WEST CHICAGO – One of the easiest and cheapest ways to keep children happy in the summer is the frozen ice bar, and the two top brands are Fla-Vor-Ice and Otter Pops. The question is which is preferable, and why. Both brands are made by the Chicago company Jel-Sert, andMORE HERE
CHICAGO – Chuckles is a simple pectin-based jelly candy with sugar coating, sold in candy bar form. Echoing old Turkish jelly candies, it was an innovation for its ability not to get sticky. The candies are sold in groups of five; the classic flavors are (from left) cherry, lemon, licorice,MORE HERE
VIRGINIA BEACH – One of my first childhood memories is being on the kitchen floor of our garage apartment on 78th Street, looking at a corrugated Brach’s Candy box. It had to be before 1969, when we moved to a real house, and my parents got out of the businessMORE HERE
There are so many great old soda brands that are no longer around. One of the more clever, graphic wise, is Like, which was a diet version of 7Up. Here, a bottle in the Morattico Waterfront Museum in Morattico, Virginia. The museum is the old Morattico Country Store, which alsoMORE HERE
A few years ago, on a Delta flight, I recall an attendant handing out Lance peanut crackers, along with Cokes. How delightfully Southern and declassé, but in a good, circumspect way. I was curious how such a staple of the Southern diet, namely a Coke and Nabs, could be servedMORE HERE
BLOSSOM, TEXAS – We hear from fans of the Peanut Rounder. It’s “soft and delicious” soft textured peanut candy made by Anderson Candy Company. Blossom is in Lamar County, in the northern part of the state. The company apparently has its roots in the 1940s, when a fellow named DanMORE HERE
Of the classic Christmas candy items, the Life Savers Storybook is among the best known. It debuted in 1935, and has appeared every Christmas since then. Today, brands in the selection include Five Flavors and Wild Cherry. Life Savers were founded in 1891 by Clarence Crane in Cleveland. It movedMORE HERE
Florida writer Sandra Friend, editor of the Florida Hikes site, reminds BrandlandUSA about Schweppes Bitter Lemon. Can you find me a source for Schweppes Bitter Lemon in Florida, Garland? I got SO hooked on it in Europe. Perfect drink for a hot day. And hey, it beats off malaria, too!MORE HERE
Early this month, many in the billionaire club signed a pledge to give away at least half their fortunes to charity, all led by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. And who can argue with that? It’s their cash and their right. But the story sort of struck me wrong afterMORE HERE
SARASOTA – One night last week, I helped melt Life Savers in the oven. For my wife’s vacation bible school class, they made the week’s theme the stained glass windows in Church of the Redeemer. After seeing the windows of this Sarasota Bay church, the kids took cookies and toppedMORE HERE