick Chuckles over another candy, because I really don't like them. I only like the black ones. Why would anyone pick Chuckles when they could have M&Ms or even those dry peanut butter crackers?
Thirty years later, when I get stressed or cold, the Chuckles jingle goes through my mind. “Chuckles, chuckles, C-H-U-C-K-L-E-S. Chuckles. All kinds of Chuckles would you like some? Yes!” I haven’t actually seen a package of Chuckles in years, or maybe it's just that I subconsciously block it from my vision.

I promised you something fantabulous ...

... so here it is. It's not a candy bar, it's a book called "Krazy Kids' Food! Vintage Food Graphics" by Steve Roden and Dan Goodsell.
I have to preface this by saying that something weird happens when you have a baby. Suddenly you start talking and singing and saying all sorts of stuff that a normal sane person would not. For example, lately we've started singing an old Nestle's jingle, substituting "Henri" for "Nestle's." It originally went like this: "Nestle's makes the very best ... chocolate." It was sung by a hideously scary dachsund with sharp teeth like a dolphin. So I was at Barnes & Noble the other day, and I saw this book on the discount rack. I picked it up and opened to a random page and there was an ad for Nestle's Chocolate Soda with the freaky dog who, as it turns out, is named Farfel. I had to get it, but it wasn't until later when I realized what a treasure this was.
The book is simply pictures of products from the 1950s-1970s, but holy cow! What memories they bring back! A few delicious examples:

• Mr. Wiggle, the Candy Flavor Gelatin Dessert From Jell-O: these little boxes have a wiggly dude on them and came in flavors like Candycorn Orange, Gumdrop Grape, Rockcandy Raspberry, Candyball Cherry, Lollypop Lime and Jellybean Strawberry.
• Life Savers Candy & Gum Fun House: I totally forgot that there used to be Life Savers gum! The box, decorated with kooky alien-like characters, had five rolls of Life Savers and five rolls of gum.
• Nabisco Chocolate Snaps: These cookies came in little individual boxes. My mom used to buy them all the time. There was a photo of a cookie on the front with drawn-on eyes, ears and nose to make it look like a bear. There were also the Zuzu Ginger Snaps and Lemon Snaps, but I only remember having the chocolate.
• Willy Wonka's Peanut Butter Oompas: These were like big M&Ms, only with peanut butter inside. They were pretty gross.
• Big Banana Bubble Gum: Yes! I remember this! I can almost taste the incredibly artificial banana flavor now!
• Quicksand Bubblegum: The package says, "The world's fastest flavor chew. It pours." I remember this powdery goo you'd chomp on until it turned into a semi-solid wad of gum.
• Little Monster Cookies: "A fright in every bite ... Flavor that will haunt you." If I remember correctly, the flavor was haunting.
• Pillsbury's Funny Face Soft Drink Mix: I don't think I ever had this-- my mom wasn't into giving us fancy drinks-- but I do remember going to Rugby Park down the street from my house and there was a teenage boy wearing a T-shirt with one of the Funny Face characters on it and I thought that was so cool. The flavors were: Freckle Face Strawberry, Lefty Lemon, Rootin'-Tootin' Raspberry, Jolly Olly Orange, Choo Choo Cherry and Goofy Grape. I'm pretty sure it was the Goofy Grape on his shirt.
• Wrapples: "6 neat sheets of caramel with sticks for making 6 caramel apples." These didn't really wrap around the apples very well. It was like eating an apple with a piece of plastic squished onto it.
  
  I could go on and on. What a find! For only four bucks, this little book has offered me endless nostalgia.