12 childhood favorite candies you can still buy (and where to get them)
Okay, candy may never taste quite the way it did during a game of disco swimming, marathon Zappelin watching and a ride in the back seat with your brothers and sisters. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t still delicious. And that you can’t still enjoy it later in life. Because a whole lot of your childhood favorite candy is still being sold. I’ll tell you where.
So stock up on those Smarties, foam blocks and candy necklaces!
PEZ candy
Does PEZ not ring a bell? I get it, I wouldn’t either. But don’t worry: when you see them, all the alarm bells will go off. They’re a kind of small, fruity peppermint candy in little rectangles. Tasty, but the real reason you wanted them was the dispenser. You could put a roll of PEZ in it and then ‘click’ it into your hand in a really cool way. The dispensers came in all kinds of characters, from Disney to Super Mario. And yeees, Action still has them featuring the latter hero. You can get Super Mario PEZ candy there for € 1.39.
Candy necklaces
You really made a splash with a candy necklace, bracelet or watch around your body. It was practical too, because you could always nibble on it. Just think about how gross it was to wear a candy necklace while your saliva mixed with all that sugar. No, as kids we really didn’t give a f*ck. Still don’t care and want to travel back in time? Look-O-Look still sells candy jewelry, and you can simply find it at Albert Heijn, Jumbo or Jamin. For +/- € 2.50, you can get a bag.
Koetjes bars
How cute are Koetjes bars?! It’s actually incredibly simple candy, because it’s nothing more than a small piece of wrapped chocolate. But there’s something hugely nostalgic about it. Everyone undoubtedly knows someone from their childhood who had these stocked in bulk in their pantry. Albert Heijn has them (very adorably) on the shelves in a Samen Delen package. There are about 12 pieces in it.
Foam blocks
When FavorFlav’s Sharon thinks of foam blocks, she thinks of the afternoons when she used to hang out at the pool with friends for hours. Sound familiar? Those blocks were seriously addictive. They melted so wonderfully on your tongue, and that sugar rush really kicked in at full speed. If you still fancy them: they’re in the candy wall at Jamin!
Gumballs
Gumballs are a real core memory for me. For everyone in my family, actually. My grandmother had entire strips in the cupboard, and the challenge was to put as many of those gumballs in your mouth as possible. She strongly encouraged that too. My sister held the record: I think she could get about 10 in at once. The flavor disappears in no time and you’re chewing rubber, but hey: at least you had fun. The strips are still available at Albert Heijn, but Action sells a real machine filled with gumballs for € 3.99. It looks nice on your desk too.
Bubblicious gum
Speaking of gum. Those balls weren’t exactly the best choice if you wanted to blow big bubbles. Right? No, for that you had to put just one type of gum in your mouth, and that was Bubblicious gum. The definition of sickly sweet. Anyone who wants to see whether they still have their bubble-blowing skills hidden somewhere: Action sells packs with 3 strips for 0.95 cents. Jamin has them too, by the way.
Mikado sticks
Not a good idea if you want to get children to eat less candy: turn the candy into a game. LU did exactly that and brought Mikado to the market: ‘wafer sticks’ covered in chocolate. You could—indeed—play Mikado with them. Actually, you can still play with them. Because Action still has them in stock, for € 1.49. As do Jumbo, Albert Heijn and Plus, by the way.
Smarties
Smarties have been sold since time immemorial. I still remember that when I went to play at a friend’s house after school, it was one big celebration if their mother had bought Smarties. Especially the little boxes, which you could tap straight into your mouth in one go. Oh, the good old days. Playing with a friend suddenly sounds a lot more innocent when you say it out loud as an adult, don’t you think? Ah, just stay young at heart, a housemate of mine always used to say. You can still do that by stocking up on Smarties Mini. Available for € 1.87 at Action.
Fireballs (Jaw Breakers)
These really were legitimate Jaw Breakers. These balls were so rock-hard that a broken jaw was a serious risk you took as a 12-year-old back then. Patience was required. You had to lick and suck on them, and then the ball would gradually get smaller. As I said, a lot of words and expressions suddenly sound different when you put them in an adult’s mouth. Want to buy Fireballs? Jamin still has several flavors in stock.
Kinder Surprise egg
A Kinder Surprise egg is a bit like life. You never know exactly what’s inside. You probably didn’t think about it that deeply back then. You just cracked open the egg immediately and tore out the toy. Whether you can control yourself a little better now, there’s only one way to find out: buy one again. And yes, you can! Jumbo, Albert Heijn and Plus all still have Kinder Surprise eggs in their range.
Fruittella
Hands up if your mother put Fruittella (and Sultana and Fristi) in your backpack when you were going to the playground/the pool/Efteling with friends for the day—fill in the blank. These are true classics that you simply must have cherished as a child, even if only because your mother was so sweet to give them to you. Buy them again, for yourself or someone else. Albert Heijn, Jumbo and Plus still sell them. A pack with 4 rolls costs approximately € 2.15.
Manna puffed rice
This really was (is!) incredibly moreish. A bit of fried air that you keep putting into your mouth. It weighs nothing, doesn’t really taste like anything either, and yet you’d finish an entire bag in one go. You can still eat puffed rice shamelessly: just get a bag for € 1.99 at Albert Heijn, Jumbo or Plus.
Read also:
- 5 bizarre but incredibly delicious cheese-and-candy combinations
- This is why banana candy tastes so intensely banana-like
- This is the sourest candy in the world (and there’s even a challenge based on it)
Images: Action and Albert Heijn
