Smarties (Ce De Candy)
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- Rockets redirects here. For other uses, see Rocket (disambiguation).
In the United States, Smarties are a type of artificially fruit-flavored candy produced by Ce De Candy, Inc.. These are marketed outside of the US under the brand name "Rockets", to avoid confusion with Nestlé Smarties. In Canada, they are distributed by Regal Confections. In Australia, a similar product (but different) is known as Fruit Tingles and is produced and distributed by an unrelated company, Allens (owned by Nestlé). Imitations have been offered on the market by smaller brands, but Rockets seem to have won the battle through greater distribution. They may also be dispensed in KLIK Rockets Dispensers, also distributed by the same company.
The candies bear a strong resemblance to tablet-style pills, in shape and texture. One individual candy is in the shape of a cylinder with a diameter of roughly 1 centimetre and a height of roughly .4 centimetres; larger ones do exist, dwarfing their european namesake impostors, with a diameter 2.5 centimeters and about .6cm tall... both sizes are double concave. Smarties come in random combinations of colors within their wrapped tubes. These include white, pale yellow, pale pink, pale orange, pale purple and pale green. Each color's flavor is slightly different.
They are usually packaged as a roll of candies wrapped in cellophane. Because each package is small and inexpensive, they are often bought in bulk for occasions such as parties or Halloween, much to the chagrin of some trick-or-treaters, while other people have a very fond appreciation of them.
They also come in an "Extreme Sour" flavor, which has a much stronger flavor than the original. Smarties also now comes in a gum, which looks exactly like the Smarties candy, but is similar to Razzles.
Each package contains an assortment of pastel colors, including white, red, orange, yellow, green and purple, however blind taste tests on a small group of adult subjects indicate that individuals perceive essentially the same flavor regardless of any differences in chemical composition (dyes, artificial flavors).
Smarties produced by Ce De Candy, Inc. by their Union, New Jersey U.S. plant have a slightly different taste than the ones that are produced by their Newcastle, Ontario Canadian plant. The Canadian ones are generally known to taste better, with more noticable differences between the various color flavors. Canadian ones will say "Made in Canada" under the Smarties name on each roll. Typically, these Canadian Smarties are most commonly seen in the U.S. around Halloween, likely imported only when the US production is not sufficient for demand. Ce De Candy's Canadian plant also produces some of the derivative Smarties flavors and sizes, such as the "Extreme Sour" and "Candy Money" that are larger in size and have cent and dollar amounts on them. Many Smarties afficionados will only buy the Canadian-made varieties.
Ingredients include: dextrose (may contain corn syrup solids), citric acid, calcium stearate, artificial flavors, colors.
