This thread made me think of pixie stix too. Which led me to think of what I called Swizzle Sticks as a kid which is now this:
I’m pretty sure an ‘80s’ incarnation of this was a standard component of my Easter baskets, along with Peeps (which I don’t love, but I don’t mind). Jelly beans, though? That’s some nasty shit.
“Made with Dextrose”!
“Eat it! Drink it! Freeze it! Try it! … on VEGETABLES…”
Or apples, whatevs.
In addition to Pixie Stix and Lik’m’aid (aka Fun Dip), Fruzola/Sunline also did Spree and SweetTarts. Their business model basically consisted of finding different way to package citric acid and sugar.
Yeah, same here. I bought it once by mistake thinking it was orange juice. I was a poor college student at the time, so I threw a lot of junk into my body. But it just tasted weird. It wasn’t even like your regular sugary “juice” which contains no actual juice. It was just kind of off in a way I couldn’t pin down. I gave it away to guys on my dorm floor who grew up drinking the stuff.
Nesrie
2666
Oh I grew up with it but I stopped drinking it probably around high school or so, mostly due to parents not wanting us to drink it anymore. I was just so… surprised when I tried it again as an adult and found it unpalatable. I threw it away. It was only 99 cents at the time, but it was probably one of my earliest lessons that yes, taste buds do mature.
RichVR
2667
It wouldn’t surprise me if they made it sweeter since you last had it.
Nesrie
2668
You have a good point. There have been several products that changed their recipes from when I was a kid. I thought many of them have been headed for the natural sphere these days, but a number also just went flat out cheaper.
Timex
2669
What about Tang?
Tang is great. I figured sunny d was basically pre-mixed tang.
RichVR
2670
I loved both orange and grape Tang as a kid, and even as a teenager. I’m going to guess that it would be too sweet for me now.
nKoan
2671
I knew a kid that would eat tang powder straight up like fun dip. I never drank the tang at his house.
RichVR
2672
The first gf and I would use Tang during, ah, happy fun time. The sensation of licking it off of various fleshy surfaces was… interesting.
May be TMI. You were warned.
Timex
2673
The beauty of tang is you can just make it weaker and then it’s less sweet.
I got two words for ya, Rich. “Pop Rocks”
RichVR
2675
Where were you when I was 16? :)
I’m not sure it helps how silly it sounds, but “Fierce Cinnamon” is a different flavor of Hot Tamales. No surprise, they are spicier than normal Hot Tamales. So the Peeps are really ramping it up this time, stand clear!
My mom likes Peeps, but only if they are stale, so I usually buy her a couple of boxes well before Easter and unwrap them so they will be hard & crunchy by the holiday. I like the bunny-shaped ones, but not for eating, but because they make great reactive air gun targets.
I did love Tang, yes. I drank a lot as a kid. Just put the powder in the glass and add water. Presto, instant sweet drink.
Nothing like Sunny D.
CraigM
2678
Yeah, Tang has like 100% less vegetable oil.
Holy shit, it has canola oil? What the …?
According to its website, the brand’s Tangy Original flavor is made with water, high fructose corn syrup and then 2% or less of a whole of bunch of ingredients, including concentrated orange, tangerine, apple, lime, grapefruit and pear juices, modified cornstarch, canola oil (yes, oil), artificial yellow coloring, added vitamins C and B1, plus some other lengthy ingredients that seem well suited to a science lab, like sodium hexametaphosphate and potassium sorbate. The latter is actually used in a lot of processed foods to protect and preserve flavor.
Nesrie
2680
I’m kind of surprised there is any juice at all in it.
We used to do that with fruit jello mixes. I remember distinctly doing it when I was around 10 at a swim meet (we did it all summer at meets for energy). The starter thought my hand was bleeding because it was so red from dipping my fingers into the powder and licking it.
For a moment I thought you were replying to @RichVR
