Happy Gummy Birthday

 There is one candy in every Gen X'ers and Millennium's life that cries childhood. That is Gummy Bears. These classics are celebrating their one hundredth (!!!) birthday this year.

Restaurant critic and new contributor Mahira Rivers wrote about this candy shop staple in yesterday's New York Times Food section. Haribo has been a part of German life for the last century thanks Hans Riegel who adapted a recipe for fruit flavored pastilles to create the first gummy bears. The densely chewy  gelatin based gummies were modeled after real life dancing bears , a form of entertainment at the time. They were rebranded as Goldbears. Gummy candy didn;t take off in America until 1981. It was then that the Herman Goetlitz Candy Company, later renamed Jelly Belly introduced the first American made gummy bear. Haribo cane to the States a year later. The Indiana based company Albanese introduced their version in 1983 and soon after there were gummy everythings. from Trolli's wriggly worms to Mondelez' Sour Patch Kids. Not surprisingly Disney was added to the mix in 1985 thanks to its' medieval themed adventures of the Gummi family in the animated series "Adventures of The Gummi Bears". The pandemic also boosted sales with people comforting themselves with turning to the candy for solace. Sales of chewy candies hit a record high of 4.6. billion in 2021.

The candies are part of the American scene now. There are gummy bear pool floats along with strings of gummy bear lights for parties.The little treats are even gracing other sweets such as raspas - Mexican shaved ice dessert and dulces enchilados a Mexican American snack of chamoy - a sweet and savory paste made with dried fruit and chili. Ashley Garza and her boyfriend Adrian Martinez  m ixes the bears along with other gummy candy like watermelon belts with a generous drizzle of the chamoy followed by a liberal sprinkling of tart chili seasoning. Gummies are a large part of a candy charcuterie platter too according to Elizabeth Bond owner of the Ruby Bond Candy Company. She expertly layers various shapes onto plastic trays to create a sweet charcuterie platter.There are lines of not just bear but also stars,butterflies and other chewy bites. Gummy bears are not without controversy. Haribo used "forced labor" during World War Two, after it declined to donted money to support surviving former enslaved workers.. As recent as 2017, there were allegations that slave labor was being used on the Brazilian plantations that supplied the carnauba wax that helps in creating a non sticky surface. Now the company uses beeswax which may cause future controversy.

Gummy bears have hit their centennial. Their chewy goodness have gladdened the heart s of kids around the world for ten decades now. They'll keep on making little - and big ones happy.