A Lazy Sunday with my box of 70s Candy

Or, peanutty goodness was big back then. That and quaaludes.

This is going to be one of those posts were I just put up a lot of pictures and don’t talk too much, as my husband brought me back a couple of boxes of Feminax which I sorely needed today. And which I have just now found out have been discontinued when I went to find a descriptive link so I really won’t be able to write as I’m trying to figure out what the heck I’ll do in 2012 when my current supply runs out. Menopause maybe? We can only hope.

In case you missed it, several good friends sent me this huge box of 1970s candy to cheer me up. I’ve been working my way through it and posting photos because the best part about candy is showing off how much you have to people who haven’t got any.

Today, I realized I’d better go on and finish all of the chocolates before they went bad. I’m happy to report that none of the bars I sampled today tasted off, rancid or stale. I didn’t care for any of them but I wonder if that has anything to do with having more grown up taste buds and being totally spoiled by my in laws sending me boxes of Leonidas. As much as people say we eat crap today, I think that compared to what I remember eating back then, we eat like freaking gourmet kings and queens of Freshandnaturalturia these days.

First up: Oh Henry!

These reminded me a lot of a 100 Grand Bar. The fudge wasn’t terribly fudgey and I’m not crazy about nougat, all in all it was edible but reminded me that our tastes in candy have matured a lot these past decades.

Clark Bar

Clark candy bar

Almost exactly like a Butterfinger bar with artificial peanut taste. If you have ever had the squeeze container of peanut butter from Army rations back in the late 70s/early80s that’s the sort of peanut butter flavor I’m talking about. Not repulsive, maybe even a little addictive but also not anything you could objectively call good.

Pearson’s Milk Chocolate Bun Maple & Roasted Peanuts flavor

Unlike the Clark and Oh Henry! bars I’d never heard of a chocolate bun candy. It looked like a large, blobby turtle candy. It wasn’t horrible but it did taste very fake and cloying and like something old people would give out for Halloween if it came in miniature form.

Boyer Butterscotch Smoothie Peanut Butter Cups

Butterscotch Smoothie Peanut Butter Cups by Boyer

I really wanted to like this one but again, the artificial flavors put me off. What it does make me want to do is figure out something scrumptious to do with butterscotch and peanut butter. I did get a kick out of the rebate offer on the inside, it reminded me a lot of those offers that you could send away from in the back of the Caspar the Friendly Ghost and Richie Rich comics we read back then and the Green Stamps catalog.

I’ll be back soon to report on more 1970s candy!

Tagged as: 1970s retro candy, boyer butterscotch smoothies peanut butter cup, clark candy bar, Feminax, oh henry candy bar, pearson's milk chocolate buns maple and roasted peanut