# What's your favorite non-mainstream candy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 17, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943 "2015-02-17T19:19:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943/1 "2015-02-17T19:19:08Z")
Forget about Snickers, M & M’s, Reese’s peanut butter cups, etc. for a moment. My sweet tooth is often more satisfactorily sated by lesser-known treats, put out by lesser-known confectioners. I developed my taste for them back in the days of five and dime stores with lunch counters. And not the luxury five and dime stores like Kresge’s or Woolworths, either. I’m talking Bun bars, or Salted Nut Rolls or Bit-o-Honey, put out by [Pearson’s](http://pearsonscandy.com/). I’m talking Lemonheads or Atomic Fireballs or Boston Baked Beans by [Ferrara](http://www.ferrarausa.com/brands/). I’m talking really, _really_ out there candies, like Circus Peanuts, by [Spangler’s](http://www.spanglercandy.com/our-brands/circus-peanuts). Yum . . . So what’s your niche candy? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943/2 "2015-02-17T19:29:09Z")
**C. Howard’s Violet mints**. They sold them in most of the stores in my home town, but they seem relatively rare elsewhere. I’ve seen them at Newbury Comics in the Boston area sometimes, or at Plymouth Plantation (!), but I can’t just walk into a random store and expect to find them (except back in my home town) [http://www.chowardcompany.com/products.htm](http://www.chowardcompany.com/products.htm) They make violet chewing gum, too. They also make other products – Lemon mints, spearmints, peppermints, and now Guava (!), but almost none of those were around when I was a kid. The violet mints and gum really DO taste like violet. Even if you’ve never tasted violets, you’d agree after eating one. I now understand how Indian food includes ice cream flavors like “Rose”. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943/3 "2015-02-17T19:34:54Z")
Bit-O-Honey! There’s one restaurant an hour from us that my husband and I sometimes frequent. The restaurant has a country store attached, and the store sells Bit-O-Honey, so every time we go, we come back with a big batch of Bit-O-Honey. And the best part is he doesn’t like the candy as much, so I get to eat all of them! ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943/4 "2015-02-17T19:35:54Z")
[U-No](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-No_Bar) bars and [Zero](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZERO_bar) bars. Yum! Hard to find fresh, because a case of them usually lasts a retailer a few decades. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943/5 "2015-02-17T19:39:59Z")
Payday ---
**Author:** ![Elemenopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5e925/32.png) [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943/6 "2015-02-17T19:41:08Z")
Off the top of my head-- [Claey’s Hoarhound drops](http://www.oldtimecandy.com/candy-drops-horehound-bag/). I also like their watermelon and rootbeer drops. I’m also fond of the no-name cheapo peanut brittle that you sometimes find around the holidays. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943/7 "2015-02-17T19:43:33Z")
Good god, there is someone out there that likes Circus Peanuts? After a thread here recently made me re-seek them out, I find that I do quite like [Chick-O-Stick](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick-O-Stick). Basically, think of Butterfingers without the chocolate. If Whatchamacallit counts, then count me in for that, too. As for international favorites, in Hungary there’s a candy bar called [Túró Rudi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%BAr%C3%B3_Rudi). It’s a tube of chocolate-covered _túró_ (something like farmer’s cheese/cottage cheese. Basically a fresh curdy cheese, but not as wet as cottage cheese. If you know the Russian _tvorog_ or a firm variant of German quark, or something like Indian paneer, that’s what I’m talking about.) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943/8 "2015-02-17T19:45:31Z")
Oh, and I haven’t seen these in actual stores since the 80s, or perhaps very early 90s, but [Albert’s Ice Cubes](http://www.amazon.com/Alberts-Chocolate-Ice-Cubes-100/dp/B00A4BRAE4). ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943/9 "2015-02-17T19:46:37Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Payday I’ve never been to the USA, so perhaps I’m missing some nuances of what Qadqop means by “mainstream”, but I’d be surprised if a Hershey product I can buy in a bargain store in Whitley Bay is what he had in mind. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943/10 "2015-02-17T19:56:03Z")
It was the Milk Shake Bar, long gone now. I like those jelly fruit slices, no particular brand, and not all of them are good. And the little chocolate liquor bottles with some kind of real liquor in them are a treat. They aren’t available for sale in every state because of the alcohol, I stock up when I find them because people like so much, even though it’s just some cheap milk chocolate with some cheap liquor inside. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943/11 "2015-02-17T19:56:52Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > I’ve never been to the USA, so perhaps I’m missing some nuances of what Qadqop means by “mainstream”, but I’d be surprised if a Hershey product I can buy in a bargain store in Whitley Bay is what he had in mind. True enough. I just went with the idea that they’re not as popular as Baby Ruth, M&M’s and others. If you want the real “non-mainstream” candy, I’ll go with [Original Savannah’s Candy Kitchen Divinity](http://www.savannahcandy.com/category/Divinity-Candy) which is too costly and too sweet for everyday indulgence. Another such oddity is an anise-flavored all-day sucker that I haven’t had since I was a kid. Anybody ever had a [Long Boy Kraut?](http://www.trademarkia.com/long-boy-kraut-71591066.html) ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943/12 "2015-02-17T19:59:10Z")
Qadgop, I seem to remember you and I talked about this once - tamarind candy! Love! ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943/13 "2015-02-17T20:02:57Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > Bit-O-Honey! I can’t find Bit-O-Honey in my neck of the woods, so I recently ordered a whole carton of the bars, plus a bag of individual pieces, from [oldtimecandy.com](http://oldtimecandy.com) - I’m eating one right now! I also ordered a bag of Walnettos, good for channelling my inner Tyrone F. Horneigh. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943/14 "2015-02-17T20:03:17Z")
> [@Elemenopy](#): > > Off the top of my head-- [**Claey’s Hoarhound drops**](http://www.oldtimecandy.com/candy-drops-horehound-bag/). I also like their watermelon and rootbeer drops. +1! The local Micheal’s carries 'em so someone besides me is buying. ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943/15 "2015-02-17T20:09:55Z")
[Maple sugar candy](http://www.piecesofvermont.com/category/maple-sugar-candy.html)! Thank God for the internet, because in the late 80s, early 90s I had to rely on family members mailing it to me or bringing it back from trips home to New England. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943/16 "2015-02-17T20:10:07Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Oh, and I haven’t seen these in actual stores since the 80s, or perhaps very early 90s, but [Albert’s Ice Cubes](http://www.amazon.com/Alberts-Chocolate-Ice-Cubes-100/dp/B00A4BRAE4). Oh, man! I remember those. Honest, I ate all my vegetables. You saw me, the waitress saw me, can I have one? Please? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943/17 "2015-02-17T20:20:51Z")
I’d go with Regal Crown Sours, but they haven’t made them in decades. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943/18 "2015-02-17T20:30:03Z")
I dunno if it counts and non-mainstream but I love Chewy Spree. For actual non-mainstream, I like [Nice! Peach Rings](http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/nice!-peach-rings-candy/ID=prod6108488-product) and [Nice! Cherry Sours](http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/nice!-sours-cherry/ID=prod6108493-product) from Walgreens. The candy aisle at Walgreens is brutal - especially since you pay a lot more per packet if you just buy one packet. ---
**Author:** ![Hopeful\_Crow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Hopeful\_Crow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hopeful_Crow)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943/19 "2015-02-17T20:35:29Z")
**Mint flavored Uno** and **Rocky Road** bars, both produced by Annabelle. I wouldn’t turn down the regular flavor but thought the mint was much tastier. Haven’t seen them in well over a decade or maybe closer to two. Those bars that were mainly coconut with stripes of brown, white and pink. Can’t remember the name. Scrub Jay found some [Flicks](http://www.candycrate.com/flchwa1.html) chocolates recently. I believe at Ikea. They’re kind of like the poor man’s Hershey Kiss. I’d forgotten about them but she has fond memories of them. It does remind me of the time I’d fooled her into eating a carob hamster treat, which looked very similar. 🙂 **Qadgop,** if you have a Dollar Tree near you, check there for your Circus Peanut fix. I think the ones they sell are made by Spengler but don’t quote me on it. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2015, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943/20 "2015-02-17T20:45:07Z")
Brach’s nougats- the ones with the fruity hunks in them. Also, Brach’s Christmas tree peppermint nougats. Clark bars are better than Butterfingers. I will occasionally feast on a strawberry Charleston Chew. I haven’t seen Kentucky mints or chocolate stars in ages. I’m really ticked off at the abandoning of the finest flavor, lime, by Skittles, Lifesavers, Pixie Stix, and SweeTarts. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-favorite-non-mainstream-candy/712943.md?page=2)