Who even likes hard candy?
That was the question that one of my family members posed at our most recent summer get-together.
While some of the younger faces in the room completely ignored the question, the rest of us glanced over at them in pure awe. Especially my grandmother, who is known for keeping a roll of Reeds hard candy cinnamon flavor in her clutch purse at all times.
As this family tried to defend their egregious choice (they will remain unnamed as the shame is too much to bear), the rest of us began throwing around some of the best hard candies that we all grew up with. After some back and forth, we had crafted a creative list of confections that I completely forgot about, including a few that we carry here at OldTimeCandy.com.
Which led me to this article—5 hard candies that every candy lover needs to try.
While I cannot vouch for every single flavor of candy that each of these brands brings to the table, one thing I can assure you is that hard candy, though considered “older” is not going anywhere anytime soon and the five we mention below are ones that you should get your hands on immediately.
5 Hard Candies Every Candy Connoisseur Needs To Try
Charms Assorted Squares
Like many candies from the early 1910s, the candy was popular amongst the youth for its color and patterned wrapper. This wrapper covered the hard candy on the inside that was light, small, and packed with cane sugar, making it perfect for WWI troops who needed that extra boost of energy.
While you might not find these at your local grocery, best believe you can get them in our hard candy aisle or by simply clicking right here.
Reeds Candy Rolls
Reeds has been making hard candy for over 120 years and was one of the first confectionery companies to develop the hard candy roll and the machines that would take it directly from cook to package. While they are known for flexing a variety of flavors of hard candy, their most famous by far is butterscotch which you can find in your grandma’s table stash in her living room.
Or you can grab some for yourself by tapping right here.
Claeys Hard Candy
Three generations of Claeys have been whipping up hard candy since 1919 and all of it started in grandpa’s basement. Did we mention that some of their flavors are no joke?! They’ve got all the traditional stuff like cherry, watermelon and green apple, but they take it up another notch with flavors like horehound, anise, root beer, and cinnamon!
Sound like something your taste buds would love? Grab a few by clicking right here.
Stick Candy
If you were lucky enough to have a traditional candy store in your town growing up, then you will remember these stick candies that came in virtually every single color and flavor.
Whether you were a tropical, spicy, or sweet flavor fan, you could always find something you like when it came to these. There’s just nothing better than stepping into the candy store, grabbing a handful of different stick candy, and walking back home with a bouquet of hard candy sweets that you know mom was going to yell about.
Dads Root Beer Barrels
Why does it feel so fitting for dads to love root beer? Some say it’s the root, while many others have said the beer. Whatever it may be, these hard candies are hard to forget, especially when they come in a massive canister that fits perfectly on the living room side table.
As the youngest hard candy on this list (born in 1930) Dad’s Root Beer Barrel began in an old, dusty Chicago basement. Two friends, Ely Klapman and Barney Berns, started the company after coming up with the idea to make a hard candy that tasted like their favorite beverage, and with some old-fashioned basement testing, they found a recipe that filled the void they never knew they had.
In 1938, the company filed its first trademark for the name Dad’s Root Beer Company and they’ve been killing it ever since.
**Knock, Knock** hard candy is at the door…
While you could try to go to your local grocery store and get your hands on all of these tasty treats, that would require effort and driving and walking into the store.
Allow us to make it a lot easier on you…
Simply tap right here and we’ll take you right to our digital aisle of hard candy. All you need to do is grab the ones you love the most, then, we will package it up nicely and send it right to your front door!
Sounds like a plan?