Classics parents love sweets of their youth

By NATALIE MIKLES World Scene Writer - 10/28/2009


When all the loot is dumped onto the living room floor, and the kids are making little piles of their favorite treats from Halloween, grown-ups can't help but be nostalgic.

Those sour gummy worms just don't seem as good as the candies they remember from their youth. Fueling this nostalgia is the niche confectionery industry, which continues to turn out candies not sold in nearly the volume of Hershey bars and Reese's cups.

Every year, around this time, customers come into the Sweet Tooth candy shop looking for the candy of their youth. Owner Jeff Darby keeps a stock of retro candy, whether that be a Charleston Chew from the '50s or Pop Rocks from the '70s.

"Parents drag their kids over to their old favorites and tell them how good they are, and the kids just say, 'Gross,' " Darby said.

But sometimes parents can win them over, especially with novelty candies like Wax Lips and Ring Pops. Girls, no matter their age, stare at the shiny ring pops and candy necklaces at the Sweet Tooth.

Some retro candies, like Cherry Mash and Mallo Cups, can be found pretty easily at convenience and grocery stores. Others, such as the Sky Bar, are harder to find. The Food Network show "Unwrapped" also brings in customers looking for chocolate bars and candies they've seen on the show.

"They come in and say 'We saw this show on Necco Wafers. Do you have them?' " Darby said. "They can't believe it."

Retro candy is becoming so popular that some companies, like the Just Born company that makes Hot Tamales, are repackaging their candy with limited-edition retro wrappings.





Classic candies

Abba Zabba: taffy bar with a peanut butter center (1978)

Big Hunk: bar of roasted peanuts with vanilla taffy (1950)

Candy Necklace: chalky candy on a string (1952)

Charleston Chew: flavored chewy nougat covered in chocolate (1922)

Cherry Mash: cherry fondant center covered with chopped, roasted peanuts and chocolate coating (1918)

Chick-O-Stick: crunchy peanut butter sticks topped with toasted coconut (1938)

Clark: crunchy peanut butter bar with a chocolate coating (1917)

Coffee Crisp: coffee-flavored cream, wafers and a chocolate coating (1938)

5th Avenue: similar to a Butterfinger, a peanut butter bar coated with milk chocolate (1936)

Look: peanut-filled nougat covered in dark chocolate (1950)

Mallo Cup: milk chocolate cup with a marshmallow center (1936)

Necco Wafers: rolls of powdery sugar wafers in lemon, orange, lime, clove, cinnamon, wintergreen, licorice and chocolate flavors (1847)

Nik L Nip: edible wax bottles filled with fruit-flavored juice (1920s)

Oh Henry!: candy bar of peanuts, caramel, nougat and chocolate (1920)

Pez: compressed candy bricks in flavors from peppermint to chocolate; not complete without a cool Pez dispenser (1927)

Pop Rocks: fruit-flavored candies that pop in your mouth (1975)

Ring Pop: a lollipop and a fashion statement (1977)

Sky Bar: milk chocolate bar with peanut butter, caramel, fudge and vanilla centers (1937)

U-No: milk chocolate bar covered with milk chocolate and ground almonds (1920)

Valomilk: milk chocolate cups filled with a liquid marshmallow cream (1931)

Wax Lips: slight cherry flavor, but really they just taste like wax (1910s)



Natalie Mikles 581-8486
natalie.mikles@tulsaworld.com


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Tulsa World Reader Comments
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Mar, Tulsa (10/28/2009 11:53:09 AM)
I don't think I've ever had a Sky bar, sounds yummy. When I was a kid in the 1950s & 1960s I loved Cherry Mashes, Moon Pies, Valomilk and Mallo cup. Now I'm hungry for some chocolate!

Slatz, Tulsa (10/28/2009 9:18:56 AM)
Others I remember: Chick-O-Stick, rootbeer (barrel-shaped hard candy), horehound candy, Bit-O-Honey, Pixy Stix

lucky girl, mine (10/28/2009 4:10:11 PM)
Still love candy corn. It's a classic.

Groove Monster, San Antonio (10/28/2009 12:02:05 PM)
Mar - I happen to have a banana Moon Pie waiting for me in my desk drawer. Lunch can't come soon enough! Too many candies today are geared towards being sour. What fun is candy if it hurts your mouth?

T-Town Cowgirl, Tulsa (10/29/2009 10:39:18 AM)
Glad Sweet Tooth is getting some well-deserved attention. It's a Tulsa one-of-a-kind! Candy Lover, Tulsa



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