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.
