Posted on 10/26/2016 8:03:07 PM PDT by rickmichaels
Kerr’s seems to be a respectable enough company.
Founded in 1895, the Ontario-based candy maker popularized the lollipop in Canada, they fuel the nation with Scotch mints and they are a leading manufacturer of lemon drops, caramels and the other sweets populating candy bowls from coast to coast.
But none of that can forgive the fact that Kerr’s has spent more than six decades selling tons upon tons of the worst Halloween candy ever devised by human hands: The Kerr’s Molasses Kiss.
Unique to Canada, the seasonal individually wrapped candies are visually similar to another hated Halloween candy, Tootsie Rolls. However, the Molasses Kiss ups the unpalatable ante by being 10 per cent composed of molasses, giving the candies an earthy, old-timey taste.
Here’s a cursory summary of online posts from Canadians describing childhood encounters with the confection:
“Not only do they get stuck on your teeth, they get jammed in between your teeth.”
“Trading these was an exercise in futility. Everyone always knew better.”
“The easiest way to remove loose fillings.”
“Poo-Candy”
Despite this universal scorn, the Kerr’s Molasses Kiss remains a fixture on store shelves. There’s even a competing brand of awful taffy-based Halloween candies. The Original Brand Halloween Kiss, manufactured in Quebec, is a similar lump of tasteless sugar served in orange wax paper that has been cursing trick-or-treat bags for decades. Except for 2013, when it was recalled for containing metal shavings.
But why does such an objectively inferior product continue to thrive?
The answer is a spooky journey into Halloween economics. First posted by the National Post for Halloween, 2015, the above video explains the murky market forces behind the commercial success of rock-hard molasses paste.
Quite simply, a holiday where strangers give candy to children has a way of encouraging illogical consumer choices.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalpost.com ...
So, that is the terrible candy from which I nearly vomited!
Mary Janes. Ewwwww.
I would like to warn everyone to look where the candy was manufactured. A lot of candy is imported from Mexico, South America (Brach’s) SpongeBob candy made in China.
Peanut brittle is very tasty but will break a denture in half.
Tootsie-Rolls are “hated”??? Since when? They are great! Hard chocolaty goodness that melts into a squishy lump then dissolves away. Can’t beat ‘em.
At least Mexico uses real sugar instead of that horrible corn syrup.
That is an insult to Satan!
Even the dark lord could not contrive of something so hideous.
Evil Circus Peanuts somehow evolved separately from anything else in nature.
They taste like Barbie dolls smell!
Sigh...and I can remember when Brach’s was still made on Chicago’s west side....
I love the Cinnamon Disks from Mexico.
This ghastly concoction continues to be sold for the same reason as another justly reviled holiday staple, the traditional fruitcake: Nobody likes it but it has acquired the sacrosanct status of “tradition.”
Incidentally, no new fruitcakes have been manufactured since 1977. The existing supply is simply passed around, usually among family groups. Each recipient hides the unwelcome morsel until the next round of holidays, then unloads it on someone else. Since no attempt is made to actually eat the things, noone is the wiser. Besides, a 40 year old fruitcake in its canister is probably as edible as it ever was.
True.
Fact.
Confirmed
I love Jolly Rancher Fire Stix, except they will pull a crown or filling right out of your mouth.. If I were a Dentist, I would give them out at Halloween..
I love circus peanuts...no kidding I really do.
Twizzlers - worst candy... ever.
We used to eat something called Astro Pops...a giant conical lolipop made of multi-colored jolly rancher like material. We would actually utilize them to pull loose teeth.
We used to eat something called Astro Pops...a giant conical lolipop made of multi-colored jolly rancher like material. We would actually utilize them to pull loose teeth.
Yeah, I was able to visit their plant. I lost my job with Brach’s when they decided to move to Mexico and South America.
And black licorice. Just the sight of it turns my stomach.
Is that raciss? I could handle the red.
Tootsies—OK, but there are things in them.
I’ve had fillings pulled out by sticky caramels.
Yeah, yeah. So what does some Canuck know? Eh?
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