Lost snacks of your childhood...

[kaylasdad99]

@Mean_Mr.Mustard

Was it Sears (maybe JC Penney?) that had an entire counter of different types of unwrapped candies, mostly chocolates? I remember seeing big hunks O chocolate - plain, with almonds, white, etc, presumably you would ask the worker for as many triangles as you wanted; it was sold by weight.

Alas, mom and dad walked right by that counter every time while I stared wide-eyed at the bounty.

Weird to imagine that setup amid the Craftsman tools and leisure suits.
mmm

I can’t speak to the situation at JC Penney, as I didn’t go there on a regular basis, but they did have a bulk candy counter at the Sears in Del Amo Shopping Center in Torrance when I was a kid. Down in the lowest level (possibly even below ground level, which now that I think back on it was weird, because it was like a block and a half away from a natural marsh), with the riding lawn mowers, and the toys (okay, the other toys).

The most I could ever afford to buy was a quarter-pound sack, and I was very conscious of how small a heap of bridge mix made a quarter pound. My saving candy revealed itself when I found out about their chocolate-covered honeycomb candy, which was very light, and quite bulky for its weight (it wasn’t actually honeycomb; more like what we would recognize as Violet Crumble, but in irregular-shaped chunks).

[aceplace57]

Brach used to have bulk candy in the grocery. I’d get a 1/4 lb bag with the maple caramel, chocolate caramel, red cinnamon disks, and those white blocks with colored jelly pieces.

I remember the last few years the candy was usually stale and rock hard. Took a few seconds in the microwave to soften enough to eat. It must not have been selling very well.

I haven’t seen it in the grocery for at least 15 years.

[Thudlow_Boink]

@aceplace57

Brach used to have bulk candy in the grocery.

Oh yeah! And there was a little box with a slot in it that you could put a few cents in if you just wanted to take one or two pieces to sample.

[Chefguy]

@Qadgop_the_Mercotan

See the discussion on the previous page, also in previous threads about this seriously jonesed for product.

Skimmed it, didn’t see it, bears repeating.

[lingyi]

@TRC4941

I don’t remember the chocolate being in Sears or Penneys, but I do recall wooden barrels that had big bulk chocolate chunks (all different sizes) wrapped in clear plastic in them. It was like someone took a hammer to a giant chocolate bar and then wrapped the pieces. It was the best chocolate ever! I remember seeing them in Shoppers’ City. Which was the greatest store ever.

I remember chocolate chunks! My parents may have bought it for me a few times, but not sure.

Not chocolate, but cheese. Woolworth’s used to have giant cheese wheels from which chucks could be custom cut from. And they always sample cubes on a plate. Most of them were okay for nibbling, but I remember one time, I saw this old man take a cube a put it completely in his mouth. I did the same thing and immediately spit it out! It was a pretty well aged sharp cheddar.

[Sitnam]

@Machine_Elf

Took a look, and was surprised to see that Zotz are still available. These are hard candies that have baking powder at their center: you sucked on them until the hard candy shell was mostly gone, then you bit into them, creating a sweet bubbly fizz.

Yes! The inside would desintegrarte and the hard candy would sharpen so it was like little razor blades in the kids mouth.

[DrCube]

How has nobody mentioned Giggles cookies or Amazin’ Fruit gummy bears yet? Actually, Amazin’ Fruit was more of a stoner teenager snack than a strictly childhood snack for me, but still, I miss them! They had a great flavor that other gummy products just don’t have. As a kid, I would have sworn Oreos and ELFudge were garbage compared to Giggles. Been too long for me to really recall their flavor now, though. I just remember the faces, and how I liked them best of all store bought cookies.

[TreacherousCretin]

@Infovore

My mom used to love AbbaZabbas. I didn’t like them until I started putting them in the freezer, which made them a lot easier to eat (and easier on the teeth!)
The racist wrappers were well before my time, though. I only remember the yellow-and-black one that I think they still use.

I like(d) them in-my-pocket-for-an-hour warm. The racist wrappers are long gone, I remember having seen them only as a child, probably before 1960.

[Prof.Pepperwinkle]

Rocky Road candy bars when they still had the jelly filling in them.

G. C. Murphy’s had a glazed jelly candy for years that I loved. They came in four colors/flavors (orange, lemon, cherry and lime) and were in the shapes of card suits.

[lingyi]

@aceplace57

Brach used to have bulk candy in the grocery. I’d get a 1/4 lb bag with the maple caramel, chocolate caramel, red cinnamon disks, and those white blocks with colored jelly pieces.

I remember the last few years the candy was usually stale and rock hard. Took a few seconds in the microwave to soften enough to eat. It must not have been selling very well.

I haven’t seen it in the grocery for at least 15 years.

Not sure if this was my imagination or not, but didn’t they have a second smaller tier too? The reason I wonder if this was real or not is I know for sure when we visited Tokyo Tower in Japan, they had a candy carousel that had at least brightly three tiers (though to to my 3 year old mind, it went on forever), with what seems to be every candy possible. When my parents would ask me if I remembered visiting Tokyo Tower, the candy carousel is the only thing I could think of.

[lingyi]

Ahhh…more Brachs memories.

My grandmother would always have a bag of Brachs at her house. Remember the pink? and white bags? She would give me a handful in a small paper bag the she always had around the house. If she forgot to give me a bag before we left, I’d hint, “Oh grandma, can I have a piece of candy?” and she’d remember and give me a handful in the paper bag. Sometimes (oh happy day!) if she knew she was going to the market that day or the next, she’s give me whatever was left in the Brachs bag because she was planning to get a new batch. She did the same time with Doublemint gum or Hersey’s Kisses in the box. A handful at a time, unless she was planning to restock!

[Qadgop_the_Mercotan]

I know Bun bars aren’t extinct, but I haven’t seen them at a retailer in a long time. I always enjoyed those as a kid, particularly the maple ones.

And now I see they have a salted caramel variety. I’d try that at least once.

Aha! Their website lists retailers too. I’m not too far removed from Meijer’s, or Fleet Farm, or even Wegman’s in a pinch.

[dwyr]

The only one of mine not mentioned yet would be Spoon Candy. A mousse-like pudding dessert with a hard chocolate topping. I particularly liked the peanut butter flavor. It appears to have had a short life span in the 70s but I’ve never forgotten it.

[Magiver]

When I was a kid in the 60’s there was a cereal/snack called Triple Snack. It was a combination of Sugar Pops, Sugar Smacks, and roasted peanuts.

I might have to recreate it sometime to see if it measures up to the memory.

[MacCat]

@Thudlow_Boink

I remember a candy bar that had six different filled sections (thankfully, no coconut), but for the life of me I can’t remember what it was called.

Sky Bar had four sections. Had a few of those back in the day…

[nightshadea]

I miss Brach’s pic a mix too … my faves were the neon colored fruit slices …. I found a place that sells them but they want a fortune ……… Brach's Candy Fruit Slices: 7LB Bag | Candy Warehouse

You still can get Brach’s occasionally but its all bagged …since the daughter sold the company about 10-15 years ago

I miss the bubble yum/bubbalicious gum wars …. they had gum even in flavors they wouldn’t put in ice cream …….

[nightshadea]

@aceplace57

Brach used to have bulk candy in the grocery. I’d get a 1/4 lb bag with the maple caramel, chocolate caramel, red cinnamon disks, and those white blocks with colored jelly pieces.

I remember the last few years the candy was usually stale and rock hard. Took a few seconds in the microwave to soften enough to eat. It must not have been selling very well.

I haven’t seen it in the grocery for at least 15 years.

Brach's Jelly Nougats Candy: 8LB Bag

Here ya go just don’t kneel over at the price………

[aceplace57]

I never knew what the white blocks were called.
Jelly Nougats.

They are really good after softening in the microwave. Only takes 5 to 10 seconds.

[Newtosite]

I loved Whip 'n Chill, an instant mousse mix. And in the 80’s there was a Dutch pudding dessert sold
in quart and pint-sized milk cartons. Flavors were strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, and milk chocolate.
I believe the name was pronounced “Tutjay” – but I can’t find anything about it online.

[needscoffee]

@Newtosite

I loved Whip 'n Chill, an instant mousse mix…

Whip 'n Chill was great!!!