Happy Halloween everyone! It's nice that it falls on a Saturday this year, so that kids can trick-or-treat longer, and many adults can party late and sleep in tomorrow. Speaking of trick-or-treating, I'd like to cover two candies that have morbid themes. These were the Ghost Dots, and the Body Parts from Bowl & Basket.
I'm not going to say much about the maker of the Body Parts, because it's the store brand of the main grocery store I use, Shop-Rite. I've covered this company's history before. Instead, I'll urge you to read, or re-read, the post I did about the Frankford Company's Body Parts on October 21, 2023. The rest of my thoughts about the Bowl & Basket candies will be in the review below.
The Dots story is a bit old, and somewhat convoluted. Back in the 1890's (yes, that's right, a specific year is unreported anywhere) a couple of guys created a licorice candy called Crows, sometimes rendered as Black Crows. The inventors were either Henrique Cataldi and Joseph Maison, or Ernest Von Au and Joseph Maison. At some point thereafter Ernest Von Au and Joseph Maison either founded, or at least worked for the Magenheimer Confectionery Manufacturing Corporation, based in Brooklyn, NY. In 1945 Mason developed the Dots gumdrop candy. I think "Mason" was the new name of the Magenheimer company, or perhaps a division of it. Named, presumably, for Joseph Maison, after a slight re-spelling of the surname. As the years passed, the company that made Dots became the Candy Corporation of America, with Mason being a division of it. Then, in 1972 Tootsie Roll Industries acquired Dots, although maybe not the entire Candy Corporation of America. The candy has flourished over the years, and reportedly the current annual output of the individual candies is 4 billion. Several different kinds of Dots have been rolled out over the decades, including Tropical Dots (2003), Yogurt Dots (2007), and Sour Dots (2009-10). Plus some other sorts that came and went. The basic Dots consist of five flavors--cherry, strawberry, lime, lemon, and orange, with corresponding candy colors of red, pink, green, yellow, and orange. However, aside from the varieties I already mentioned, Dots makes seasonal kinds for Christmas, Valentine's Day, and Easter. And at least two other Halloween kinds--Candy Corn Dots, shaped and flavored like that type of candy, and Bat Dots, which are black with a blood orange flavor. If you're wondering about allergens and dietary restrictions, Dots are appropriate for vegans, according to PETA. They are also free of gluten, nuts, and peanuts. (Although I don't know if they're processed in a facility that also processes these allergens, so it's probably best to check if you're a sufferer of these allergies or conditions.) They are also Kosher.
As for Tootsie Rolls, they date back to 1896, when Leo Hirschfield of New York City developed a type of chocolate candy that was more resistant to melting. Alas, due to business and family issues, Hirschfield committed suicide in 1922. Tootsie Rolls were a part of American soldiers' rations in World War II, in part due to their resistance to melting. Aside from Dots, Tootsie Rolls Industries owns many other candy brands, such as Charleston Chews, Junior Mints, Sugar Daddy/Babies, and Wack-o-Wax, which are those weird wax lips candy that I recall being inexplicably popular in the 1970's.
Ghost Dots: These were the same size and shape as typical Dots, meaning they were about .75 inches by about .5 inches (or roughly 2 cm. by 1.25 cm.) looking kind of like an egg that's been cut in half. Unlike regular Dots, which have five colors related to the five different flavors, all of the Ghost ones were a pale green. This was the selling point--they were billed as a mystery, as you couldn't tell what flavor they were before eating them. Anyway, I should mention that I like regular Dots--they're a good to very good gummy-like candy. But the flavor of these Ghost Dots was weak--they did have the five different flavors, but they were watered down tastes. Maybe it was partly psychological, given the different pale green color, but I don't think so. I have to ask--are they Ghost Dots because the flavor died? I also wonder how these came about. Was it intentional, or was this a way to get rid of a large batch of Dots that only got like half of the usual flavoring? So they died them light green and called them Ghosts? And why green? Ghost are traditionally seen as pale white, or at least translucent and clear-ish. But not green, at least in the movies, television shows, and books I read. All in all, I heartily do NOT recommend these. I like the concept of seasonal candies, but they have to taste good, first and foremost.
Bowl & Basket Body Parts: Again, I implore you to look at my post on October 21, 2023 about the Frankford ones. These Bowl & Basket ones (from here on out abbreviated to "B & B") are cheap ripoffs. I seriously think Frankford should sue. The B & B candies are the same body parts, and about the same size and colors as the Frankford ones. With one HUGE exception--the B & B candies are pale imitations, taste-wise. As I outlined in the Frankford Body Parts post, part of what I loved about them was how they were imaginatively gross and morbid, yet also tasted really good. It's probably too strong to say the B & B candies were terrible, but they were distinctly disappointing. Unfortunately, Bowl & Basket is the store brand of Shop-Rite, so they're obviously going to sell their own take on the idea, and not sell the competitor's version. I guess I'll have to find a store that does sell the Frankford ones, or order them online or something.
In conclusion, I'm sad to say that both of these candies are inferior. Buy the regular Dots if you want gum drops, and buy the Frankford Body Parts if you want gory, fun, spooky, AND TASTY gummy candies.
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