Wednesday, March 9, 2011

PINEAPPLE, LIME, ORANGE, CHERRY, AND CREAM SODA: Commenter Jake wants to know:
Are the iconic Life Savers rolls disappearing? Recently my wife had a roll of Life Savers that she purchased at the airport. Popping a green one in my mouth, I was aghast that it was watermelon and not lime. Having not had Life Savers for a while, I had forgotten completely that they replaced lemon and lime with raspberry and watermelon in the 5-flavor roll a few years ago (a development to which I was and remain opposed). In any event, I ended up eating most of her roll, and while doing errands, sought to replace it. To my utter amazement, I could not find a roll of Life Savers anywhere -- not at two different grocery stores (Giant and Harris Teeter), not at CVS, and not at a local beer/wine store. The grocery stores had them in bags, but not rolls. So, I'm wondering -- does this mean the rolls are being phased out completely, or is this just an odd quirk of the stores where I live (Montgomery County, Maryland)? Am I the only one who is annoyed by this?

34 comments:

  1. sconstant9:49 AM

    I'm not generally a fan of the fruity Life Savers (prefer minty ones) or the roll packaging (doesn't carry well, the candies stick to each other too much) but I totally empathize, because of my own candy issue: I've noticed after a recent longing that it's nearly impossible to find a serving-size pack of Reese's Pieces any more. 

    I worry that we're sounding like those people who mail order C. Howards Violet-Scented Gum and remember nostalgically when liquorice allsorts were five for a ha'penny!

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  2. spacewoman9:58 AM

    I can't imagine that I'd ever go looking for Life Savers, but I certainly wouldn't turn one down if it came my way.  I was a pack-a-Saturday-morning-Shabbat-service kind of girl.  Luckily, you can get them online.  http://www.amazon.com/Lifesavers-Flavor-Hard-Candy-Count/dp/B000OYKC1O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299682636&sr=8-1

    My candy issue: Why are Cadbury Mini Eggs available only twice a year?  Don't people want to be happy all year round?

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  3. Christy in Philly10:01 AM

    I'll be keeping my eye out for Life Savers while I continue to scour Center City locations for Zitner's Butter Krak eggs (a local Philadelphia candy only available at this time of year). Luckily, the Wawa at 10th and Walnut has them. I went to about 6 grocery and drug stores-- zilch.

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  4. I also feel that way when I complain that movie theaters rarely carry Junior Mints anymore.  Damn you kids with your sexting and fruity movie candy!

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  5. I checked Amazon too, but the 20-roll minimum purchase seemed a bit much.

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  6. Joseph J. Finn10:34 AM

    Becasue Cadbury Eggs are a plot by Satan to ruin Easter.  Really, I want a chocolate egg that breaks in two and has runny yellow and white goo coming out?  Right, sure.

    (Yes, I know there's a difference and Mini Eggs are actually awesome, but my ire for the full-sized eggs leaks over.)

    My candy issue:  Why the hell doesn't Mars make Christmas packs of green & red peanut M&Ms?

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  7. Metacomment:  I did a google search on [lifesavers phasing out rolls] and this throwingthings entry is already a top ten search result. 

    Comment:  I am disturbed at the possible disappearance of the rolls.  While I agree with SConstant that the roll format does result in the candies sticking, if you eat them quickly enough (perhaps by sharing), you avoid that problem, and thus the roll can be sort of convenient and fun.  Also, like Jake, I don't understand why they got rid of the lemon and, especially, the lime.  I will keep my eye out for rolls over the lunch hour.

    Barely related comment:  I gather from elders that once upon a time tootsie rolls were delicious and actually tasted like chocolate, not like wax.

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  8. I love the dark chocolate mini eggs. I can't buy a bag because then I'll sit and eat the entire bag, but damn they're good.

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  9. spacewoman11:09 AM

    I looooooove the gooey cream eggs, but I only allow myself one a year.  On my seder plate.

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  10. I would totally eat the egg on the sedar plate if it was a cream egg! I'm going to make that suggestion this year.

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  11. spacewoman11:11 AM

    We've already discussed Necco wafers in this forum, right?  And how parents in New England in the 1970s would try to trick you into thinking that you wanted them for your treat, when in fact they are disgusting and only grown ups from the 40s and 50s like them?

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  12. Paul Tabachneck11:12 AM

    I'll look for them today -- if you can't find it here, you can't find it anywhere!

    ...Have  I mentioned I live in New York?  Ever hear of it?  It's in New York.

    (Robin will kill me.)

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  13. Marsha11:16 AM

    I work with a woman (my age) who LOVES Necco Wafers. They don't have them around here, so whenever I go to the outlet mall, I get her some from the retro candy store there. This has earned me a lot of good will over the years.

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  14. http://www.economycandy.com/

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  15. Joseph J. Finn11:25 AM

    Chocolate Necco Wafers are the bomb, yo.  The rest, I'm in complete agreement with you on.

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  16. Paul Tabachneck12:37 PM

    I know it well -- I LOVE that place.  On my birthday (I usually have my party on a different night), I took myself to the movies for a double feature with a dinner break, but all the snacks were bought earlier that day at Economy.

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  17. Interesting coincidence -- just happened to see this Boston Globe article from today saying that Necco, which had been up for sale, is being retained by its current owner, and that they are re-launching Necco wafers.

    http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2011/03/necco_is_no_lon.html?p1=Upbox_links

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  18. Hrm.  That's less than a 10 minute walk from my apartment.  Perhaps I will visit this weekend.

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  19. Aimee1:32 PM

    My dad worked right near the Necco factory when I was a kid.  I liked candy as much as any other kid, but I didn't even like the SMELL. 

    BTW, Joseph, I think I remember someone telling me that you can get chocolate-only rolls of Necco wafers.  It might just have been an online thing, but you might poke around and see!

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  20. spacewoman2:23 PM

    Can I get a green and purple only roll of Spree? 

    I grudgingly admit that chocolate Necco wafers are not that bad, but certainly still the worst "candy" available and not even as good as my kids' gummy vitamins (which are delicious).

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  21. Adlai3:05 PM

    You've never been to Economy Candy? What are you, someone who doesn't like candy?

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  22. Emily3:14 PM

    I love that you can search for candy on the website by color.

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  23. Joseph J. Finn3:56 PM

    Aimee, NECCO does indeed sell chocolate only!

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  24. Maggie5:12 PM

    This is kind of how I feel about the changes to the colors of M&Ms.  For some reason, I totally miss the light brown ones.  And while I love the pretzel M&Ms, I hate that there are no yellows - only orange, red, blue and green.

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  25. Anonymous6:02 PM

    The Super Fresh on 10th and South used to always have Butter Krak. I remember this from when I first moved to Philly in 2003 and was perplexed by such a confection.

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  26. heathalouise6:03 PM

    That was mystery me chatting about Butter Krak.

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  27. The Pathetic Earthling8:36 PM

    I loved Reed's Root Beer candies.  Not least because they were a perfect scale model of a red blood cell.

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  28. calliekl8:37 PM

    My dad goes through weird food phases in his truck... sunflower seeds, for example (which was disgusting)... at one point it was Necco wafers. I remember going up to Maine for a white water rafting trip and it was almost a complete disaster because he almost forgot to pack a stash before we left. I think this has to do with the fact that he quit smoking years ago, but was a persistant "secret smoker" in the car for a long time after, until my mom put her foot down. I also think this is why he can handle the gross flavor of Neccos... he can't taste anything after years of smoking.

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  29. The Pathetic Earthling8:39 PM

    Also, on the subject of candy generally - we're family friends with the guy who owns Jelly Belly and in 1983, just as they were hitting it big - I had a prototype bag of the Jalapeno jelly bellys.  This was great, great fun in 7th grade!

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  30. calliekl8:43 PM

    Oh, and the answer for all of the things people say they can't find? Vending machines. I checked before I left, but our machine at work has Lifesavers in rolls (fruit, spearmint, peppermint, and the brown one), single servings of Reese's Pieces, Necco wafers... should I be buying out the stock and selling them on ebay?

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  31. Nancy9:42 PM

    Since this seems like the go-to forum for such inquiries.... anyone remember a candy called Cherry Hump? I last recall having it in the mid-70's in the San Antonio area.

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  32. kenedy jane9:55 PM

    This is off-track but all of the Cadbury egg talk has reminded me of the best egg-related candy ever.  It is a large hollow chocolate egg filled with fabulous home made candies from a lovely candy shop in the Quad Cities.  You have to actually hack through the chocolate egg to get to chocolates inside.  It is heaven!  So good that when my boss, who does not celebrate Easter, experienced my egg, he felt the need to order them for his whole family the next year.  They also make a christmas ornament version.  Check it out: www.lagomarcinos.com

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  33. Anonymous10:10 PM

    I realized as an adult that my fathers gum/life saver stash in his pickup when I was a child was a direct result of 1) giving up chewing tobacco cold turkey when I was about to be born 2) using toothpicks to get over that until 3) had serious stomach/digestive issues that turned out ot be caused by a golf ball sized cluster of wood in his gut and 4) switching to something that WOULD dissolve better.

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  34. Roger8:01 AM

    I worked on a case last year and early this year that frequently sent me to an office in northern Virginia. The little grocery store/convenience store in the lobby sold probably a half dozen varieties of Lifesavers in rolls, including classic rolls. (They also had cherry and butterscotch, my favorites.) They seemed to sell enough of them that I'd be surprised if the rolls were going away.

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