Diabetic Shock Community Candy Review#3: Swedish Fish - The Red (Vegetarian Friendly!) Legend
Swedish Fish was recommended by @justinashby - He'll get 25% of the SBD payout of this post!
Past Reviews:
The Kinder Joy recommended by @artsygoddess - RECEIVED 4SBD
The Watchamacallit recommended by @Mr-gimme-wiggles - RECEIVED 4SBD
Look at that box! If you have ever gone to a movie theater in the USA, seeing that iconic box will bring you back, somewhere. I don't know where, exactly, but you're going somewhere when you see Swedish Fish.
For me, the memories are mostly positive: Slowly working my way through an entire box while watching Disney's Aladdin; or sitting on the curb in front of my house noshing on a handful of these bizarre red fish while my friends play in the street.
Let's get in there.
Years ago you only saw a box of Swedish Fish at the movies.
It used to be they were arranged pretty haphazardly inside the box. Or even sold in a plastic bag alone, but I never see that anymore. Nowadays, it's all about the movie theater style box, and inside...
It might be my imagination but it seems to me that there used to be more fish in each box. I remember as a kid it seemed like the amount might effectively be infinite. You never made it to the end of a bag of Swedish Fish without feeling as though you would never eat a Swedish Fish again.
Today it seems like there are less fish overall.
Let's tear that bag open.
The perfect school of candy Micropterus you could ever hope for.
These delicious little bastards are unlike any other candy on Earth. First, they do hail from Sweden... sort of. The parent company is called "Malaco", which is still very popular in Sweden and which makes primarily very Swedish fish made of salty licorice. If those sound gross, that's because they are, unless you grew up eating them, which I did not.
In Sweden, Swedish fish aren't called Swedish fish, cause that would be silly. Instead, they're called "pastelfiskar", or pastel fish. Malaco makes a bunch of different flavors of "pastelfiskar." They are all "wine gums", which is just another word for "gummy". But instead of using gelatin - derived from animal products - Swedish Fish use a combination of corn syrup, corn starch and carnauba wax to achieve its "gummy" texture - which means it is vegetarian friendly.
In the mid 20th century, Malaco decided to hop the Atlantic and get into the US market.
To that end, they designed a whole new candy for the US consumer. This makes sense, because the salty licorice flavor would have caused riots. The red Swedish Fish is the result of Malaco's R&D. Today Swedish Fish are produced in several places around the world, and distributed in the US by the company Cadbury Adams.
But let's get right to it! Let's dive in head first! What do these fishies taste like?!
The flavor is not quite like anything else I've ever tasted. It is super sweet, and fruity - but what is it specifically? Cherry? No way. Strawberry? Not exactly. Maybe a hint of raspberry?
I mean, it's all of these things - and none of them. What the red swedish fish accomplishes is tasting like the ESSENCE of berries without tasting like any actual berry. You bite into it, and you immediately think berries - but beyond that, your brain has no idea what's going on. The result is a flavor unique to Swedish Fish alone - which is a miracle of chemical product design.
Another part of that miracle is the texture. Getting the texture of a gummy perfect is very difficult. There are the hard chews of Haribo gummy bears, compared to the extremely soft chews of, say, a Welch's gummy snack.
Swedish fish hits the bullseye - right in between too chewy and too soft. Some might prefer a less middle of the road consistency, especially since Swedish fish tend to get stuck in your teeth at first. Personally, I find them to have a great mouth feel. Eating one feels like being a baby again and chewing on a chew toy - but then being able to actually eat it too!
Although their strange flavor hits a chord with me, I dare not indulge with any frequency. After all they are basically pure sugar - and despite the pronouncement of being a "low fat" food on the label, I dare say they are pretty irredeemably bad for you.
But, if you're eating them like a candy - that is to say once in awhile, as a treat - then who gives a damn whether they're good for you? They are delicious, taste like nothing else anywhere, and, for many of us, they touch a place in our hearts we thought we left behind as children.
I never thought I would learn this much about swedish fish. They are by far my favorite gummy candy. You are so right about the texture, it is middle-of-the-road-chewy-and-hard all the way.
I've been bringing an outsized degree of effort to the review of candies for years :) - thanks for the read.
I think i prefer softer, gelatin based gummies myself - i could go through three bags of welches fruit snacks, for instance, without batting an eye.
It was a good read!
Gummies are just amazing all around. The only ones I am not extremely fond of is Haribo gummy bears. That might be a sin to suggest in the candy sphere, but I just don't enjoy the hard texture of them all that much.
Those Welches fruit snacks are amazing for sure. Do you consider licorice candy to be a type of 'gummy' candy?
EDIT: spelling error
Here fishy fishy fishy. They look cute all laid out in the school. Thanks for sharing. <3
Thanks for checking it out
I enjoy them and they remind me of the movies too.
Oh my cookies did you fill your post with rich information and a great layout!
I am also glad I was picked for my suggestion. I certainly will resteem it!
Edit: Spelling Error.
Thanks for it - makes it more fun to write to have other people
This is super fun! An awesome change of pace... more please! Delicious content! :)
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