Someone decided to save us all some unpleasant moments and compile a list of what not to try.
Reddit user EmmaClark43244 asked:
“What is the worst candy of all time?"
Thank you EmmaClark43244, you're doing the Lord's work.
Palmer "Chocolate"
"Palmer brand 'chocolate.' The cheapest most garbage chocolate you can buy a lot of around easter and halloween"
Palmer brand"chocolate"vegetable oil
"FTFY"
"Oh, it's not the cheapest. Have you ever had gelt?"
"It's worse, by a lot. The brand does not matter, apparently, because every one I've ever had has been revolting."
"Edit: so I think the gelt coins I've only ever had were actually Palmer. You win this round."
GiphyThese Should Be Considered Medicine
"Haribo sugar free gummies."
"This is the 'liquid-sh*t-in-an-hour' one, right?"
"The most fun snack to just pour into a random bowl at a house party. 😉"
"Calm down satan."
Salty...Licorice?
"Dubbelzoute drop. From the Netherlands. It's just anise (black licorice flavor) and tons of salt, with no sugar."
"My former boss was Dutch and loved them, made me eat them from time to time to be polite... It's not something you can ever love, unless you grew up thinking it was normal."
They Mean Every Flavor
"Those Harry Potter jelly beans that actually taste like the flavors they have like earwax, dirt, puke. Yeah. Not a good experience."
"They're expensive and you have to spit out half the bag because they taste bad."
"Because every child needs to know the betrayal of chewing on a lovely lime or apple colored jellybean and discovering it's actually grass."
GiphySo Bad You Won't Even See Them At The Circus
"Circus peanuts"
"Absolutely agree. And technically I think they are banana flavored which makes the whole situation even worse"
Well, There Will Always Be Plenty But I Don't Know About Good
"Good & plenty"
"I think I was 10 or so the first time I tried one of these after getting it in my pillowcase on Halloween."
"I was so f'king pissed because we were only allowed to choose one piece each night and I ended up with several of those bullsh*t boxes in my sack."
"I'm still mad about it."
"It's like the worst catfishing in candy form."
GiphyWell, It'll Give You A Thrill
"Thrills gum. 'still tastes like soap' is actually part of their marketing lol"
"Thrills is oddly good, especially once you realize the flavour is rose water, then it suddenly isn't so bad"
Doesn't Everyone Eat Paper?
"The candy dots on strips of paper"
"How dare you? They were delicious in spite of the large amount of paper you had to eat to enjoy them."
GiphyNo To Necco
"Necco wafers"
"I've never felt more betrayed by the candy category than when I tried those chalky medicinal pucks of sh*t"
"It's like the communion wafer factory had overstock and sold it to a candy company."
That's...That's Not A Good Combo
"Sen-sen."
"Most of you probably don't know what it is, but it's a European candy that's like little bits of hard, salty, black licorice."
"I love black licorice, but sen sen tastes like a cross between a burnt tire and the devil's a**hole."
GiphyThese are just some candies that almost everyone seems to hate.
They keep getting made, though.
Enough people must like them for candy companies to make a profit.
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"What's the WORST candy?"
Some might argue these are not worthy of being categorized as "worst."
Wannabe Chocolate
"Sixlets used to taste good to me and now they're terrible. I don't know if the recipe changed or if it's my tastebuds or both."
"Call me crazy but I like them."
Licorice In Disguise
"Good and plenty. The pink and white coated licorice. So gross."
Not The Bee's Knees
"From my Halloween candy days, my bro and I would pool our candy and eat a piece of two a day for as long as possible…. 'Bit o honey" was always the one I HATED. Bit o' chipped teeth what I used to say…"
"Thing is my friend recently said it was her favorite . I scoffed but she gave me a fresh piece and it was chewy honey flavored taffy…"
Offensive Flavor
"Those Jelly Belly jelly beans that taste like awful things...butter popcorn I'm looking at you. Or even worse still they had some Harry Potter ones that tasted like grass or vomit for goodness sakes!"
It's a wonder how these old-timey treats are still around in 2021.
Purple Chews
"Thrills gum."
"It's purple, and lavender flavored."
"Chews like cardboard, tastes like soap."
"Came here looking for this. Thrills may be a Canadian confectionary. My grandmother always carried these. Found a package in store a few years ago so I could inflict it on my kids and friends."
"Right on the package it said: 'It still tastes like soap!'"
Weird Peanuts
"Those pink peanut looking things."
"Circus peanuts. And they are actually supposed to be banana flavored."
"Dumb Dots"
"Whatever those dumb dots on wax paper are."
"Lol. I love those except for when the paper gets stuck to them."
"On a side note back on the 90s we could buy those with Acid on them. Like LSD. That was fun."
These seem to be the commonly despised sweets.
From Licorice To Lips
"I hate black licorice but that's already up here so I'll just say those lips they sell during Halloween Are they even edible?"
"Wax lips and wax soda bottles."
"Honorable mentions to horehound and coffee candy."
Chalky
"I haven't seen a single mention of those Valentines candies that say things like 'Be My Lover.'"
"Cool concept, but actually eating them is like eating pieces of chalk. No thank you."
I stand by the fact that black licorice is the worst candy ever made.
There is nothing satisfying about the gelatinous rope that ties my stomach into knots.
It tastes like fennel and anise, not the kind of flavors I want in candy, that linger long after its been regrettably digested.
In all deference to those who love black licorice, I won't judge you, but I'll never get you.
Any young former Potter fan will remember the release of the “Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans". Boy weren't the good flavors yummy, but the bad ones were out of this world specific. Like who studied what ear wax tasted like and how did they actually make a jelly bean that made your mouth feel like that? Also… How do I scrub that new found knowledge from my mind? Some things we just weren't meant to know.
Redditor enigmazweb24 wanted to hear opinions on the worst of the worst candies out there. They asked:
“What is the worst candy ever made?"
Just give it to people you don’t like…
“That ribbon candy stuff at Xmas.” NebulaTig
“I'll concede that the commercial stuff is unpleasant, but If you're ever offered a batch of homemade ribbon candy, please take it. Fresh, homemade, ribbon candy is a true delicacy.” TaAvgaKaiKalathia
Why change a good thing?
“When they changed the Crunch Bar recipe. That was a crime against humanity.” Jak_n_Dax
“Omg is THAT what happened!? I just got one the other day and was so let down. Childhood gone forever.” sweetdeepkiss
The wrapper always sticks too…
“The unidentifiable orange a black wrapped candies that somehow are only found on halloween given out by little old ladies. Tastes like it's been stored in the basement since the Great Depression.” mydottedowl
Chewing wax is not your friend…
“Wax lips, fangs and fingers." millerb55
“And those wax soda bottles with like the tiniest amount of flavored liquid inside. What was the f**king point of those?" bacon-pancaaake
Well this took an unexpected turn…
“The flavored lube that I mistook for candy as a child.” sirius_gray
“It's like the R rated version of when the dentist offers you all these wonderful flavors of toothpaste and fluoride and they're all just the worst.” PoorCorrelation
Nothing like thinking it’s peach flavor when it’s actually vomit.
“Those Bean Boozled jelly beans from Jelly Belly. I know that they serve a purpose as a game but that game was a one and done for me, folks. The Jelly Belly company is too good at getting flavors right and the dog food one literally made me vomit. Nope. Never again.”slasherflick2243
“Dis is nutsen!" -Jar Jar
“Back when Star Wars Episode I came out, they sold plastic Jar Jar Binx heads with a sucker inside shaped like a tongue. In order to lick it, you opened his mouth and went to town. There was a whole generation of kids whose first trip to first base was with a comedy relief space lizard." FeculentUtopia
jar jar binks GIFGiphyWhat? Ewwww…
“Hose Nose It's a fake squish nose filled with candy that you strap to your face and squeeze it to drip the candy snot onto your tongue.” imnotacrazyperson
“I prepared to see the worst most realistic snot I had ever seen and yet this is somehow worse.” Tikitooki42
That candy is older than Betty White…
“Not sure what it is, but there is a whole f**kin bowl at my grammas house.” resistanceisfutile99
“Yeah same here, only it was sometimes a pleasant surprise. There would be something I either loved or hated. One time I went over and the dish was filled with these bigger pastel colored Hershey kisses shaped things with tiny white specks on the bottoms.”
“Those were gross. Other times there would be these red, wrapped candies that resemble strawberries and you'd bite into it and pure heaven would fill your mouth. The worst though was the old fashioned hard candy.”
“I took one out of the dish that was a little bit longer and thicker than a piece of chiclet gum, white with green stripes. I thought, ‘oh, this must be wintergreen flavor and I love that!’ Approximately three and a half seconds later I was puking up my lunch and couldn't get the taste of that candy out of my mouth for at least a week! Never had I had anything so horrendous!” OlliverClozzoff
It tastes like someone yelled the word chocolate at some talc…
“The off brand walgreens brand chocolate you get around Easter. It tastes chalky and like it was sweetened with splenda." angiezieglerstye
All candy is not created equal. Some certainly would not be worthy for more than your enemies. We think we’ll stick to our tried and true favorites for now.
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Did anyone else almost exclusively eat McNuggets when they were a kid? Or was I just the biggest picky eater of all time? Regardless, it's very rare that I voluntarily go to McD's and get some nuggets as an adult. Did I outgrow it? Or did my tastebuds change?
I'm not the only one experiencing the phenomenon of outgrowing childhood foods. Here are just a few examples. Specter6272 asked:
What is a food you no longer enjoy as an adult?
Ah yes, the plight of the childish food losing its magic as an adult.
Spoiler: it spells “adulthood”.
“I can no longer enjoy Alphabetti pasta without my reading glasses on.”
“oooooooo
‘Lois! My Alpha-bits cereal is haunted!’
‘Peter, those are Cheerios.’”
Frosting gets worse as you grow older.
the mindy project frosting GIF by HULUGiphy“Frosting. I would eat the frosting first and then a cake or cupcake. Now, it gives me a stomachache and push it aside when I get cake.”
“I guess, thanks to the food industry there are a lot of examples of this situation. Cake frosting used to be delicious like 10-15 years ago but recently they give nothing but head ache. Have you tried a fully homemade cake?”
Now it’s Coke Zero or bust.
“Soda. I used to chug a Coke every day after school. Now I can't stand them.”
“A part of me hopes I out grow my soda addiction some day... but on the other hand I'd probably turn to booze to get through the day and I'm not sure if that's any better.”
Gross af.
“Cosmic brownies. I used to love them as a kid, but now I find them to be way too d*mn fudgy.”
“Yes! For me, all Little Debbies and Vichon brand snacks. I used to eat them all the time but the thought just makes me queasy now.”
Like the Cosmic Brownies, sometimes even the mention of certain foods are enough to make someone gag.
The unfortunate truth.
Excited Super Bowl GIF by Totino'sGiphy“Pizza pops. It's possible I just outgrew them, but I'm pretty sure they changed the recipe. Now the dough is too sweet, the "cheese" doesn't even melt, and there's way less goo inside”
“Bagel bites are right on that street.”
Crunch Berries are the bomb, tbh.
“Popular breakfast cereals. I can't believe I used to eat that crap.”
“You know you want a bowl of Cap'n Crunch berries. I don't believe your lies.”
911 Operators Break Down The Strangest Call They've Ever Received | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Was milk ever good, though?
“Velveeta Mac and cheese, Subway sandwiches, and milk. Used to drink like two glasses of milk a day, but now I can't remember when I last had a swallow, let alone a glass, of just milk.”
“When I was in high school I would, and this is no exaggeration, literally drink anywhere from a half gallon to a full ass gallon of milk every. Single. Day.
I've also never broken any bones. Just sayin'.”
So far, nothing has topped milk when it comes to disgusting things that we would never consume as adults. What’s next?
Basically just sugar.
steve sugar GIFGiphy“Zebra Cakes. One of my favorite snacks as a kid, I adored those hexagon shaped pieces of heaven. Then I bought a box was I was in college because nostalgia is a hell of a drug, but I threw it out after eating one cake. They were horrendous, and I have no idea if it's because the recipe changed or my taste buds did. But that was almost depressing, to have something I enjoyed so much turn out to be garbage.”
Sometimes our tastebuds change abruptly.
“Bleu cheese. Loved it as a kid, teenager, and young adult, but one day in my early- or mid-20s I took a big ol' bite of my bleu cheese burger and gagged. Can't deal with it at all ever since. I have no good explanation; it just triggers my gag reflex every d*mn time.”
The most overrated food.
“Macaroni and Cheese honestly doesn't taste like anything to me anymore.”
“Macaroni and cheese is much better home made. My family rarely ever has macaroni though, a lot of the time we use shells instead. It's amazing how much that change can do!”
Thank goodness we eat things now that DON’T taste like cardboard.
Cardboard may not be for everyone, but it is for this guy.
Food No GIF by BustleGiphy“Cheesecake, yep ate it so much as a kid, can't even stomach a nibble.
In other news, I'm eating sugar wafers right now and I'm still a huge fan of their cardboard sugary taste.”
Too sugary.
“Pop Tarts. Loved them into my very early 20s. Cut back on sugar then, and didn't try one for fifteen years. When I finally did I couldn't finish it. Too sweet, and tasted like droid droppings.”
A kids-only snack.
“Warheads. As a kid I could eat a whole package and loved them. As an adult I tried them again and was shocked at how chemically they are and how it felt like they left an over-sweet film over my teeth. Sad day.”
Is there such thing as too much cheese.
Food Eat GIF by Justin GammonGiphy“I saw an add for a double cheese burger on top of a pile of fries literally covered (bun and all) with melted velveeta style cheese, and I gagged a bit. Being plant based and seeking to mostly eat Whole Foods has changed my tastes a tremendous amount.”
A one-night stand with Doritos.
“Cheetos, Doritos, Velveeta. Although approximately once a year, I do get some mad craving for Doritos, buy a small snack bag of them, and in that blissful moment, they're awesome again.
Then we return back to our previous relationship.”
The Little Debbie snack cakes are the most depressing ones. The nostalgia for them is real, but on the other hand- how did we ever think those sugary things were good?
Moral of the story is- our tastes in food as children were complete trash. That is all.