Friday, September 2, 2011

Wonka Laffy Taffy

Wonka Laffy TaffyWonka has a strong tradition of sugar candies, as the brand originated with Sunline, makers of SweeTarts, Pixy Stix and Fun Dip (Lik-M-Aid). One of their legacy candies is Laffy Taffy. It’s just fruity taffy with the added bonus of a joke or two on the wrapper.

Back when I was a kid Laffy Taffy was known as Tangy Taffy and was sold in large flat bars similar to Jolly Rancher Stix (well, bigger than that). They came in intense and artificial flavors like Green Apple, Watermelon and Banana. After the Nestle takeover of Wonka they made some changes, like dumping Wacky Wafers (photo) and changing Tangy Taffy to Laffy Taffy.

Wonka Laffy Taffy

Laffy Taffy still comes in bars, but the most common product I see are these little two inch long pieces. Each piece is about 35 calories and is two bites. They come in tubs and of course are a staple of pinatas and Halloween bags.

They’re soft and usually take on the shape of the package, but they’re very easy to get out of the plastic wrapper once opened. It’s a true taffy, there are no egg products in there like Bonomos or Doschers taffy have. There’s a touch of oil, so they’re not completely fat free (about a half of a gram of fat per piece).

Wonka Laffy Taffy Strawberry

Strawberry is pretty, very pink and fragrant. It’s like cotton candy or lemonade. The flavor isn’t very strong, lightly tangy and sweet with a well moderated fake strawberry flavor. There are little snaps of salt and tartness throughout. The chew is long and steady and quite smooth.

Banana - this is an intense fake banana candy. The banana is intense enough that it gave me a cool feeling on my tongue, similar to the effect of nail polish remover in both the tingling and the strange caustic scent. I like fake banana, so the sweetness and weird artificial flavor was fun for me. Your mileage may vary.

Sour Apple - if they called this green apple, I don’t think I’d have much of an issue. However, with the word sour in there, I have certain expectations, such as tartness. This was not sour. It was not even particularly vivid, just a mild fake green apple flavor. The texture is smooth and chewy and there’s a strange salty note to it that bugged me in this instance.

Grape is purple and the taffy version of a grape SweeTart. It’s zippy with a purely artificial flavor that’s a cross between grape juice, straight malic acid and pen ink.

The jokes on them are true groaners like “How do billboards talk?” (Sign Language!) and truly poorly written ones like “What kind of chain is edible?” (A Food Chain!)

I’ve grown out of these, for my fruit chews I prefer something a little tamer and friendly like Skittles. But these have the advantage of being vegetarian (no gelatin) over products like Starburst or Bonomos. They’re Kosher; there are no nut or gluten statements on the package.

Related Candies

  1. Chewbies Liquid Taffy - Orange
  2. Bonomo & Doscher Banana Taffy
  3. Bonomo’s Turkish Taffy - Chocolate, Vanilla & Strawberry
  4. Banana n Cream & Red Orange Mentos
  5. Skittles (Fruits, Wild Berry, Tropical, Smoothies & Sour)
  6. Starburst
  7. Doscher’s French Chew Taffy


Name: Laffy Taffy: Sour Apple, Strawberry, Grape & Banana
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Nestle
Place Purchased: Target (Eagle Rock)
Price: $1.89
Size: 6 ounces
Calories per ounce: 102
Categories: Candy, Nestle, Chews, 6-Tempting, United States, Target

POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:45 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     CandyReviewNestleChewsKosher6-TemptingUnited StatesTarget

Comments
  1. Laffy Taffy was originally a variation on Beich’s Taffy. Once Tangy Taffy came out, with more intense and slightly sour flavors, they were definitely seen as the inferior brand, at least among the kids I hung out with. I’m not sure what made Nestle decide to drop the Tangy Taffy name to go with the inferior product’s name and schtick. I’m sure it’s at least partially perception, but the flavors of the Taffy do not seem as intense as they were when it was Tangy Taffy - and they don’t make the watermelon with chocolate seeds embedded in the taffy anymore, either!

    Comment by Jim Kosmicki on 9/02/11 at 1:14 pm #
  2. I’m glad you reviewed the jokes.  My favorite example of a terrible Laffy Taffy joke: “What did the cake say to the candle?”...
    “You’re burning my back!”  OMG, so witty.  But I think the jokes are submitted by six-year-olds or something, so whatev.

    Comment by JJR on 9/03/11 at 6:34 am #
  3. jim, i know what you mean!  i too loved the watermelon w/ seeds tangy taffy as a kid, its too bad they discontinued it.  i really, really dislike the small bars reviewed above (too sweet and bland), but occasionally i’ll see the larger laffy taffy bars in “cherry sparkle” flavor (the one with sprinkles on it!) that seemed to have kept the original tangy taffy recipe…tart and flavorful. apparently, they still have the watermelon (with candy seeds) but i’ve never seen it anywhere other than online.

    Comment by Synesthesia on 9/03/11 at 4:41 pm #
  4. gah nevermind.  i just read this comment on amazon:

    “This is my favorite flavor right now. Be aware that all the Wonka stuff being sold now is under new packaging and there are no longer seeds.’

    so i guess it really is gone forever :(

    Comment by Synesthesia on 9/03/11 at 4:46 pm #
  5. I remember they used to sell laffy taffy in a package with 7 squares, each a different flavor.  Orange was my favorite.  I miss it.

    Comment by Brad on 9/13/11 at 12:51 pm #
  6. I revisited Laffy Taffy a few years ago, and was generally satisfied - that fake banana is too much for me. But I also miss Tangy Taffy! I loved the sprinkles. Two years with braces made me avoid the stuff, and when I got them off, Tangy Taffy was gone.

    Here’s a joke that I got on some chocolate Laffy Taffy - does anyone understand it?

    How did the bones cross the road?
    They didn’t. The dogs ate them.

    Comment by Debby on 9/23/11 at 9:20 am #
  7. Sad to say, Wonka has changed Laffy Taffy, and it is no longer a vegan food.  All the new ones (cherry at least, what was my favorite candy ever) now “Contains Egg”, and also took all the tartness of the candy away.  Everyone in my work used to freak for these, and now we can’t give them away.  It’s a shame, I don’t know who did the taste test for these new things, but it’s surely a loss.

    Comment by Joe Hanish on 12/29/11 at 9:19 am #
  8. I love laffy taffy I’ve been a bigg fan for 20 years now. The longer I go with out my seed in my watermelon and sprinkles in tangy taffy the more upset I get. I understand why u took them off but a child wouldn’t be buying ur product there parents would. I think u guys should offer those two flavors again it really makes the taffy 100 times more better and I would buy it more offten .I shouldn’t be let down every time I buy laffy taffy.

    Comment by heather dunker on 12/21/12 at 6:51 pm #
  9. Does anyone remember the big laffy taffy strip with mini sweet tarts in it? Was it just a spontaneous thing or does it still exist somewhere???? I make my own now! smile

    Comment by Terri on 1/08/13 at 9:08 pm #
  10. I LOVE LAFFY TAFFY SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMUCH! ITS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODELICIOUS. I MEAN REALLY!!!!!!

    Comment by BAERTY on 2/19/13 at 10:41 am #
  11. What did one bbe say to the other one?
    It’s swarm in here.

    Comment by Catie on 4/05/13 at 10:20 am #
  12. why couldn’t the skeleton add 1+1?
    Because he didn’t have a brain.

    Comment by mikeUK on 5/23/13 at 6:46 am #
  13. What do you call a person with no body and no nose!
    Nobody nose!

    Comment by Campbell on 11/23/13 at 10:26 am #
  14. I was wondering if you still make the Laffy taffy watermelon with the black seeds if so how could I buy some ?

    Comment by nora on 7/22/14 at 7:07 am #
  15. What ever happened to sweet and sour laffy taffy like when I was a kid? Now there’s oy cherry laffy taffy. Did they stop making it or change the ingredients?

    Comment by Jacquie Ball on 10/12/14 at 12:44 pm #
  16. Have a tub of Wonka Laffy Taffy and 2 girls have eaten about 10 to 20 a piece for each and both throwing up same time. Is there a expiration date on them?

    Comment by Rick Weiher on 4/20/15 at 4:08 pm #
  17. Where can I buy apple caramel taffy preferably on line

    Comment by DEBBIE MAHONEY on 12/03/15 at 4:41 am #
  18. So overrated.  Tangy Taffy was way better.  Laffy Taffy tastes like a cheap knock off to Tangy Taffy.  DOn’t know anyone that really likes the Laffy Taffy.  They will eat it but does anyone really love it?  Bring back Tangy Taffy!

    Comment by Steve on 12/03/15 at 2:57 pm #
  19. Why do the large bars of tangy taffy taste good and the small fun size taste horrible. Why can’t they taste the same?

    Comment by Jodi on 3/10/16 at 7:30 am #
  20. I feel like Laffy Taffy has changed their recipe recently. It’s seems waxier and I can’t pull a single one of the candies out of the packages anymore. The candy is melted onto the packaging and most of it ends up getting thrown away now. I used to love this candy, was one of my favorites, now I just am not much of a fan. Please bring back my old Laffy Taffy!

    Comment by Tiffany Ackels on 8/28/16 at 6:02 pm #
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