DOES anybody here remember Bazooka Joe? He’s the character in the comic strip that surprises you when unwrapping a Bazooka Bubble Gum. It always gave us a thrill back then, more exciting than just chewing gum. We’d buy our gums, open these all together, and then excitedly exchange comic strips.
How's that for our first stop down candy lane? Now to our next stop and more of that sugar rush feeling.
Another famous gum was Big Boy. It didn’t have comic strips, but I remember it tasted good and was not as pricey as Bazooka. Next on the list is Tarzan. Those rectangular colorful gums that you’d buy from your neighborhood sari-sari store. Tarzan was hard gum and was not as chewy as Big Boy. Then there’s this square-shaped gum, Texas. I will never forget it because it was cheap. “Tag lima singko.”
This topic came to mind during a lunch break chat with my Gen Z colleagues about the candies of our youth. The topic casually popped up. The next thing I knew, Meryl, Rodel, and Franz were sharing their favorite candies. Meryl, being her usual ecstatic self, kept urging Franz to Google this and that.
I wonder why Meryl can relate to the candies of my youth. She knows Tira-tira, those chewy toffee candies. In my time, these candies came wrapped in “gasing.” She can also relate to that dried plum candy with the perfect balance of saltiness, sweetness, and sourness. You guessed it right, it’s Kiamoy!
Enter Haw Flakes, which Rodel also likes. My Papa used to buy it from Yellow Gold. My brother doesn't like them. For him, it tasted like cardboard. It made me think, has he tasted cardboard then?
What candies from your childhood made you giddy with delight? Do you keep a sweet treat handy for a quick sugar boost?
Ivan loved gummy worms and used to eat them in a way that made it look like he was eating real worms. He also tried Gobstopper, known as Jawbreaker, as Franz aptly described its effect. Other favorites of Ivan were Nerds, Pintoora, and Yakee gumballs. Pintoora made his lips and tongue the same color as the candy, and Yakee was an extremely sour gumball.
There are still several candies from the past that have waved their way into the present, but what do these candies stand for? Are they just here for the sweet tooth in us?
Chatting with Gen Z colleagues brought back memories, and it’s clear that these candies are more than just sweet treats. These were our childhood’s source of happiness and a way of bonding among friends and family.
Nowadays, artisanal chocolates and gourmet sweets are everywhere. But do they evoke the same sweet memories as the humble candies from our past? I doubt. Those simple treats remind us of a time when happiness was just a wrapper away.
