A few weeks ago, at my local grocery, I shopped for candy that would be given out to Halloween trick or treaters. There were few surprises--it was the usual bags of the same candy that's sold year round for the most part. Probably the biggest difference is that there were bags of "miniatures," which are just smaller versions of the usual sweet fare. But there was one notable exception--a new kind of Peeps. I quickly snapped up their Monsters, their Ghosts, and their Skulls flavors.
I'm guessing every American is familiar with Peeps--the marshmallow candy, synonymous with the Easter season in the spring. However, perhaps readers in other countries are not. I'm not sure how widely Peeps are sold around the globe. Anyway, the Peeps story begins in 1891, with the birth of Samuel Bernstein, in Russia. Sam immigrated to the U.S. in 1909, and changed his name to Sam Born. He flourished rather quickly. In 1916 he received the key to the city of San Francisco in recognition for inventing a machine that stuck sticks into lollipops. Then, in 1917, Sam opened up a retail store in Brooklyn, NY. Among other things, he sold candy, some of which he'd manufactured himself. In 1923 Sam started the Just Born, Inc. candy company, along with his in-laws Irv and Jack Shaffer. The company moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1932. 21 years later, in 1953, Just Born made their most important decision--they acquired the Rodda Candy Company, which made jelly beans and a distinctive marshmallow-based candy called Peeps. As the name suggests, Peeps were bird-themed, shaped like little birds, although later they were also formed into rabbit shapes. These became seasonal favorites, sold around Easter. (Somewhat ironically, I suppose, since Sam Bernstein was Jewish originally. Maybe he converted?) Much later, in 2003, Just Born acquired the Goldenberg Candy Company, notable for their Peanut Chews. Other brands made by Just Born include Hot Tamales, Just Born jelly beans, and their main seller, Mike and Ikes.
This recent experience has alerted me that there's much about Peeps that's changed over the years. I thought it was just an Easter thing, but that's not so anymore. For example, during the winter there are Christmas-y Peeps, shaped like gingerbread men, Christmas trees, snowmen, and stockings. Aside from the three Halloween ones I got, there's also a pumpkin-shaped kind. And, of late Peeps are sold year round, not just during holiday seasons. There are more colors and flavors, too, such as strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate, to go along with the traditional yellow, pink, white, and blue Peeps. Moving on, Just Born is the 10th largest candy manufacturer in the country, and employs over 600 people. There's even a Peepsfest held annually, in Bethlehem, which features family-friendly entertainment such as fun runs, live music, magic shows, animals, crafts, and dioramas. Also held annually, since 1994, is a Peeps eating contest, in National Harbor, Maryland. In 2017 Matt Stonie ate 255 of them in only 5 minutes, which is evidently the record. Finally, there's a Peeps movie in development. This animated production is slated to be written by David Goldblum, and produced by Christine and Mark Holder. Stay tuned!
Skull Peeps: These were, naturally, skull-shaped, about 6 cm. by 4 cm. (about 2.5 inches by 1.5 inches), with a white color, nostrils, scar mouth, pink eyes, and green locks of hair (?), one with a heart shape to it. These were typical Peeps. Slightly crusty, but very marshmallow-y. They tasted like regular Peeps, the flavor wasn't distinctively different as near as I can recall. Meaning they were okay, but not spectacular or anything.
Ghost Peeps: These Peeps were about the same size as the Skull ones, only obviously in a ghost shape. The arms were raised above the head, kind of like they were signaling a touchdown in football. White color, with black eyes and a mouth. These had a softer texture, but once again, didn't taste any different from regular Peeps, at least as I remember them. Therefore, once again, they were decent, but not great.
Monster Peeps: These were clearly Frankenstein's Monster, but they left off the "Frankenstein" part, perhaps due to copyright issues or something. The size was about the same as the others, only they were formed like the Monster's head, with green skin, and black facial features--eyes, nose, mouth, scar, hair. Despite the green color, they tasted the same as the others, and correspondingly, similar to the regular Peeps I used to eat. So okay, but not awesome.
Peeps seem to be mostly polarizing--folks seem to either really like them, or hate them. I guess I'm a bit of an anomaly in that I just think they're alright. I'll eat them if they're available, but I don't go out of my way to buy them, or obsess over them. Basically, if you like marshmallows, you'll probably like them, but if you don't, these probably won't change your mind drastically. But I did appreciate the fun, spooky-themed Halloween take on an old standard. This might be a rare case when appearance is more important than flavor in a confection. So I recommend them out for shallow, cosmetic reasons rather than a superior taste. I might buy the Christmas ones if I see them in a couple of months, too. Furthermore, if you enjoy microwave shenanigans, get some Peeps and put them in one. Heated up the results are dramatically expanding! (And they won't damage your microwave or anything, although it will probably make quite a mess.)
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