Sweets for my Sweet

With the launch of our kilo sale The Vintage Pick 'N' Mix in student unions this Autumn, we got to thinking about our favourite childhood sweeties! So when David Frederick from Sweet & Nostalgic asked if we'd like to host a little blog post on all things retro candy, we had to say a big yes please! Get ready to learn a thing or two n all...

My favourite vintage & old fashioned sweets

There is something truly magical about vintage sweets, I think it’s their ability to take a person on a trip down memory lane and reminisce upon their childhood memories. Ever since watching Charlie & The Chocolate Factory as a child (the old version) and seeing the old fashioned sweet shop that had character in abundance, I have become fascinated by vintage & retro sweets.

Old fashioned sweets from the 1940’s

Catherine Wheels

For a sweet that is so fantastic, it really does have a gruesome past. As you are probably aware of, Catherine Wheel is an old fashioned term for a cartwheel. But it was also the torture device that was chosen to execute St Catherine of Alexandria. These sweets were based upon the latter. Putting the history of Catherine Wheels to one side, these sweets consist of liquorice strips that are wrapped around a nonpareil liquorice button.

Aniseed Balls

These are small reddish brown sweet that have become very rare in recent years. They share a similar consistency and texture to gobstoppers. Aniseed Balls are flavoured using aniseed oil and have a very distinctive and prominent aniseed flavour. They last a very long time in the mouth before dissolving. In the centre of these sweets you will find a rapeseed, rapeseeds are used as an initial base to place layers of sugar around.

Pontefract Cakes

Originating from a small town in Yorkshire called Pontefract; these are a very small, mourish sweet that consist mainly of liquorice. On every single Pontefract Cake is a small embossed stamp, this is in fact a stylised image of Pontefract castle.

Old fashioned sweets from the 1950’s

Jargonelle Pear Drops

When it comes to sweets, what can be more British than pear drops? These are a British boiled sweet that are made using various pear flavourings and sugar. These sweets were originally half yellow and half pink and shaped to resemble a pear.

Sherbet Fountains

A sweet that many British people associate with their childhoods, Sherbet Fountains are tubes of smooth white sherbet with a black liquorice stick that is used for dipping or sucking. When these sweets were first produced, they were wrapped in paper with the liquorice stick poking out of the top.

Coconut Mushrooms

Probably my personal favourite, the taste of these sweets is instantly recognisable and very distinctive. Coconut Mushrooms consist of a sweet chewy chap that is covered in dessicated coconut sprinkles. What I love about these sweets is the unique, juicy coconut taste.

Old fashioned sweets from the 1960’s

White Mice

This classic sweet consists of solid, creamy white chocolate and boasts a very distinctive and unique taste. In fact, the taste of White Mice is so distinctive, that if you were to eat one blindfolded, you will instantly recognise the taste.

Anglo Bubbly

A true great and the undisputed king of bubble gum, Anglo Bubbly is a fantastic sweet. What I find love about this sweet is the fact it has remained its retro pink colour after all of these years. Anglo Bubbly features a very distinctive pear flavour.

Dolly Mixture

A firm favourite of many, Dolly Mixtures are a pack of multicoloured cylinders, cubes and other shapes with various hints of subtle flavourings. These famous British sweets consist of soft sweets and jellies coated in sugar.

This is a guest post by David at Sweet & Nostalgic, an online sweet shop that specialise in Retro & Old Fashioned Sweets. David is passionate about all things vintage and has written numerous articles for magazines and blogs.