Oh, good. Just in case anybody’s sweet tooth wasn’t satisfied with all that chocolate yesterday, today we get to celebrate National Gumdrop Day.
Gumdrops were supposedly invented by a man named Percy Trusdale in 1801, but there is no information on this mystery man. This is going to be a fun post, I can tell already! I’m sure Percy was an upstanding citizen, doing whatever he did wherever he lived for however long he lived and with whomever he lived.
Gumdrops are brightly colored, sugar laden treats that have been popular for at least 200 years. They are usually fruit flavored (except the ones sold on the Hogwarts Express, which may taste like grass, boogers, dirt, or snot). References to the sweet treat abound in pop culture: the board game Candy Land pays homage by featuring a place called Gumdrop Mountain, Buddy the Elf had to pass through a sea of swirly twirly gumdrops (after conquering the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest) on his way to New York City in Elf, and BJ Thomas had a hit song in the ’70s called “Gumdrops Keep Falling On My Head.”
The most popular brand of gumdrops in America is DOTS. They were launched in 1945, and acquired by Tootsie Roll in 1972. Gumdrops have never really excited me. What can I say about a candy that is more a decorative feature of gingerbread houses than something you’d actually want to eat? Give me sour Zotz any ol’ day!
To celebrate today’s holiday, Tara and I simply ate a few DOTS gumdrops. They were chewy and fruity and…well, not all that great. But the orange ones were the best.
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- Visions of Sugar Plums and Gumdrops (october-moon.net)
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