Since it's October, I've naturally been seeing a better selection of candy on the grocery store shelves in the past few weeks. (Or really, maybe even the past couple of months.) A lot of these are just your basic candy fare, only in "fun size" or "bite-sized" pieces, often as an assortment in a bag of 100 or 200 total pieces. But, happily, some confections get into the Halloween spirit more extensively, and make their concoctions more spooky and scary in theme. And no one did a better job of this than the Frankford Candy company, out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I picked up two large bags of their Body Parts gummy candies.
I wasn't able to find out much about the history of the Frankford company. The official website, and other online sources were quite limited on this topic. That said, Frankford was founded in 1947 by a man named Sam Himmelstein. Initially the business specialized in making chocolate, but over the decades it's branched out. Currently, Frankford makes chocolates, cookies, hot cocoa, hot chocolate BOMBS, jelly beans, marshmallows, hard candy, and, of course, gummies. In 2000 the company started licensing popular television and movie characters, and other notable toys. Thus, now you can buy confections featuring characters from Marvel, Nickelodeon, Disney, Baby Shark, Sponge Bob, and the Elf on the Shelf. Frankford also partners with other famous brands to make candy versions of their food and drinks. Meaning you can get Oscar Mayer "bacon" and "hot dogs" made out of gummy, candy "Lunchables," fake Kraft Mac & Cheese, Dunkin Donuts products in candy form, etc. Additionally, and not surprisingly, Frankford has several holiday-themed candy lines. Clearly Halloween, since that's the type of candy I sampled, but also ones with Valentine's Day, Easter, and Christmas themes. They even sell a turkey make out of chocolate for around Thanksgiving. Finally, the Frankford company is based out of Philadelphia, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, but some of their candy, like the kind I tried, is actually made in China.
The Frankford Body Parts gummies come in five different pieces. I'll describe each one below. Each piece was about an inch to an inch and a half (or about 2.5 to 3.5 cm.) in length. Each also came singly, in its own tiny plastic bag.
1) Foot: Considering it's made of gummy candy, the artistry of this was impressive. There were visible toes, an ankle "bone," and blood and bruising on the sawed off foot. The flavor of the candy was good too--this one had a strawberry-like flavor, perhaps from the pseudo-blood.
2) Ear: As with the foot, there was good, gory detail, with realistic-looking ear folds. The "cut off" side was a purple-red. Again, this one tasted good as well, with probably a cherry flavor.
3) Finger tip: Had the real-looking folds and lines of "skin" near the joint, and a molded nail. Where it had been severed it was bloody. Like the previous two, it had a cherry or strawberry taste to it.
4) Brain: It was cut in half, with the cut side red, and the intact side blue, with visible brain folds and all. Apparently the blue gummy was a different flavor, too, as this one tasted more like blueberry. And also again, tasty to eat.
5) Eye: This was an eyeball cut in half. Unlike the others, the "cut" side was not bloody red--it was just white, giving the whole thing a look like a sunny side up fried egg. The "iris" of the eye was green, and the pupil was black. Probably from the green iris, this piece had a lime flavor.
Overall these were all great. Really artistic and realistic. Gross, in a fun way. I think kids will love how morbid they are. (Actually, I think adults will have the same reaction.) Plus, the candy itself was consistently tasty as well. Awesome idea and execution. Top marks! Extreme recommend. If you get a chance, snap them up, and satisfy trick-or-treaters hungry for candy and scares all at once. The website included a fun adult thing to do with them, too. They have some eyeballs impaled on toothpicks, sticking out of a cocktail as a ghoulish garnish. Drinks taste better when they're staring back at you accusingly!
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