In the United States, Smarties are a type of artificially fruit-flavored candy produced by Ce De Candy, Inc.. These are marketed outside of the U.S. under the brand name Rockets, to avoid confusion with Nestlé Smarties. In Australia, a similar product is known as "Fruit Tingles", and in the UK a similar product is Refreshers. The candies bear a strong resemblance to tablet-style pills in shape and texture. One individual candy is in the shape of a cylinder with a diameter of roughly 1 cm and a height of roughly 4 mm. Larger ones have a diameter of 2.5 cm and are about 6 mm thick. Both sizes are double concave. There are 25 calories and 6 grams of sugar in a roll of Smarties.[1] Ingredients include: dextrose (may contain corn syrup solids and/or maltodextrin), citric acid, calcium stearate, artificial flavors, colors. Smarties come in assorted combinations of colors within their wrapped tubes. These include white and pastels yellow, pink, orange, purple and green. Each color's flavor is slightly different. They are usually packaged as a roll of candies wrapped in cellophane. Because each package is small and inexpensive, they are often bought in bulk for occasions such as parties or Halloween.
Flavors and tastes
Ce De Candy produces "extreme sour" and "tropical" varieties of Smarties. They also manufacture a Smarties gum, which is shaped like the candy, but has a different texture. Smarties produced by Ce De Candy's Union Township, Union County, New Jersey plant have a slightly different taste than the ones that are produced by their Newmarket, Ontario plant. The Canadian ones generally taste stronger, with more noticeable differences between the various color flavors. The Canadian candies (branded as Rockets) say "Made in Canada" on the label at the ends after the list of ingredients. Typically, these Canadian Smarties are most commonly seen in the U.S. around Halloween, likely imported only when the US production is not sufficient for demand. Ce De Candy's Canadian plant also produces varietal Smarties flavors and sizes, such as the "extreme sour" flavor as well as "candy money" which are larger tablets with monetary amounts etched into them.[2] A new variety of Smarties, in which each piece is roughly the size of an American or Canadian quarter, are sold in single rolls. Although labeled simply as "Smarties", the candies are referred to as "Mega Smarties" by distributers and merchants.
See also
- NECCO Wafers
- Parma Violets, a UK candy
