We all love a good old-fashioned sweet. Most big towns have an old-fashioned sweet shop now, and for the most part they manage to get the sweets right, but even so, they somehow don’t taste quite the same as we remember them. What was your favourite sweet to buy as a quarter when you were growing up?
Let’s take a look back at some of our favourites – and let us know if we forgot to include yours on the list!
1. Rhubarb and custards
The hard-boiled sweet that has the taste of two great ingredients together, we’re not sure how authentic the taste is, but the slight tartness of the rhubarb with the sweetness of the custard works so well!
2. Milk bottles
They have to be the ones with the floury sugar on, and they have to be slightly firm to the chew, but get them right and these are one of those really moreish sweets you can’t stop eating!
3. Liquorice comfits
A thin tube of liquorice in a crispy sugary shell, liquorice comfits will always remind us of lazy Sundays.
4. Cola cubes
The square sweets with a very slightly cola-flavoured twang to them, cola cubes are really enjoyable even now. Just try not to crunch too soon or you’ll break your teeth!
5. Cherry lips
One of our favourites. They smell just OK and taste like some kind of cherry-flavoured soap, but we still can’t stop eating them!
6. Midget Gems
Let’s get one thing straight: we’re referring to Lions brand of Midget Gems here. They were firm to chew, the black ones were liquorice flavour, and as for the white ones? They tasted identical to these bad boys…
7. Pear drops
Red and yellow pear drops tasted so good, you would pop one in, determined to suck it until it was gone, then before you knew it you’d crunched it up and needed another!
8. Pontefract cakes
These small, round disks of liqourice somehow tasted different to other liquorice, and they were always best when they were made of the firm, hard-eating stuff!
9. Coconut mushrooms
A little messy, coconut mushrooms still tasted great, especially if you were a big fan of desiccated coconut.
10. Sweet tobacco
Similar in taste to the coconut mushrooms, but these were really bitty and broke apart in your mouth. An acquired taste, but a great snack!
11. Bon-bons
Whether it was the strawberry ones, apple ones or the white ones with the firm toffee centre, bon-bons were the kind of sweet that you would start to eat and could be gone within minutes!
12. Chewing nuts
We’re no fan of fake chocolate, but the chocolate flavour outside of these firm caramel chews just used to work. We couldn’t stop until they were all gone!