ThrowBackThursday: Countdown of 5 candies from your childhood
We take a look at five candies from your childhood to make you nostalgic.
When you think of candy from your childhood – sticky, multi-coloured, chewy goodness comes to mind.
We take a look at five candies from your childhood to make you nostalgic.
5. Atomic Fireball
Fireballs were released in the Cold War era of 1954, we guess going in a blaze of cinnamon isn’t the worst way to die.
Cinnamaldehyde, is the oil that makes cinnamon taste cinnamony, it affects a receptor in your mouth called TRPA1. TRPA1 is part of the TRPA family of ion channels that detect when crazy chemical things go on; they’re responsible for your reaction to raw garlic, horseradish and mustard oil.
But what makes this sweet so hot?
Turns out capsaicin is added to Atomic Fireballs to give them that little extra zing. Capsaicin is the compound that makes hot peppers spicy.
The fun thing about TRPV1 (the spiciness receptor) is that instead of detecting chemicals, its primary purpose is to check the temperature. It’s kind of like an alarm, in that when the receptor gets too hot it starts firing like crazy. How hot? About 43°C.
Did you know? By eating something with capsaicin in it you’re tricking your brain into thinking it’s 43° in your mouth.
4. Mister sweets sour worms
Gummis or jelly candies are a broad category of gelatin-based, chewable sweets. Gummi bears are widely popular and are a well-known part of the sweets industry. The game changer came in when sour worms were introduced. Although it made you cringe and pull at your tastebuds, it tasted quiet pleasant.
Did you know? The candy and the name “gummi” originated in Germany.
3. Nicker balls
These were a large black sweet which changed colour (turns white) when sucked. Because of the term’s offensive connotations, the sweets were renamed in the 1980s to blackballs.
2. Li Hing Mui fruit (Sour seed)
The tart, pinkish-red topping is made by pickling plum skins in licorice, salt and sugar, and then grinding them into a fine powder. It originated in China, but is ubiquitous in Hawaii where locals treat it as the number one sidekick to all their sweet treats.
Li hing mui powder provides a sharp sweet-and-sour taste and can be sprinkled on anything from fresh fruit and shave ice to popcorn and gummy bears.
1. Chappies bubblegum
Chappies is a brand of bubblegum introduced in South Africa in the late 1940s. It was created by Arthur Ginsburg while working for Chapelat Sweets, a Johannesburg based confectionery manufacturer.
The name Chappies became synonymous with the word bubblegum, in part because shopkeepers used it in lieu of coins to give change to patrons, and because of the inclusion of “Did you know” trivia on the inside of the wrappers.
