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Saturday
Feb102007

Favorite Non-Chocolate Candy

DateSaturday, February 10, 2007 at 10:50AM

haribo_bears.jpgA number of people have asked me about my favorite candies. Back in the 80s, I adored Lemonheads, Nerds, and Sprees—candies that could be saved and savored, and parceled out over many hours. Such candies are particularly good choices for the frugal-minded, or for kids who need to scrounge around for soda pop cans to take to the bottle return (one of the best parts about growing up in Michigan: the 10-cent deposits). Today, I lean toward the gummy/i world, though not indiscriminately. A good gummi bear should have an appropriate balance of chew and give—not too soft and never tough. It should not be oversized, which would sacrifice taste and texture. It should provide distinct color-flavor notes (my favorites are raspberry-red, pineapple-white, and strawberry (not lime) green). And it should be fresh, for a stale gummi is no joy. My choice: Haribo Gold-Bears, petite and al-dente, with etchings on their stomachs to represent, I guess, bear fur. Haribo is a German company that has been making gummi bears since 1922. They also turn out lovely gummi twin cherries and sour cherries.

bissinger_white_tea_gummis.jpgRecent discovery update: Bissinger's Pomegranate White Tea pandas! A refreshing new take on the gummy. In Chicago, available at the Whole Foods and sometimes at Sam's Wine store.

Another update! Two new flavors are now available: Pink Grapefruit with Grapeseed and Guava with Camu CAmu!

AuthorBich | Comment12 Comments |

Reader Comments (12)

One of my Christmas presents this year was a bag of fried egg gummi. Fried eggs! When I was a little girl, gummi was pretty straightforward. You could buy the bears or you could buy the miniature Coke bottles. That's it. Haribo (my favorite too!) had not yet diversified their product line to include centipedes, clown fish, crocodiles, rattlesnakes, and the twin cherries that Bich mentions. Eating candy was a lot less stressful back then. These days, you can buy gummi anything. Gummi jet fighters, gummi Army guys, gummi road kill, gummi Christmas trees, gummi googly eyes, halal gummies, kosher gummies. And surely this must be a sign that the apocalypse is upon us - you can even buy gummi breasts and penises. Ah, how I yearn for the simplicity of my childhood - necklaces of clover, the sound of a tennis shoe against a red rubber ball, and a small sack of gummi Cokes jammed in the back pocket of my favorite flowered pants.
February 17, 2007 | Unregistered Commenterdeb
i can remember graduating from preschool and here in hawaii we get lei @ graduation. so i got a lei made of mini size bags of haribo gummy bears. i was so excited to eat them. when i finally opened one of the packages, i found myself ony eating the red and white ones. since then ive only eaten red and white gummy bears and not the other flavors.
i also mix them w/ li hing mui powder for extra flavor.
October 23, 2007 | Unregistered Commentershaka
I remember these gummy bears. I never really did like the ones that were shaped like worms because it made me think about eating a real worm, but gummy bears always were the best chewy candy that held off hunger just a little longer. It has got to be the most popular snack for gift baskets, graduation lei's, and on-the-go goodies. All little kids love them and they aren't loaded with sugar like other snacks. I still keep a bag in my purse every once in a while just incase. The red and white ones were the best tasting, hardly anyone liked the green, yellow or orange ones probably because of its weird taste. I also love eating them with li hing powder just to add that little 'Hawaii' feeling to it.
October 24, 2007 | Unregistered CommenterKylie Yamada
Haribo's Gummy Bear is my all time favorite candy. The bears are petite and soft; most of all, chewable. Some gummy bears are kind of hard, but Haribo has made it just right. Whenever I open the package, I get excited to see the 5 flamboyant colors that marks its state of their flavor. I always eat the red, white, and green ones. I've never really appreciated the orange or yellow ones because it wasn't as sweet as the other 3 colors. Haribo has created such an extravagant candy that with just one bite, it gives you that burst of calmness within the taste. The flavor is just right that your tongue gets the craving desire for more.
October 24, 2007 | Unregistered CommenterKelly
I didn't eat too much candy when I was growing up, but I do remember eating gummy bears. My aunty always ate candy around me, so I remember her introducing me to gummy bears and gummy worms. I preferred the gummy worms because it was longer and seemed gummier than the bears. But if I did eat the bears, I always chose the red, yellow, and white ones first (they tasted better than the green and orange). Here in Hawaii, people love to put li hing mui on snacks, which are great for food gift baskets and goodie bags. Li hing mui is especially good on gummy bears. I find that gummy bears are good to munch on while watching a movie because I love to eat when I watch something and it keeps my mouth busy from its chewiness.
October 25, 2007 | Unregistered CommenterJessica Cook
I've always loved candy because I'm not a big fan of chocolate. And you can keep eating candy without feeling like your sticking lard down your throat. Candy always gives me that satisfying taste especially Haribo's Gummi Bears, not the worms, the peach rings, or the watermelon rings but the GUMMI BEARS! My favorite one is the white and red. I love the white one because it tastes like a huge bite of awesome sweetness and the red one tastes like strawberry. I love Jamba Juice's "White Gummi Bear" Drink (which is one of Jamba Juices fattiest drinks but it tastes so ono!) I also love Gummi Bears with Li Hing Powder brings me back to elementary school days. I also remember every paddling race or volleyball game I had my teammates and I always give eachother lei's and I got so excited when someone gave me a bag of Haribo Gummi Bears hanging on a string. Or during Halloween, when I get the small little bag or Haribo's, with only 5 gummi bears. I always savor each one.
October 25, 2007 | Unregistered CommenterAndrea Calvan
Haribo Gummie Bears. It was hard and chewy, that had a juicy taste in every bite. My favorites were red and green. I used to have that as my snack in elementary school and play with them as if they were dolls. Till this day i'm in college now, I love the savoring taste of them oh so much! Now that i'm older in age and still young in my mind, I feel that it's tastier to suck on rather than to chew them all away! It's so interesting how so many different candies can all be narrowed down to one that I really enjoy! Yummie Gummies!
March 20, 2008 | Unregistered Commenterkaci
Aloha,

My love of Gummie Bears has recently been rekindled by a trip to the movie theater. Instead of purchasing the usual buttered popcorn I saw a bag of the sugary bears gleaming in a glass case screaming for me to purchase them for my enjoyment. When I popped the first bear into my mouth it brought back one of my favorite childhood memories of sitting on my Grandmothers front porch. It was a tradition for her to give me a bag of delicious Gummie Bears after church. I would sit on that old stone porch for hours having one just one bear at a time and slowly letting each bear dissolve until the whole bag was gone. Those sweet bears remind just how much I miss my Grandma. I am also reading your book Stealing Buddha's Dinner for my English class in Hawaii. I am also a child of the 80's and can relate to the various foods, music and clothing you write about in the book. Thank you for the trip down memory lane.
Amanda Johnson
March 26, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterAmanda Johnson
Aloha,

i like the gummy bears too. before, i dont even like it because its chewy and its making my jaw sore everytime i eat it. but when i was in high school, there was fundraising and they're selling gummy bears.the only thing is that it has lihing powder on it. the sweet orange powder? i hope you know it.it's good if you put it on the gummy bears because it has this sweet taste, you should try it! and i always buy it before because it only cost $1 and sometimes we make fun of the one who sells it.we ask them for a refund if some of the gummy bears aren't whole. though they dont give us a refund at all. ;)
March 30, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterRhea Esca.
Haribo gummy bears is a big reminder of my childhood. Since I was growing up on the East side of the Cold War split countries of Europe, i didn't try my first gummy bear till I was around nine years old. My auntie ( mom's childhood best friend) came to visit us from Germany and she had brought all these amazing new types of chocolates and candy, one of which was Haribo bears. I don't remember even trying a candy of this consistency before, surely was strangely chewy a not overly sweet. The different colors meant different fruit taste, and you were sure very cool having this kind of new candy at school. So only a good memories come to my mind with Haribo gummy bears.
March 30, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterDenisa Sira
I don't have much a sweet tooth but id have to say Haribo gummy bears are the best gummy bears I've tasted. They were also the treats i had the most fun with. When i was little, i used to get a kick out of switching the heads and bodies of different flavors before finally devouring them. Then i figured out, by licking their backs, that i could use them as edible stickers. I'd have to say any gummy candy is my favorite when covered with Li Hing Mui powder.
March 31, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterBrian Kwak
Hi, I also have a good memory with Haribo gummy bears when I was kid. My grand father gave me a lot because I really love this. So sometimes he gave this for jolly me into good feeling.
April 14, 2008 | Unregistered CommenterKaz

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