# Do you eat the red ones first? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 31, 2001, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494 "2001-01-31T02:16:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6f9a4e/32.png) [@elite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elite)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494/1 "2001-01-31T02:16:52Z")
Why is it that people will eat the red candy before the other colours (normally)? Red is normally cherry. But the majority of people do not have a craze for cherries! Oranges and grapes are consumed more the cherries. So why red? Why cherry? ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2001, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494/2 "2001-01-31T05:05:55Z")
First of all, the correlation between the fruit and the flavor is a problem. Cherry-flavored things don’t taste like cherries so the popularity of the fruit shouldn’t (and obviously doesn’t) have any bearing on the popularity of the candy flavor. (I know, grapes don’t taste like grape-flavor things either–same principal applies!) Anyway, among people that I know who do eat the red candies first, it is because the red ones are their least favorite and they are saving the best (usually orange) until last. Of course, that only applies when the red ones are cherry-flavored. If the candies are strawberry or raspberry, usually they are left until last. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494/3 "2001-02-01T00:31:37Z")
Well, when it comes to M&Ms, I always eat the brown and browner ones first. Sure they tast the same, but they’re the “ugly” ones and I like to get rid of them first. ---
**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494/4 "2001-02-01T02:28:35Z")
Personally, I like the light brown M&M’s the best. They taste the chocolatiest! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494/5 "2001-02-01T02:34:43Z")
I like purple. It’s my favorite flavor. Red comes second–but only if it’s red (cherry or strawberry) instead of red (cinammon) Not that red (cinammon) is bad in itself. It’s much better than black. Black is invariably bad. My top three favorite color flavors are 1. Purple 2. Red (Cherry) 3. Blue My least favorites are Orange and Black. ---
**Author:** ![rivulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rivulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rivulus)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494/6 "2001-02-01T02:35:46Z")
But when you eat your Smarties do you eat the red ones last? I do. 😉 rivulus ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494/7 "2001-02-01T04:41:10Z")
[Moderator watch ON] Why, oh why, was this posted in General Questions, when we have a whole forum dedicated to questions of opinion? [Moderator watch OFF] For what it’s worth, artificial cherry flavoring isn’t really cherry flavored, it’s grenadine flavored. This is because marachino cherries (the kind you put on top of sundaes) are typically packed in grenadine syrup, so the flavor became associated with cherries. Also for what it’s worth, I happen to like grenadine flavoring. ---
**Author:** ![Silly\_Rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Silly\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silly_Rabbit)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494/8 "2001-02-01T05:19:11Z")
What I do when I eat candy is seperate them by color, then I make sure I have the same amount of each color. Then I systematically eat one of each color until they are all gone! OCD??? Naw… [sub]Now excuse me while I go wash my hands again[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Cyndar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cyndar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyndar)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494/9 "2001-02-01T05:30:06Z")
I don’t eat a whole lot of candy. When I do eat M&Ms, I eat the blue ones first. ---
**Author:** ![Amazing\_Tiki\_God](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazing\_Tiki\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazing_Tiki_God)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494/10 "2001-02-01T05:32:01Z")
I always eat the really bright colored ones first like the yellows and the oranges. I don’t know what it’s just what my eye says YUMMY I like those kinda colors and there it is I am eating it. ---
**Author:** ![Erika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/47e85d/32.png) [@Erika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erika)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494/11 "2001-02-01T05:35:43Z")
I’m not particularly picky about candy colors. Well, I s’pose I am. But the only time it’s really systematic is with M&Ms: blue first (change is bad! therefore the blue ones must go!) brown red orange yellow green The reasoning for the rest (after blue) is rather messed up. The brown ones are nice, but uninteresting so they go next. Green is one of my favorite colors (the other being purple), so they go last. Red and green are Christmas colors, and that looks funny anytime but December, so they go. Orange and green have a number of associations, so the orange ones have to get eaten next. And then yellow, as they are not green. ---
**Author:** ![Quark\_W.Griswold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Quark\_W.Griswold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quark_W.Griswold)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494/12 "2001-02-01T05:38:49Z")
I can’t think of any candy I eat where I eat the red ones first. **Smarties** , I eat the yellow ones first, save the white ones for last. The rest don’t matter. **Skittles** , I eat the yellow ones first, I save the green ones for last. **Crunch Berries** I save the red ones for last. **M&Ms** I eat by the handful indiscriminately. **Starbursts** , I save the pink for last, I give the red to someone else. (Ick) ---
**Author:** ![Pammipoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/87869e/32.png) [@Pammipoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pammipoo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494/13 "2001-02-01T08:55:27Z")
With skittles, i ALWAYS save the reds for last. That way, when the bag’s gone, I’m not stuck with a yucky lemon aftertaste in my mouth. Ahh, nice refreshing strawberry… ---
**Author:** ![lolagranola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea5d25/32.png) [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494/14 "2001-02-01T14:55:01Z")
I always eat my least favourite first. In most cases, that is the red. Thanks for that “when you eat your smarties” thing, **rivulus**. I’ll never get that out of my head. **Silly Rabbit** , I had to laugh, since that is exactly the way Feynn eats his. You two need help. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494/15 "2001-02-01T15:12:48Z")
I like to take out all the M&Ms or Smarties from the box and arrange them on the table into little groups by colour, and put them all together in neat little shapes. Sometimes I try to arrange them in the shapes of various continents or geographical locations, with the different colours being different countries or states or whatever, and then as I gobble them down I think to myself, “I’m eating the San Francisco Bay area.” What fun. The colour choice depends on what will most aesthetically suit my artwork. 🙂 To complete **rivulus’s** point: When you eat your Smarties do you eat the red ones last? Do you suck them very slowly, or crunch them very fast? Eat that candy-coated chocolate, but tell me when I ask, When you eat your Smarties do you eat the red ones last? ---
**Author:** ![Gazoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ce73a5/32.png) [@Gazoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gazoo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494/16 "2001-02-01T15:34:56Z")
I don’t know of any particular color order I devour them in, but any type of candy like this (M&Ms, Skittles, Starburst, Runts, etc) I, like **Silly Rabbit** , always divide them up by color first. Hey, you just don’t want the blues and reds mingling with each other, okay? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Stella\_Fantasia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@Stella\_Fantasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stella_Fantasia)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494/17 "2001-02-01T18:47:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chronos \* > \ > \*\*For what it’s worth, artificial cherry flavoring isn’t really cherry flavored, it’s grenadine flavored. This is because marachino cherries (the kind you put on top of sundaes) are typically packed in grenadine syrup, so the flavor became associated with cherries. > > Also for what it’s worth, I happen to like grenadine flavoring. \*\* I feel like I might get decapitated for disagreeing with a moderator, but I was under the impression that grenadine syrup/flavoring was actually supposed to taste like pomegranate…maraschino cherries (in America, I don’t where you live) have more of a bitter almond flavor base, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494/18 "2001-02-01T23:18:47Z")
[QUOTE] _Originally posted by Stella_Fantasia \* \*\* > [@](#): > > I feel like I might get decapitated for disagreeing with a moderator, but I was under the impression that grenadine syrup/flavoring was actually supposed to taste like pomegranate…maraschino cherries (in America, I don’t where you live) have more of a bitter almond flavor base, I think. \*\* Bitter almonds? Isn’t that what **cyanide** tastes like? ---
**Author:** ![hypergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/49beb7/32.png) [@hypergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hypergirl)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494/19 "2001-02-02T02:43:54Z")
Red is almost always my favorite, so I usually try to save it for last. With gummy bears I eat the icky lemon ones first and save the pineapple and cherry for last. Skittles I save the strawberry and grape for last. Starburst I save strawberry and cherry for last, eat orange only if there are no reds or pinks left, and try my best to give away the yellows. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494/20 "2001-02-02T10:44:43Z")
I grab handfuls and shove them in my mouth. That’s about it when it comes to colour selection. Not M&M’s though. Can’t stand them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-eat-the-red-ones-first/52494.md?page=2)