Popping Candy

Ever heard of Popping Candy or Space Dust? It’s a sweet very popular with kids of all ages and comes in a range of colors that pop in your mouth when it comes in to contact with your tongue. This candy comes in a range of appetising flavours and tastes including orange, cherry, strawberry tutti frutti and cola.

Space Dust was prevalent in the late 70s but is more commonly referred to nowadays as Popping Candy. Regardless of whichever name you choose to call these sweets they are as delicious, fun and as popular as ever.

The idea of producing Space Dust was first conceived in 1956 by William Mitchell, a chemist at General Foods. However, Space Dust as a form of candy actually only came in to circulation in 1975. A decade later, Space Dust temporarily went out of circulation but four years later, Popping Candy finally reemerged enjoying sales that were even better than during its original heyday, making it one of the most popular candies on the market.

Space Dust is primarily a type of carbonated candy comprising of ingredients such as sugar, milk, corn syrup, lactose and flavouring. It can also include chewing gum and bubblegum. Popular brands are Fizz Wiz that comes in three different flavours namely, strawberry, cherry and cola. Pop Rocks is a popping bubblegum which is also very popular.

Sherbet Foutains

Sherbet fountains are a timeless classic and one of the most popular sweets ever. It is perfect for those who like their taste buds stimulated. As soon as you put this sweet in your mouth, it starts to produce effervescence along with a sweet and tangy flavor.

They are packaged in a plastic tube with a liquorice dip. Formerly, they were sold in paper packaging. Many consumers regret this replacement since paper packaging added an extra dimension to the experience.

In order to enjoy this confectionery delight, you used to have to bite off the straw and then suck the sherbet through the straw to experience the sherbet dissolving and fizzing on your tongue that was indeed a fun experience. A lot of people prefer to douse the liquorice in the sherbet and then lick it off. Some people simply put the sherbet inside their mouth and enjoy eating the liquorice separately.

Barratt, a division of Tangerine Confectionery, manufactures Sherbet Fountains these days. According to Tangerine Confectionery, the change in the packaging was for hygiene reasons.

If you want to partake in Sherbet Fountains in the traditional way, you either have to look for traditional sweet shops in your area or order sweets online.

Having sweets is a great way of rediscovering your childhood time when nothing mattered more than visiting a traditional sweet shop. Though you may not find the same scenario again you can certainly replicate the experience that you enjoyed in your childhood by seeking out a traditional sweet shop on the high street or buying sweets online.

Retro Sweets

Retro sweets jog the memory and help to recall the charm and glory of ones childhood whether you have reached your 60s, 70s or 80s. Childhood were the days when sweets were at their best and it was fun going to the local sweet shop where you could ask the vendor to take out your favourite sweet from the jar that was filled with yummy delights.

These sweets recalled from your childhood might be Candy Necklaces, Black Jacks, Anglo Bubbly, Cola Bottles, Sweet Tobacco, Space Dust, Sherbet Fountains, Liquorice Wands, Gobstoppers, Wham Bars, or many more examples. Back in the olden days, it used to be fun choosing and buying a quarter of this and that.

In the course of time, many retro sweets have disappeared and branded sweets have taken their place. But surprisingly, in small shops and Internet stores the same magical sweets are still available. These sweets were undoubtedly mouthwatering but it is now becoming increasingly difficult to find a place where you can purchase these confectionery delights on the high street.

Don’t get too disenchanted though as they can be found through online sweet shops and getting them delivered to your doorstep is just a mouse click away. Moreover you get the opportunity to choose an assortment that contains your favourite sweets.

It’s easy to order retro sweets online from the comfort of your home, make your choice from the available selection, place your favourite ones in the cart and get them delivered to your doorstep. Buying them is sure to take you for a stroll down memory lane.

Sweet Shop

We Luv Sweets is not just a fantastic online sweet shop. We also have real, traditional sweet shops aswell. If you would like to visit either of our stores you can find them at the following locations:

Southgate: 44 Chase Side, London N14 5PA
Pinner: 2 Red Lion Parade, Bridge Street, Pinner, Middlesex HA5 3JD


Here you can see sweets in their natural habitat and meet our wonderful and friendly staff. So if you want sweets, chocolates, nougat or any other type of confectionery including a number of classic american candies and american sweets please visit our sweet shops.

Sweets

Sweets, candy, whatever you call them they are delicious, comforting and a great way to enhance entertainment activities such as watching movies. Sweets come in all different shapes, sizes, flavours, textures, guises, and there are always some types of sweets or candy that even the most hardened savory fans will enjoy. We Luv Sweets aims to make sure that whatever your needs are with regards to sweets, we are here to make sure you can get what you need.

Pick 'n' Mix

Whether you are partying, going for a long trip or just planning to have a sweet treat, pick ’n’ mix has always been the best choice for many. Whether you like chocolates, mints, jelly sweets, liquorice or chews, this is a great way to enjoy the freedom of having an assortment of the sweets of your choice.

It is a method of displaying confectionery in small tubs or bins. Customers get the advantage of choosing their favourite combination, which they select by putting the sweets into a bag themselves with the help of small tongs or a scoop that are provided by the store. Generally, pick ‘n’ mix sweets are sold by weight but they can also be sold according to container size.

Such delights as Giant Strawberries, Mushrooms, Jelly Spiders, ABC Letters, Dolly Mixtures, Jelly Babies, Teddy Bears, Cola Bottles, Fizzy Bubble Bottles, Bumper Bananas, Vampire Teeth, Fizzy Mix, Fruit Salad Chews, Black Jack Chews, Marshmallows, Fudge and much more can be found in most selections.

The tradition was practiced by some of the old mainstays in the UK such as Woolworths. Though there are still a number of newsagents and small stores that offer the same treats, to a degree the tradition has fallen by the wayside. These days, one of the most convenient places where you can find pick ‘n’ mix sweets is on the Internet. There isn’t a better way to taste a variety of sweets of your choice so get online now and start ordering.

Penny Sweets

If one popular type of sweet has something memorable to leave in the minds of consumers, it would definitely be penny sweets. Unfortunately, due to inflation the sweets remain but they can no longer be referred to as such.

They came in a mixture of shapes and flavors. Besides their physical appearance, these penny sweets were one of those rare varieties that allowed every lucky consumer the opportunity to enjoy the taste for as cheap as a penny.

Prior to their worldwide existence, these sweets were known to have a British origin. However, they are available everywhere in the world, thanks to a range of online sweets stores.

The extensive choice of shapes, sizes and flavours allowed for an extensive choice for the consumer. They offered a bounty of candies, a plethora of tastes, a large amount of flavours to choose from, a mass of sweets as well as tons of candy treats. Whether you were giving yourself or someone a treat, penny sweets had something for everyone.

Old School Sweets

Would you like to turn back time and relive your childhood? Bringing out your inner child and experiencing the time that you spent as a child, especially old school days is not easy. But if you have already made your mind to stroll through the olden days, there is nothing better than a trip to the local sweet shop.
It is not always easy to find an authentic sweet shop, especially one that contains old school sweets that do not just taste great but are good enough to ignite the sweet memories of childhood. Since such sweets are difficult to find these days, you can create your own small sweet store in your imagination and fill it up with retro sweets that can transport you back to your old school days.
Whether you're having a get together party of old school friends or just a bunch of you have decided to meet up, old school sweets can become an amazing centerpiece and help in creating a wonderful talking point, as by having them everyone will surely remember something or other about their childhood, even if you thought you’d left it behind decades ago. In fact, a custom-made jar of retro sweets can be a great gift for a friend or anyone who is close to you who wants to take a trail through long-forgotten times of play and fun.
Retro sweets include delicious Flying Saucers, Candy Necklaces, creamy Chocolate Mice and a lot more. A personalised jar of old school sweets is great to remind you of the excitement that you used to feel when a shopkeeper unscrewed his jar so that you could choose a treat for yourself.
If you're planning to host a get-together of old friends, you can spice up the party by thinking of a game such as Snakes and Ladders or Ludo and recreate the old carefree days that you spent at school. Retro sweets can be kept as rewards for various different stages of the games.

Old Fashioned Sweets

It is not easy to turn back time or recapture old childhood days when we used to find immense pleasure in going to a local sweet shop and buying handfuls of sweets with a small amount of pocket money. It was fun to be greeted by rows of jars that contained every kind of sweet that one could imagine. You made your choice and then the shopkeeper opened the jar to weigh a quarter of pound and then pack your favorite sweets in a small white paper bag. It is impossible to forget the joy that savouring each sweet gave.

Unfortunately, as we have grown-up, old fashioned sweets are harder to find. People have started buying pre-packed sweets and there is no longer the option of choosing your favourite ones. However, there has been a recent upsurge in old fashioned sweets returning to the high street. Also, if you can’t find a traditional sweet shop in your local area, you can always purchase from an online sweet shop and get them delivered to your doorstep.

In recent times, old-fashioned sweet retailers have made a comeback but they cannot be compared to online sweet shops. The online sweet retailers have a range of old fashioned sweets that will roll back the years. By remaining in the comfort of your home and using the Internet you can choose those sweets that you would have chosen when you were young. As an added bonus, online retailers also sell sugar-free versions of the same sweets. That's great news for those suffering from diabetes and similar problems. Just choose your favourite sweets and enjoy them in the comfort of your home.

Mints

Mints are essentially an edible product that is characterized by the presence of mint oil or a mint flavour. The scent and flavour of mint confectionery is a derivative of oils that are extracted from herbs belonging to the genus Mentha. This means that the source of mint flavour can be anything from Wintergreen oil, Peppermint oil and Spearmint oil.

Confectionery in the form of a hard mint is well liked by people of all age groups and is commonly used as a breath freshener. This is because the smell and taste of mint oil refreshes the mouth and its active components help clean and cool. Some forms of these hard mints such as Tic Tacs and Altoids have a soothing effect on the stomach. Breath freshening mint candies help digestion and are often consumed after a meal.

Peppermint is a natural muscle relaxant and it acts by relaxing the lower esophageal sphincter. When the lower esophageal sphincter gets relaxed, the contents inside the stomach are able to move upwards easily and reach the esophagus. This way, peppermint candy can prove helpful in relieving indigestion and intestinal gas.

In fact, real peppermint oil or its extract is used for treating gastrointestinal tract disorder that results in cramp-like complaints. This accounts for the popularity of mints that contain real gourmet oil, which is consumed frequently after meals to assist digestion and to freshen the breath.

A soft mint has higher butter content so these candies get dissolved almost instantaneously in one's mouth.

Millions Sweets

If you imagine our life without sweets, chocolate and sugar, you would surely realise that it would be a miserable existence. It would be very much like a life without music and it is due to this reason we are attracted more towards sweets as opposed to other tastes.
One of my favourites is Millions sweets. They come in flavours such as bubblegum, orange, cola, raspberry, strawberry, blackcurrant & strawberry yoghurt.
If you think that you are one of those people who are attracted to Millions sweets, then you should not blame yourself for that. I myself am driven towards them.
This liking of sweet things is not just confined to human beings but research has proven that monkeys and apes also have a profound affection towards sweet tastes. Monkeys and apes, when jumping from one tree to another, are actually looking for fruit, and they prefer ripe fruit which is obviously sweeter.
Human beings have created various ways to obtain nature’s sweet tastes and to use them in different forms. Today we have a wide range of sweet products available on the market. Kids especially love confectionery and Millions sweets remain ever popular in the various forms readily available.

Medicinal Sweets

When Summer draws to a close and Autumn rears its head it is not rare for people to start suffering from sore throats and the common cold. While there are plenty of products available through your local pharmacy one can also turn to the local sweet shop for medicinal sweets to help you through these periods.

Some of the most popular choices are:

Army & Navy - a traditional hard boiled sweet available in the United Kingdom. They are black lozenge shaped and flavoured with liquorice and herbs, with a flavour that is similar to Cough Candy.

Cough Candy Twists - a herbal/spice with a medicinal taste.

Throat Chest - A menthol sweet that is very effective in soothing your throat.

Grays Herbal Tablets – a great choice for soothing your throat…and delicious too!

Jakeman’s Menthol Sweets - carefully blended medicinal sweets to provide a soothing vapour action with exciting and mouth watering flavours, including Menthol & Eucalyptus, Cherry Menthol, Honey & Lemon Menthol and Blueberry Menthol.

Aniseed Twists - a type of boiled sweet commonly available in the UK and one of the most popular sweets of its kind on the market.

Although none of the above will cure your ailments on their own they certainly will help soothe your problems and make the experience a better one than it would have been without the benefits that medicinal sweets can offer.

Lucky Charms

Lucky Charms is a well-known trademark of cereal or puffed rice product produced by the food company General Mills of Golden Valley in the United States of America.

It first appeared on the market in 1964. It comprises of two major components: grilled oat-based slices and mar bits. Mar bits or marshmallows bits have various colours and shapes. 25% of the volume of Lucky Charms cereal comprises of the latter.

The first packets or boxes of this brand included marshmallows of various shapes and sizes like green clovers, yellow moons, pink hearts and orange stars. With the passage of time the line-up has transformed. Starting with the blue diamond and in 1984 the purple horseshoes and as time passed by various shapes came and went. Pink hearts is said to be the only shape, which is still present on the market since the product’s inception.

In 2004, the size of the marshmallows increased. In early 2006, a different sort of marshmallow named ‘Hidden Key’ was introduced. Its appearance is similar to the shape of a tombstone and coloured yellow. Later on in the same year General Mills introduced another new marshmallow to Lucky Charms named Magic Mirror.

Between 1999 and 2000, the mix saw the addition of ‘New Sparkling Rainbow’ for a limited period. General Mills described it as a multi-coloured sugar sprinkled white rainbow mar bit. This marshmallow replaced the original rainbow.

Love Hearts

Love hearts are small and circular sweets that are manufactured by Swizzels Matlow. The sweets are quite popular in the United Kingdom and they are essentially fizzy, hard, tablet-shaped sweets that are available in a range of fruit flavours. What makes these sweets different from others is a love-related short message on a single side of each sweet.

They can be sucked or chewed. As you chew these sweets, they will immediately disintegrate into a starchy, powdery consistency and then start producing effervescence. The experience is quite similar to having sherbet. In both cases, you'll experience a small amount of foam in the mouth. The key ingredients of these sweets are sodium bicarbonate, tartaric acid and sugar.

They are available in six different flavours and six different colours, which are yellow, white, green, orange, red and purple. While the yellow coloured ones have a sherbet-like flavour, white coloured Love Hearts have a distinctive tart vanilla flavour. The orange coloured ones have a slight orange after taste, the green colour has a lime flavour, the red coloured variety has a cherry flavour and the purple has a berry-like flavour.

Love Hearts are favourites amongst youngsters and teenagers. That's because of the love related messages that are engraved on these sweets. There are different kinds of messages that one can find on these sweets.  Messages like ‘I Surrender’ and ‘Just Say No’ can be commonly found on these sweets. This makes them personalized and a perfect gift for somebody special.

These sweets are sold in a tubular pack that contains 20 tablets. You can also purchase a larger bag that contains 50 sweets. Alternatively, personalised packages are also available. The production of these sweets began somewhere around 1933 by Swizzels. Today these sweets are just perfect for celebrating or presenting to someone who is close to you.  They are also very popular for wedding favours.

Lollipops

There are a large variety of candies available on the market. There is a widely held opinion that candies were at their best in the 70s and 80s. The kids of that time were really fortunate to have such a choice. I don’t believe that anyone from that generation didn’t like lollies.

Everybody has their own unique way of eating them, some twirl them with the stick, and others roll it with their tongues and enjoy it for as long as possible. Nowadays, lollies come in a wide variety. You can enjoy the hard crust and after eating it you can have the fun of chewing the gum inside. There are also some lollipops that are battery operated. These have the advantage that the consumer doesn’t have to rotate it with his hand or have to roll it with the tongue.

There are some candies that have very high nutritional value. A lollipop can be one such confectionery delight that has a very high nutritional value by having fruit syrup, vanilla extract or milk as an ingredient. In other words lollipops have, in some cases, become a source of high quality food for kids of all ages.

Lollies can be given as presents to your friends; you can also buy them in different designs such as heart-shaped, teddy bears, a flower or even a Barbie doll. Also, if you don’t want to leave your home and you want to get yourself a lolly then you can always shop online and the lollipops will be delivered directly to your home.

Liquorice

Liquorice, also spelt licorice, is very much like the ancient confectionery that people used to use before the invention of fructose syrup. It is highly recommended due to its unique taste and is flavoured with the extract of the roots of the liquorice plant.

It comes in many shapes and sizes including Black Jacks, Catherine Wheels and Pontefract Cakes.

In the USA it is called black licorice to distinguish it from similar confectionery varieties that are not flavoured with the original extract. In Scandinavia there are many varieties manufactured, with an extremely salty version being very popular.

In some countries such as Spain, the UK, Holland, Germany, Canada, Australia and the USA, a product known as red licorice remains equally as popular. Although it certainly looks like liquorice it is made with such flavourings as raspberry, cherry, strawberry or cinnamon rather than the extract itself. Popular versions of this to be found in North America are Twizzlers and Red Vines. Other flavours such as apple, mango, blackcurrant, kiwi and watermelon are becoming prevalent.

The root of the plant contains a sweetener that is far sweeter than sucrose. It also has many health benefits and is known to clear the lungs by way of coughing after consumption. It also has the effect of increasing blood pressure. It is also said to be a mild laxative.

Kids Sweets

I haven’t come across any kid as yet who doesn’t like sweets. Even in my childhood, my friends used to eat so many sweets, from chocolates and candies to anything that tasted sweet. I, being a preschool teacher, used to spend most of my time with kids. I have noticed that parents quite often put something in their children’s lunchboxes that taste. During the break periods kids sweets always got the canteen cash registers ringing and ringing.

With the passage of time one’s preferences and choice changes. There is immense difference in the sweets that I used to eat in my childhood and the kids sweets that are consumed today. I was a bit curious to know whether today’s kids like the traditional sweets that I used to eat in my childhood, so I decided to conduct a mini survey at my school. There was a small talent show in my school so I decided to offer some traditional sweets as a prize. I thought this would give me an idea about this generation’s preferences.

I went to the candy shop to buy some traditional sweets. It was a long time since I had had the chance to go there. It wasn’t that I don’t like sweets; I love sweets, but I just hadn’t bought any for ages.

After searching for a while for the sweets in the candy shop, I noticed that I couldn’t find any of the traditional sweets I had enjoyed so much when I was younger. I decided to ask for assistance from the salesman. He told me that he only had contemporary kids sweets in the shop but he gave me the contact numbers and addresses of some shops that might stock what I was looking for.

Thanks to his advice I found the candies I was looking for. I bought the candies to school and there I was pleasantly surprised to see that the kids loved them. This clearly proves that no matter from what era the sweets emanate from, they will always be popular and loved by the current crop of kids.

Jelly Belly

Jelly Belly has established itself as a candy corporation specialising in jelly beans production. The company has its headquarters in Fairfield, California, USA. It has an annual output of a reported thirty four million pounds of jelly beans, with a production unit spanning almost 74,000 square metres. There are also production facilities located in the north of Chicago as well as Pleasant Prairie in Wisconsin.

Today, Jelly Belly is the world's No. 1 gourmet jelly bean, the bean of choice for all those with the most discerning taste, and made in 50 official flavors and a dizzying array of new flavors, special collections and wacky flavors.

The range features amongst others the following: Berry Blue, Blueberry, Bubblegum, Buttered Popcorn, Cherry Cola, Chocolate Pudding, Cinnamon, Coconut, Cotton Candy, Green Apple, Juicy Pear, Kiwi, Lemon, Lemon Lime, Liquorice, Mango, Orange Sherbet, Pina Colada, Pineapple Crush, Raspberry, Red Apple, Sizzling Cinnamon, Smoothie Blend, Strawberry Cheesecake, Strawberry Daiquiri, Toasted Marshmallow, Top Banana, Tutti Frutti, Very Cherry and Watermelon.

Other products in the Jelly Belly range include BeanBoozled, a type of confectionery Russian Roulette, featuring some of the well loved flavours named above along with stomach churning alternatives such as the vomit flavoured Barf, Canned Dog Food, Baby Wipes and Rotten Egg. The regular flavours are the same colours as the crazy flavours so you never know what you’re going to taste until it’s too late!

Jellies and Gummies

Made from a clear tasteless substance on to which candy is added, jellies and gummies are also known as jelly sweets. Among the various types available, Gummy Bears are probably one of the most popular.

They were invented in 1922 by Hans Riegel, the owner of the German candy company Haribo. In the United States, Haribo gummi bears come in 5 flavours: raspberry (red); orange (orange); strawberry (green); pineapple (colourless); and lemon (yellow). Many other companies use more exotic flavours and colours. Another German company, Trolli, manufacture "gummy" bears that are similarly most often sold in five flavours in the United States, however Trolli's red gummy is cherry-flavoured as opposed to raspberry.

There are countless kinds of jellies and gummies available including cola bottles, Smurfs, cherries, army men, watermelons, oranges, apples, octopuses, lobsters, worms, frogs, sharks, peaches, fizzy blue bubble bottles, soda bottles, etc.

Concerns arose five years ago as to what impression gummies would give to children in respect of the safety of animals. This was raised by an animal rights organisation. It should be noted that jellies and gummies were produced in shapes similar to chickens, squirrels and snakes. Concerns were raised by the fact that these animal shaped products could create a negative point in the minds of kids with regards to appropriate conduct towards these animals.

Jack Daniel's Fudge

Jack Daniel's Fudge has for a very long time been considered one of the most sought after sweets among confectionery lovers. Are you in search of a mouth watering fudge? If you are, this is why you need to keep reading.

There is no doubt that Jack Daniel's Fudge is amongst the most fashionable sweets and candies in the United Kingdom and is now readily available as a specially branded fudge. It has the ingredients that any fudge normally has as it is soft, fresh and creamy and is made with sugar, syrup and milk – the discernable difference is the added touch of the worldwide renowned taste of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whisky

Aside from fudge, there is also an assortment of products available from Jack Daniel's. These include amongst others Jack Daniel's Coffee, Jack Daniel’s Chocolate, Jack Daniel’s Mustard, Jack Daniel’s Toppings and wonderful Jack Daniel's Cookbooks which give you access to a multitude of recipes that incorporate the unique taste of Jack Daniel’s.

There are simply scores of different products incorporating the unique taste of Jack Daniel's but we suggest you start your journey by sampling the delights of Jack Daniel’s Fudge. It is also worth considering as a gift, as the packaging makes for a perfect present for all occasions. Enjoy!

Hershey’s

Hershey’s is the biggest producer of chocolate in North America. It was first called the Hershey Chocolate Company. Milton S. Hershey formed the company in 1894, and today the company’s chocolate bars are household names worldwide.

Located in Pennsylvania, Hershey’s has the largest chocolate production unit in the world. Its workspace measures up to 185,806 square metres. There are subsidiary plants in Canada (Ontario) and California (Oakdale). It also has production units scattered over the US as well as two others in Mexico and Brazil.

The products in the ever-popular range are available in many sizes and flavours including the famous Cookies ‘n’ Crème and the popular Milk Chocolate & Almond. Other popular lines are Mr. Goodbar, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Payday. Other candies include Jolly Rancher and Twizzlers.

Hershey’s remains one of the world’s most popular confectioneries on the market. Yum!

Gobstoppers

Gobstoppers, known as jawbreakers in the United States and Canada, are a hard type of sweet or candy. They are normally round in shape, and are produced in various colours and sizes.

The word ‘gob’ is a slang word in the United Kingdom and Ireland for mouth.

In most cases, gobstoppers or jawbreakers are made into different coatings, with each of these coatings melting to reveal the ne layer and even taste, until you finally reach the centre.

The best way to consume jawbreakers is by licking or sucking. They are so hard that they cannot be bitten without putting your teeth at risk. This is the main reason why they are known as jawbreakers in the United States and Canada.

Children like them a lot because it takes such a long time to finish gobstoppers. The bigger versions such as Globestoppers can take days to finish. Commonly sold by weight, they are packed in jars and sold in candy shops.

The production process is known as spanning. Sugar or anise seed are heated and coatings of these are constantly deposited on one another to get the desired size. Flavouring and colouring are also employed.

Gift Ideas

You have come to the right spot. Your search has landed you in the best place for gift ideas for every event of your choice. If your intention is to save some money and be ingenious with your present then look no further.

Here at weluvsweets.com we offer an incredible array of gifts for all occasions. How about a carton of Jack Daniel’s Whiskey Fudge, or a London Bus full of yummy toffees? For the sugar free devotees we can even offer a chocolate fondue set.

There are so many forms of unique gift ideas from this site that you are spoilt for choice. This will help you find something for whatever occasions you may need to find a present for. There are equally many gifts ideas that will evoke a feeling of memorabilia whenever the recipient thinks of it.

The important thing is for you to find what you are looking for and here at weluvsweets.com you will discover amazing and memorable gift ideas that will help you find perfect presents for every event imaginable.

Galaxy Chocolate

Galaxy Chocolate is a very popular chocolate in the United Kingdom and Ireland, manufactured and marketed by Mars. In some parts of the world it is known as Dove.

The makers explain on their website that the taste is created due to the way they slowly roast the cocoa beans, mill the chocolate twice, select all the ingredients with love, and carefully blend them to make the smoothest and creamiest chocolate one could ever experience.

Consisting of different forms and sizes, as well as the standard bar, Galaxy Chocolate is also available in Kingsize, Cookie Crumble, Hazelnut and a combination of Hazelnut, Raisin and Almond.

Mars has always been interested in the production of sustainable cocoa that is why you can now find a small symbol of a frog on the packaging. This tiny fellow is the symbol of the Rainforest Alliance and now all Galaxy chocolate bars across the UK & Ireland will carry the Rainforest Alliance Certified™ seal.

This means that they source cocoa from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms. The Rainforest Alliance helps thousands of farmers around the world gain the tools and techniques necessary to protect the wildlife, the environment, and the rights and welfare of their workers and their families for now and for future generations.

Fudge

What is fudge? This is a form of confectionery made from a heated mixture of butter, milk and sugar at a degree of 116 °C, it is then cooled and moulded. Other ingredients can be blended into the mixture to give an assortment of taste, flavour, as well as colour. Common examples are chocolate, maple syrup, cream, rum & raisins, vanilla and even Jack Daniel's Whiskey..

In Canada and the United States, hot fudge is usually taken to mean chocolate smeared on top of ice cream. It has nothing to do with the ordinary fudge enjoyed in the UK.

Fudge dates back over 100 years and was formulated by Emelyn Battersby Hartridge, whilst studying at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Word of this wonderful new recipe quickly spread through other women’s colleges and soon became a popular addition to the world of confectionery.

Confectionery

Confectionery is simply defined as a range of food substances with high sugar contents. Today, this will also include items with synthetic sweeteners. A confection has many guises, depending on the area where it is consumed.

For example, it is known as candy in the United States, sweets in the United Kingdom and lollies in Australia.

In different parts of the world where the English language is used, confectionery is referred to in many ways. In the UK as well as most countries within the Commonwealth, an everyday name for it is sweets. Other informal names include goodies and yum yums. These names may differ from region to region.

They are commonly called lollies in Australia as well as in New Zealand. In North America, the word candy is frequently used, but this will exclude items such as pastry. Also, sweets and treats are sometimes used.

Items such as chocolate, candy bars, lollipops and candy floss are generally inclusive. But these will not take into account items that can be consumed with the use of cutlery such as cakes, puddings or biscuits. Most Americans do not include these as candy.

Other forms of confectionery are hard sweets (from hardened sugar), called boiled sweets in the UK, jawbreakers, rock candy, drops and candy canes. When blended with nuts, they are called brittle.

Jelly candies refer to sugar mixed with starch such as gum, gelatin, jelly beans, jujubes, Turkish Delight, gumdrops, etc.

Chocolate Bars

Many people will go for a dark chocolate bar in preference to milk chocolate, although a good number of people will also prefer the latter, perhaps, because of its sweeter taste. It is true that personal taste is always taken as a first choice for most consumers but one thing is clear, a lot of people prefer dark chocolate for health reasons. However, a good number of consumers will always want to be swayed by just the taste and will choose their chocolate bars accordingly.

Why do people give preference to dark chocolate? Research has revealed that it contains flavoniods and epicatechin both of which are said to have beneficial properties.

Studies carried out at San Francisco School of Nursing at the California State University suggest that these ingredients also had properties that would benefit cardiac care. This was instigated by the American Cocoa Research Institute. Dark chocolate was served to twenty-one consumers, broken into two groups. One group consumed chocolate bars with flavonoids amounting to 1.4 ounces daily and the other did not. After a fortnight, each group was tested for the dilation of blood vessels and it was found out that people who ate flavonoids experienced superior blood circulation.

From these tests it became evident that flavonoids help reduce the risk blot clots which is one of the major causes of heart attacks. This is another reason why consumers will prefer dark chocolate. However, a simple consumption of chocolate bars without some required physical exercises will not perform miracles. You must also consume dark chocolate modestly. Remember that they are equally full of sugar and fats that may have negative effects when eaten unreasonably.

Chew Bars

Chew bars are an enduring and popular confectionery produced in long thin packaging.

They come in many flavours but perhaps the two most popular are the  Black Jack and Fruit Salad bars manufactured by Barratts. Both flavours are also made in mini chew formats, either loose in pick’n’mix stores, or off the shelf stick packs, but the chew bars remain ever popular.

Other bars that have a strong appeal are the Wham series manufactured by Miller McCowan. These appeal to those who like a little kick with their candy, offering sour flavours such as sour apple, sour cherry as well as the original raspberry. Another of their lines is the Highland Toffee chew bar that remains popular with young and old alike.

Refreshers are also available in the chew bar format in three scintillating flavours, the original, strawberry and swizzelberry, and are stalwarts in this field

For the brave there is the Toxic Waste Nuclear Sludge Sour Apple Flavour chew bar…not for the faint hearted!

Whatever your favourite flavour, chew bars are definitely a great way to get your candy fix.

Cheap Sweets

This is for chocolate and sweets lovers out there. Does your sweet tooth crave for chocolate or something sweet? Do you often wonder where to buy them? Then, there is a place for you to buy branded chocolates and cheap sweets at seriously discounted rates.

In the USA there is a chain of stores called the Russell Stover Factory Outlets where you can purchase cheap sweets galore. In their stores you will find all the chocolates and sweets you desire at prices you won’t believe.  

In fact there are over 50 Russell Stover Factory Outlets in the USA, including one in Iola, Kansas, situated on the aptly named Marshmallow Lane. In store the prices range from a penny to a dollar.

Russell Stover Factory Outlets have countless candies in store for all tastes and age groups. There are milk bars, dark chocolate, creams, caramels, nuts and cherries. For those who are worried about their health, there are also sugar-free and low-carb sweets. Simply, there are cheap sweets for one and all.

There are always special offers and promotions and you can often items in the middle of the year for the forthcoming Christmas and Halloween seasons that are heavily discounted from the original prices.

There are outlets in the West, far North, East and South Eastern regions of the United States. There are many

Caramac

Caramac

Caramac is a product made of caramel by the Nestle Company. Originally created by Rowntree Mackintosh in 1959, it derived its name from the Cara in caramel and the Mac in Mackintosh.
Packaged in a distinctive red and yellow wrapper, the bar itself is pale yellow in colour. It is made up of sections that have thin layers so that each layer will blend on your tongue. Each piece is stamped with the word Caramac.
The secrets behind this product are the ingredients. The ingredients are sweetened condensed milk, butter, flavourings, and sugar. If you are familiar with McVitie’s Gold Biscuit bar you will know that these two products are pretty similar in taste.
The product was released as a limited edition Kitkat Caramac bar in the UK in 2005. Many people liked the taste of the Kitkat Caramac bar so, it returned again during 2007. Aside from the Kitkat Caramac bar, a Caramac Easter Egg was also produced during the 1980s and 1990s.
 The ever-popular Caramac bar remains a firm favourite with all confectionery lovers of all ages.

Candy

Candy

Sugar candy means a piece of sugar, a coated sweet or sugar with a shiny coating. It is the combination of refined sugar, water, flavourings (added artificial substance to food) and colorants.
Candies have a variety of colours and shapes to attract people of all types of ages. Some candies are small and others are big in size. Some have a sweet taste while others are salty and sour to taste. There are Hershey’s bars, Jelly Beans, Nerds and many other forms of candies to name a few.
In the North America, candies have been a delicacy. There are many varieties to choose from. There are bars, chocolates, marshmallows and more. These are all put in one category which is candy.
Sweets are a popular name for candies outside North America. In the land down under, Australia, candies are divided into two types. These are chocolates and lollies. Thus, the word lollipop arose and its meaning cover sugar candies on a stick. Candy floss was the term used in United Kingdom while it is fairy floss in Australia. While in North America, cotton candy is the name commonly used. 
Candies are formed with three ingredients. The ingredients are sugar, water and milk. Sometimes only two are used. The sugar is melted and mixed with the milk or water to make a syrup mixture. Then, it is boiled under extreme heat to caramelize. Depending on the heat, different forms and textures of candy are produced. This last stage is based on the sugar content.
The shelf life of candies depends on where you are going to keep them. When they are left under extreme heat they melt. When stored in a cool and dry place, they last for more than a year.

Cadburys Chocolate

Cadburys Chocolate

Cadbury was created 200 years ago when John Cadbury began his line of work in the world of chocolate by opening a grocer’s shop in 1824 where he began selling coffees and tea. Attempting to improve the taste of the drinks, he began selling cocoa and drinking chocolates too.

In 1831, John branched out and opened a factory to manufacture his own drinking chocolate and cocoa and by 1842 there were 15 varieties to choose from. Later, his brother joined the company that John had established. After years of taking care of the company he eventually retired leaving a company that is now a household name in most parts of the world.

After John created Cadbury, he began establishing a school for his employees. He also created a distinctive perk for his workforce by way of making medical benefits available for his staff.

Today, Cadbury is the world’s leader in milk chocolate, although sales declined during World War I, they have since gone from strength to strength as John subsequently refined the manufacturing process of his chocolates which was evident with the improvement in the taste and the number of varieties. Soon, the sales increased rapidly and the range of Cadbury chocolates now contains such stalwarts as Dairy Milk, Fruit & Nut, Crunchie, Fudge, Picnic, Star Bar, Flake, Boost, Double Decker, Bourneville, Wispa and Twirl.

Bubble gum

Bubble gum

Bubble gum is a kind of elastic chewing gum that can be manipulated by chewing enabling the user to eventually blow a bubble out of it. Bubble gums come in many different colours or flavours. However, the traditional colour is a light shade of pink that is flavoured with the oil of wintergreen. 

Fascinatingly, bubble gum was accidentally invented by Walter. E. Diemer in 1928. He worked as an accountant in the Fleer Chewing Gum Company in Philadelphia. In his spare time, he had a crazy pastime of experimenting with different types of chewing gum. In 1928, he discovered a gum that was less sticky than a chewing gum that could be blown into a bubble. 23-year-old Walter recognized the possibilities of this special gum. One day he took five pounds of it to a grocery store and the gum sold out in a single afternoon.

The Fleer Chewing Gum Company soon picked up on this idea, and sold it by the name of Dubble Bubble. The Dubble Bubble was so successful that it sold over a million and half units in the very first year. The first Bubble Gums were pink because it was the only food colour available at the factory. However, Walter never patented his invention and consequently never received any royalties. After his death in 1998, his wife told the media that old Diemer was never happier than when he was organizing bubble blowing contests for his kid’s friends at his home.

The Guinness world record for blowing bubble gum is held by Susan Montgomery Williams of Fresno, California. Susan Montgomery Williams broke the record twice, once in 1979 with a bubble of 17 inches or 43.18cm and again in 1996 with a bubble that was 23 inches or 58.24cm.

Bon Bons

Bon Bons

Bon bon is derived from the French word bon that means good. Bon bon is traditionally a chocolate or truffle confection, usually used as a dining table centrepiece. The term bon bon is also colloquially used to describe the traditional French idle housewife, who sat and ate bon bons all day while her husband was busy at work.

This popular sweet is available in many flavours including strawberry, sour raspberry, apple, mixed fruit, toffee, vimto, lemon and many others.

In America the term Bonbon has assumed a completely different meaning than the traditional French bon bons. Bonbons in the US are the trademarked name of a sweet product produced by Hershey’s. This sweet dish is a frozen confectionary, made up of vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate. This type of Bonbon is also sold through a tube outside movie theatres and should always be eaten quickly before they melt. They are also sold in buckets in the States.

There is also a very popular called the Oreo Bon Bon. These bon bons require 1 packet of original Oreo cookies, 18oz of cream cheese, 2 packets of almond bark and ½ cup of salted pretzels. Start by lining 2 large cookie sheets with aluminium foil spread with non-stick cooking spray. Then place the Oreo cookies and the pretzels together in a zip lock plastic bag and crush them to make crumbs. Then place the crushed pretzels and Oreo cookies in a bowl of softened cream cheese and blend them thoroughly. Use a scoop spoon to make balls out of the mixture.

The next step is to melt the almond bark as per the microwave instructions and then dip each scoop into the liquid…delicious!. You can also use chocolate dip instead of almond.

Boiled Sweets

Boiled Sweets

Boiled sweets are hard confectioneries made by boiling sugar and then crystallizing it, and is the same product that is known in the Unites States as candies. Sweets can be chocolate based or non-chocolate based; and the non-chocolate candies can be of the boiled sweet variety. Non-chocolate candies can basically be of two types, hard candies and soft candies with the difference being the degrees of crystallization (or boiling) of the sugar. Soft sugar candies are also known as fondants. Fondants are used to make fancy candies like chocolate creams.

Sweetmeats are the earliest known confectionery. Sweetmeats have existed for a long time in Asia and Middle East and date back as far as the ancient Egyptians. Candies were presumably discovered in order to curtail the bitter taste of medicine. This is the reason why before the 14^th century, confectioneries were made and sold chiefly by physicians. The boiled sweet favoured by mediaeval physicians was called sugar-plate, a sweetmeat composed of the ingredients rosewater, white sugar and gum dragon, together made into a paste.

Marzipan is one of the earliest surviving types of confectionery in Europe. The process of making marzipan involved hard nuts such as almonds, made into a paste and finally blended with sugar and the white of an egg. This confectionery, made in the Middle Ages was often stamped with epigrams and moulded into fancy shapes.

One of the earliest form of boiled sweet originating from England was a sugarplum. They were made of boiled sugar and became popular in England in the 17^th century. However, the production of boiled sweets as we now know them did not become extensively popular until the 19^th century. The display of British boiled sweets at the National Exhibition of 1851 stimulated manufacture in other countries, notably France.

Aniseed Balls

Aniseed Balls

Aniseed balls are traditional aniseed oil coated hard round sweets, a bit like gobstoppers or jawbreakers, and are usually sold in the UK. They are also found in New Zealand and Australia. These hard balls last in the mouth for a long time and they have an anise seed core that can be crushed. The core is used for forming layers of candy around it, although other methods exist, for example using a sugar grain.
The whole seed is then surrounded with layers of hardened candy. They can be bought by weight in traditional sweet shops in the UK and Ireland.  They are dark brown in colour and they have a strong liquorish flavour.
In a recent poll of confectionery fans, aniseed balls were voted the best childhood memory of confectionery in the UK. As a result they are making a resurgence in popularity in British sweet shops, along with chocolate mice and sherbet pips.

The recent Waitrose Great Sweet Revival campaign captured the votes of more than 2,000 people and the results made it clear that aniseed balls are as popular as ever. Waitrose confectionery buyer Matthew Jones said: "We received a fantastic response to our campaign so I think our new retro sweets will be as popular with children today as those who remember tucking into them in decades past."

It seems that longevity is the key to picking a favourite treat as 'sucky sweets' made up more than half of the top 10 which also included bonbons and liquorice torpedoes.

American Sweets

American Sweets

In the UK, the tradition of Halloween is relatively new. Only a decade or two ago, British children at the time of the transition of October to November were seen approaching people with  ‘a penny for the guy’, the guy being a life sized dummy of a man, crammed into something like a shopping trolley or a pram. The guy alluded to Guy Fawkes, who tried to blow up the British Parliament in the 17^th century, and whose effigy is now burnt on 5^th November, known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night or Fireworks Night.

Nowadays, Halloween is also widely celebrated in the UK on October 31^st along with Guy Fawkes Day on 5^th November. These two festivals fall at the time of two major Catholic and Pagan Celtic festivals, All Saints Day on 1^st November and the Pagan Celtic festival, Samhain.

The Halloween tradition was until recently far more popular in America than in the UK, but nowadays British kids also celebrate Halloween by going from door to door asking the time honoured question, trick or treat? The treat invariably comes in the form of confectionery, with American Sweets making an appropriate way to give the celebration an authentic feel.

Consequently, the candy stores in the UK now stock American sweets, some depicting small witches, vampires, pumpkins and ghosts especially for Halloween. Some examples of the most popular American sweets 
follow.

The first name that comes to mind is Hershey’s, the flagship of American candy. Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme and Hershey’s Kisses are both delicious treats.  Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme is a white chocolate bar with chocolate cookie bits and Hershey’s Kisses are delicious chocolates individually wrapped in unique foil twists, ideal for the little Halloween guests on your doorstep.

White Maltesers

Is seems that We Luv Sweets has secured somewhat of a coup. White Maltesers have been in short supply and rumours have abound that the makers of these fantastic white chocolate, honeycomb treats will not rerelease the product until Christmas! We Luv Sweets is happy to announce that we have a great supply source for White Maltesers and, notwithstanding unforseen events, you will be available to purchase these great treats at We Luv Sweets throughout the year. So whether you have a wedding cake to make or if you just want to scoff them straight from the packet, White Maletesers are here now.

Flying Saucers

Image by hddod via Flickr

Okay, so I want to start this post by stating www.weluvsweets.com is not one for conspiracy theories, but that said, we feel it is important to notify people about the invasion facing the UK right now, as I type these very words. In what sounds like a throwback to the '50s, I can categorically state that we are under invasion by flying saucers, it's true. Flying Saucers  sweets are now officially the number 1 selling product at www.weluvsweets.com. They are literally flying off the shelves (okay that is a bit of an embelishment but you get the point) - If you want to take part in this invasion, and possibly assist the overthrow of man on this planet, follow this link Flying Saucers

American Sweets

Image via Wikipedia

Well there appears to be no weakening of the 'special relationship' between USA and UK when it comes to sweets and candy. Despite the straining of political relations caused by the BP oil disaster, further compounded by allegations relating to the bomber of Pan-Am flight 103, we have seen our american sweets and american candy sky-rocket in popularity in recent weeks. From Nerds, to Hershey Bars to the famous Baby Ruth Bar, sweets fans in the UK can't seem to get enough. Vist American Candy and if there is an american candy or sweets you don't see and would love to have. let us know at wls@weluvsweets.com and we will do our utmost to find it for you.

Lucky Charms Cereal

Image via Wikipedia

We have been truly astonished at the polularity for this delicious american cereal. Although not strictly a sweet or a candy we decided to take the plunge and offer Lucky Charms to our customers. It has turned out to be a fantastic desicion with sales increasing on a weekly basis. We now stock Lucky Charms breakfast cereal in two different sizes. The normal box Lucky Charms and a smaller cup size Lucky Charms Cups
So if you want to 'catch the little fella' and steal his Lucky Charms, visit www.weluvsweets.com

Sweets; Order Retro Sweets online at the best site for cheap sweets

Sweets; Order Retro Sweets online at the best site for cheap sweets

Image via Wikipedia

We luv sweets, You luv sweets, pretty much everyone luvs sweets. If you have any interesting stories about sweets, chocolate or other types of candy goodies, we'd love to hear from you.

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