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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Candy Elegy

Well it is very sad, but my children's dentist has instructed me to make the greatest efforts to avoid gummy things. Chocolate is fine but all gummies, from vitamins all the way through to bears are highly frowned upon.

Naturally I think about this because of the tremendous rejoicing that happened when some individually wrapped gummy brains showed up in a pre-Halloween goodie bag. And of course it means trying to squelch my own tendencies in the children.

I love candy, particularly what my sibling calls "pretty candy"-- garish colors, odd shapes, strong flavors (particularly black licorice) and all. Chocolate is not so much my thing, though I can appreciate the wonders of a chocolate factory as much as the next kid.

So it was with some pain that I saw that an old favorite is changing. I am among the few, the proud who love Necco wafers. I love them. I love them for their spackle like qualities and their peculiar flavors, for their odd colors. They are perhaps the only dusty food I enjoy. I know that Martha Stewart would only consider them worthy of being shingles on her tasteful gingerbread houses, but I can consume them with unabashed passion. (I was chided once because they are apparently not vegetarian, but since I am not either, this fact didn't bother me-- I merely point this out for you readers who may be tempted to seek out Neccos because of my tempting description. Words like "spackle" and "dusty" surely make a food sound irresistible.)

But now my beloved may be taking a turn for the worse. Apparently Necco has decided to do the unthinkable and make this candy healthy, or if not "healthy" at least somehow pure and all natural. Why this is necessary is beyond me since it is hardly the kind of candy children gobble down hand over fist and grown-ups who care deeply about avoiding a bit of food dye are surely not the people who are buying Necco wafers in bulk. Anyway, it is very sad and even sadder is that green Neccos (one of my favorite flavors-- and yes I like the clove ones too) are vanishing because there is no natural enough green coloring agent. As my mother would say-- and will when she hears about this: "They've changed it, and now it's not good."

On the other hand, the New York Times has finally managed to make me feel less bad about myself and my sugar habit by interviewing Paul Rudnick about his diet which consists almost entirely of candy. There's a man after my own heart.

Maybe I can live his lifestyle for a couple of days after Halloween, depending on the kind of haul my kids bring in... though I do fear the worst. We live in a land of unpleasant neighbors.

posted by Elise at 6:07 AM

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4 Comments:

Laura K. Curtis said...

How depressing! I love sour patch kids (and worms, and stuff with strong sour flavors, which are almost always gummy). I also adore Grether's Black Current Pastilles, which are surely the definition of the worst in gummy candy, since they're HARD and gummy. They're dreadful for my TMJ, but I can't resist them.

10/28/2009 1:19 PM

Anonymous said...

No more dusty chocolate and licorice Neccos even if they did resemble miniature UFOs and had the consistency of stale matza? It's bad enough that I can't find Chuckles anymore (probably well before your childhood). Let's form an e-group and send hostile emails, but does anybody know who makes Neccos anymore? Most likely China, meaning they're probably full of lead.

10/28/2009 10:54 PM

Tolman said...

Oh no! Necco wafers are my mom's favorite candies. They're made in Boston, by the New England Candy Company (hence the name NECCO). So no lead, but maybe lots of dust.

10/29/2009 5:16 PM

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