Circus peanuts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Circus Peanuts are a peanut-shaped marshmallow candy invented in the 1800s. Although the most popular variety of mass-produced Circus Peanuts today is orange-colored with an artificial banana flavor, confectioners originally distributed an orange-flavored variety that were only available seasonally due to a lack of packaging capable of preserving the candy; in the Springtime, five-and-dimes sold Circus Peanuts as penny candy. In the 1940s Circus Peanuts became one of the many foods to become available year-round owing to the industrial proliferation of polyethylene packaging.

Today, mass-produced Circus Peanuts are made from sugar, corn syrup, gelatin, soy protein, food coloring and artificial flavor. Over the years, confectioners have also offered Circus Peanuts colored yellow, pink, and white. Many include multiple flavors as well. The leading producers of Circus Peanuts are Melster Candies, Spangler Candy Company, and Brach's Confections.

In 1963, General Mills vice president John Holahan inventively discovered that Circus Peanuts shavings yielded a tasty enhancement to his breakfast cereal. General Mills formalized the innovation and created Lucky Charms, the first breakfast cereal to contain marshmallow bits (or "marbits").

The type of gelatin used is pork skin.[1]

[edit] External links

• Brach's Circus Peanuts
• Spangler Candy's Circus Peanuts - Features historical information
• The Straight Dope: "Does anybody actually like Circus Peanuts?" Captures both sides of the debate.
• The Capital Times: "Mystery Of Circus Peanuts" Hartel, Richard and AnnaKate Hartel. October 5, 2004.