Sour Patch Kids facts for kids
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| Owner | Mondelez International |
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| Introduced | 1970s (Canada) 1985 (US) |
Sour Patch Kids are a popular brand of chewy gummy candy. They are famous for having a coating of sour sugar that makes them taste tangy at first. After the sour coating fades, you taste sweet candy underneath. This taste inspired their famous slogan, "Sour Then Sweet." They were sold under the name Maynards in Canada and the United Kingdom. In France, they are known as Carambar Very Bad Kids. Today, people all over the world enjoy these little chewy treats.
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How Sour Patch Kids Get Their Flavor
The special flavor comes from food science. Each piece is coated with special ingredients, including invert sugar and regular sugar. The super-sour kick comes from a mix of citric acid and tartaric acid.
Citric acid is the same safe ingredient that makes lemons taste tart. Tartaric acid adds an extra punch of sourness. After the outer dusting of sour sugar melts in your mouth, the soft gummy center gives you a sweet fruit flavor. One type called Sour Patch Kids Extreme adds malic acid to make it even more sour.
History of the Candy
A candy maker named Frank Galatolie invented this treat in the early 1970s. At first, the candies were shaped like little space aliens called Mars Men. In the late 1970s, the candy companies Cadbury and Malaco teamed up to produce them in Hamilton, Ontario.
During the 1980s, the candy was renamed Sour Patch Kids to match popular toy crazes of the era. A large company called Mondelez International now owns the brand and makes the candies.
Fun Spin-Offs and Other Products
Sour Patch Kids became so famous that the company created other fun foods and games using the brand.
Video games
In 2011, video game publisher Capcom released an action game called World Gone Sour. Players explored different levels as lost pieces of candy. The game was available on computers, the PlayStation Network, and the Xbox Live Arcade.
Creative food crossovers
Sour Patch Kids have inspired many other fun snacks over the years:
- Chewing gum with sour crystals came out in 2014.
- Ice cream by Dreyer's and frozen ice pops by J&J Snack Foods arrived in 2018.
- A crunchy breakfast cereal made by Post Consumer Brands was released in 2018.
- Special sandwich cookies called Oreos featured sour flavor bits mixed right into the cookie and creme filling.
