Happy National Sour Candy Day!

National Sour Candy Day – July 18, 2022

All throughout history, people have enjoyed sour fruits and foods, but sour candy is a relatively new phenomenon, even when compared to regular candy. The NPR says this is because mass-produced candy did not have a great reputation when the industry first came about, in the 19th century. People were concerned about the unclean conditions in which they were made and the potentially harmful chemicals being used in the colorful sweets. For the most part, manufacturers did not stray into unknown territory to manufacture sour candies. There were a few exceptions, however. These manufacturers relied on acidic ingredients — most commonly, vinegar — to convert cane sugar to glucose, creating a sweet-tart combination.

Over the years, candy makers began to crave an increase in appeal. So they turned to the greatest opportunity they could find — Halloween. They ran Halloween-themed advertising that created a long-lasting association between this festival and candy. This association allowed candy makers to experiment with flavors not normally sold to the public, and the sour candy market officially took off. For example, Ferrara Pan Candy Company introduced a sour candy called the Atomic Fireball right around the time of the U.S. military’s first detonation of the hydrogen bomb. This candy — filled with capsaicin and cinnamaldehyde — would end up leaving the mouth numb.

By the end of the 19th century, the sour candy craze had spread all over the U.S. A contributing factor was the sour candy known as Warheads, by the Foreign Candy Company. Their founder, Peter De Yager, actually traveled throughout East Asia — ground zero for sour candy — to find the sourest variety of candy and he found it in Taiwan.

The American Licorice Company — who have their own sour candy line — founded National Sour Candy Day. They wanted to celebrate this sweet and they encourage more people to experience all the wonderful flavors of sour candy on this day.