Please help ID this candy.

December 5, 2016 10:09 AM

Short gummy sticks, fruity, delicious, what I always wanted Twizzlers to be.

I have a quantity of mystery gummy candy that I can't identify. I've googled and there are just too many similar things out there. I have no way of asking its previous owner what it is - it was left behind by a stranger whose party I helped plan, and I swiped it. It's unwrapped (perhaps bought in bulk). It's SO DELICIOUS and I'm hoping you guys can help identify it.

Short sticks/tubes, about an inch long. Not hollow "straws" - they are solid all the way through. Gummy consistency, easy to chew. Strawberry(?) flavored, "pink" anyway. On the tart side, but not sour. Light coating of sugar. Photo here.

Please don't hate me if it's something obvious; I really have searched.

Thank you!

posted by jessicapierce to Food & Drink (7 answers total)

Best answer: These look longer than your photo (more twizzler-esque), but the same basic genre of candy.

Have you tried other strawberry or "red flavored" (ah, childhood) "sour straw" type candies before? Were you into them? Because when I see gummy candy dusted with granulated powder like in your picture, I assume a sour straw or sour patch adjacent type of candy.
posted by Sara C. at 10:20 AM on December 5, 2016

Best answer: Looks a lot like some variety of these.
posted by Ipsifendus at 10:21 AM on December 5, 2016

Best answer: Maybe these in bulk and in shorter pieces?
posted by jenny76 at 10:22 AM on December 5, 2016

Response by poster: Thanks, guys! Those look super close, but the packaging make it seem as though that's a much more sour candy than what I have here. While I like that kind of thing, these are definitely not in that category. I know what you mean about the sour powder coating, and before I posted this question i actually scraped a bit of the coating off to taste it alone. What I have is coated in plain sugar, and maybe something inert to keep them from sticking - it was not even very sweet, and absolutely not sour. Mine are more along the lines of Starburst-level tartness, nd that flavor all comes from the candy itself.

Tangy Zangys do look HELLA close those, so I'll be trying those.
posted by jessicapierce at 10:28 AM on December 5, 2016

Best answer: It's for sure the Tangy Zangy Twisties (a shorter variety. Check out the size comparison in these pictures). Strawberry ones here. This kid's review video states they "are not that sour" at the 1:00 mark.
posted by LKWorking at 11:17 AM on December 5, 2016 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: GENIUS. I check youtube for reviews of every damn other thing, so I don't know why I didn't think to do that for this! Also, I just ate some Sour Patch Kids, and although they were sour, they weren't they weren't nearly as sour as I remembered. So maybe my sourness radar is off. Looks like Tangy Zangys are it for sure.

Thank you all for making my day better! I've been trying to solve this for weeks.
posted by jessicapierce at 11:42 AM on December 5, 2016 [2 favorites]

The Plaid Pantry convenience stores here in Portland usually stock these.
posted by tacodave at 2:39 PM on December 5, 2016