Candy is something that everybody loves. It has quite a history starting with the first candy or chocolate occurring in 1502 after Columbus returned from his journey. But the first real modern kind of candy took place in the mid-nineteenth century, from the original Willie Wonka, Joseph Fry. In 1866, Mr. Fry launched “Fry’s Chocolate Cream” which is the world’s original candy bar! It was made by mixing cacao, sugar and other ingredients to make a paste, then placing it into a mold. In 1900, the famous Hershey bar appeared, made with cocoa butter and chocolate, milk, sugar, and cacao beans. Hershey Kisses are basically a smaller version of the Hershey bar, and 22 Hershey Kisses equaling the same as a bar. In the year 1890, peanut brittle was invented. It is sugary, sweet, peanut buttery goodness. It has a good crunch with a nice salty sweet taste when you take a bite out of it. Interestingly enough, January 26th is National Peanut Brittle day! In 1928, the famous Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups were created. Very chocolatey, it has a tasty peanut-buttery filling in the shape of a cup. When you bite into it you get a mouthful of the delicious peanut butter and chocolate combination. Next, in 1930 the Snickers bar was made. The chocolate coating around it is very appetizing. The caramel inside with the nuts is mouthwatering and full of flavor. Then, in 1941, one of the most famous candies of all time was created: the M&M’s. M&M’s were introduced with six different colors. These chocolate coated candies started out as snacks for the US Army in World War II. M&M’s had a big impact on American popular culture.  During the Spanish Civil War candy lovers witnessed British volunteers eating chocolate beads in a solid sugar shell that didn’t melt in the hot sun. In 1932,  a man named Forrest Mars Sr of the Mars candy company went to England where he started giving his Mars bars to the troops. Back then chocolate typically melted during summer months to the heat. Mars was thrilled by the prospect of inventing a chocolate that would survive in unbearable heat.

Next, in 1960, the candy Starburst was brought to life. It is a well-known candy that is chewy and delicious, and in the shape of a square. Starburst has many flavors that are pleasing to eat. A decade after Starburst was invented, in 1970 a candy called Sour Patch Kids was made. They were originally called “mars men” as they looked like space aliens. They are sour and sugary, with lots of different colors and flavors. Just looking at them makes me want to eat some. 

The fun crackling candy, Pop Rocks was created in 1974, coming in lots of different flavors. It crackles so loudly in your mouth, making sort of a sound that sparkling drinks make. It is an atypical kind of candy that a lot of people enjoy, and has a thrilling flavor. In 1979 one of my most favorite candy bars, Twix, was produced. Its amazing flavor and smooth chewy caramel stretches out of your mouth when you take a bite out of it is gratifying. The cookies inside of it are delicious and crunchy. 

There are some candies that are gone, but not forgotten. I personally have never heard many of the names of these candies before, for they were gone before I was born, but now as I am writing  this I will become an expert on them. If you were born in the 80s, you might have even had some of these candies. A candy called Bar Six was a well-known candy that was in the British Commonwealth market in the 1970s, and then vanished some time in the 1980s. It was very similar to Chunky Kit-Kat. It was a creamy chocolate bar with a wafer and rich hazelnut. Then, there was this candy called Golden Cup, which was made in the 1970s-1980s by Nestle Rowntrees. It contained milk chocolate, filled with rich chewy caramel. It was like grown-up luxury.

Another lost candy is the Secret candy bar also made by Nestle in the 80s and 90s. On the outside was rich chocolate with a nice creamy mousse in the center, comparable to the center of a Walnut Whip. It sadly was discontinued in 1990 due to high costs, and low sales. A famous throwback candy called Aztec, was a chocolate bar created in 1967, and sadly left the shelves in 1978. It consisted of milk chocolate, nougatine, and caramel. It was an exotic answer to the Mars Bar. In the 1980s a bar called Cabana was made by Rowntrees out of the UK, and it was delicious: made of coconut, cherries and rich caramel, covered in milk chocolate with a little drizzle of chocolate on the top, it was unfortunately discontinued in the 1990s. A candy that was around for a long time was the Banjo candy bar.

It was discontinued in 1954. The Banjo bar was a “two finger bar”, similar to the Twix, with a light and crispy wafer. It had a nice chopped up peanut layer followed by a nutty cream filling. It was all covered in a tasty milk chocolate. Back to Fry, in 1924, a very fruity flavored candy was launched, called the Fry’s Five Centre. It came in five different flavors: raspberry, coffee, vanilla, orange, and lime, but it was also sold in the flavors orange, raspberry, lime, strawberry, and pineapple.

It was milk chocolate with assorted flavored fruit fondant in the middle. It very sadly stopped producing in 1992, and many people hope to have the candy back in business. One last candy is the Fuse bar, which started in 1996. I wouldn’t say it is gone because you can actually still get it in India. It incorporates milk chocolate, nuts, raisins, crisp cereal pieces, and fudge. The bar was unfortunately discontinued in 2006. Candy is something everyone loves and its history makes your mouth water, right? Those are some of my favorite candies, and I wish I could take a time machine to go back in time and pay just a few pennies to taste some of those candies when they were still on the shelves.