|
Monday, August 20, 2007
ChunkyWhen I was a kid I didn’t like Chunky bars. There was just something about raisins and chocolate that reminded me of those carob covered raisins that were foisted upon me as an alternative to candy (which makes it sound like there was a choice). As I got older I think I appreciated them more, mostly because the texture of such a “thickerer” slab of chocolate offers a different taste experience.
Back when they were first introduced in the 1930s they were larger (of course) and featured Brazil nuts, cashews and raisins. Today they’re made with raisins and peanuts ... I’ve always thought of them as what would happen if you dumped your Goobers and Raisinets into a dish and let them melt & reform into a bar. The bars were originally made by Philip Silvershein and through a gentleman’s agreement with Wrigley, delivered and marketed along with their gums. Later the company was sold to the Ward-Johnson Division of the Terson Company, which oddly enough also bought up the Blumenthal candy group which made Goobers & Raisinets. Nestle bought the Chunky bar and friends in 1984. They changed it from a single chunk to four segmented chunks, I’m guessing in an effort to promote sharing. The bar is beefy looking. Even though it’s thick, the sections are truly easy to snap apart (I don’t know how easy it’d be to break up otherwise). It smells rather sweet and more of rum and peanuts than chocolate. The chocolate is okay, it seems creamier than the stuff in Crunch bars. The bar reminds me of a cheap version of the Ritter Sport Rum Trauben Nuss. Since it’s a fraction of the price (at 33 cents) I can’t really complain of it not living up to a bar that’s usually three times the price. For your enjoyment I dug up some old commercials. This jingle from the early eighties says “you’ve gotta open wide to get a Chunky inside. Open wide for a chunkier bite.” The commercial also reminds me that they were actually one big piece back then instead of the four segmented block. This one also references that same tagline, open wide. This commercial is from the mid or late eighties ... and I’m guessing by the content that it’s from around the time that Nestle bought the candy bar. Note that the varieties available is down to two at the end tag. This one also shows the four segments for the first time. See how YouTube has become and candy archaeologist’s best resource? Links: Retroland, Patti at CandyYumYum has an actual wrapper to prove that there was a Pecan version & JCruelty’s reviews of a variety of enduring candies (strong language) Related Candies
|
||||||||||||||||||
ABOUT
FEEDSSEARCH
CONTACT
EMAIL DIGESTCANDY RATINGSTYPE
BRAND
COUNTRY
ARCHIVES
|
Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.
  FEATURED NEWS ITEMS
COPYRIGHT NOTICEAll content (text and photos unless otherwise credited) is copyright 2005-2010 by Cybele May Please do not use my photos without prior permission directly from me, they represent what I ate in preparation for these reviews and are not to be used for other purposes. Design by Hop Studios &
|
|||||||||||||||||
SUPERB 
YUMMY 
TASTY 
WORTH IT 
TEMPTING 
PLEASANT 
BENIGN 
UNAPPEALING 
APPALLING 
INEDIBLE 
SUPERB
YUMMY 
TASTY 
WORTH IT 
PLEASANT 
BENIGN 
UNAPPEALING 
APPALLING 
INEDIBLE 
Oh wow that last commercial brought back a lot of memories! And I’m so glad I’m not the only one whose elders foisted carob-coated snacks upon them.
FYI—there’s a typo in your Russ link.
I used to like Chunkys a lot when I was a kid, but I can’t remember the last time I had one.
Would be nice to have something like this with dark chocolate.
I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a Chunky, come to think of it—the whole chcolate-raisin thing put me off. Then in England I encountered Raisin and Biscuit Yorkies, and the scales fell from my eyes. There was just something incredibly satisfying about chocolate larded with substantial chewy and chunky bits. Whenever I encounter Raisin and Biscuit Yorkies, I always think about the Chunky and wonder if it supplies the same satisfactions—I have yet to put it to the test, though! But since the Yorkie company is now marketing its bars in a fantastically sexist manner (“Not for girls,” indeed), I may have to…
Hi… I’m looking for a North America distributor for these Brazilian Candies called PAÇOCA or PAÇOQUINHA ... Obrigado/thanks
I just bought a Chunky at a local convenience store today… it was broken up into six sections instead of four! Interesting change, considering you found the four-section one not too long ago.
I also had to pay $1.19 for mine, haha. Yay overpriced convenience stores.
They used to do a version of Chunky that had pecans only, no raisins. It was available in the 60’s and 70’s. Not sure when they started (or quit) making it. Had a gold colored wrapper instead of silver. It’s easy to find the peanut/raisin Chunky’s at various online stores but never the pecan Chunky. :(
I remember Chunkys. They were great when they looked like a pyramid with the top cut off, and had the raised edge on the top. It seemed easier to eat with that configuration. They aren’t as tasty as they were! Go back to the original design…
Chunky was also my go-to candy bar when I was a kid. I much preferred the pecan version, and no one in the whole world believed me when I told them about it. Everyone said I was imagining it, even my parents, who bought them for me in the first place! Thank you so much; I just sent them a link to this article.
I found a large size of the dark chocolate version of Chunky last year at Dollar General store. I bought all 20 that they had on the shelf and only managed to part with 5 as Christmas gifts. I love them so much!
Next entry: 3 Musketeers Mini Mix
Previous entry: This Week in Candy - Candy is Energy!
Trackback URL: http://www.candyblog.net/trackback/1578