Circus peanuts are American
peanut-shaped
marshmallow candy
Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English
Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language an ...
.
They date to the 19th century, when they were one of a large variety of unwrapped "penny candy" sold in such retail outlets as
five-and-dime stores
A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, automotive parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, home furnishings, and a selection of groceries. It us ...
.
As of the 2010s, the most familiar variety of
mass-produced circus peanuts is orange-colored and flavored with an
artificial banana flavor. These are typically made from
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
,
corn syrup
Corn syrup is a food syrup which is made from the starch of corn (called maize in many countries) and contains varying amounts of sugars: glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to softe ...
,
gelatin
Gelatin or gelatine (from la, gelatus meaning "stiff" or "frozen") is a translucent, colorless, flavorless food ingredient, commonly derived from collagen taken from animal body parts. It is brittle when dry and rubbery when moist. It may also ...
,
pectin
Pectin ( grc, πηκτικός ': "congealed" and "curdled") is a heteropolysaccharide, a structural acid contained in the primary lamella, in the middle lamella, and in the cell walls of terrestrial plants. The principal, chemical component of ...
,
soy protein,
food coloring and
artificial flavor.
Confectioners originally distributed an
orange-flavored variety that was only available seasonally due to a lack of packaging capable of preserving the candy. In the spring,
five-and-dime
A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, automotive parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, home furnishings, and a selection of groceries. It us ...
s sold circus peanuts as penny candy. In the 1940s, circus peanuts became one of the many candies to become available year-round owing to the industrial proliferation of
cellophane packaging.
Over the years, confectioners have also offered circus peanuts colored yellow, pink, and white, including a variety of flavors, though orange is still the most predominant color and banana the most common flavor. The leading producers of circus peanuts are
Melster Candies
Impact Confections is a candy company founded in 1981. Impact Confections is a U.S. based manufacturer of candies marketed under the WARHEADS and Melster Candies Brands. WARHEADS is a brand of sour candies. Melster Candies, established in 1919, ...
,
Spangler Candy Company and
Brach's
Brach's () is a candy and sweets brand of Ferrara Candy Company.
History
In 1904, Emil J. Brach invested his $1,000 life savings in a storefront candy store. He named it "Brach's Palace of Sweets" and it was located at the corner of North Avenu ...
,
although the products are essentially identical. The
Publix
Publix Super Markets, Inc., commonly known as Publix, is an employee-owned American supermarket chain headquartered in Lakeland, Florida. Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, Publix is a private corporation that is wholly owned by present and ...
supermarket chain at one time sold generic circus peanuts under its own label, manufactured by
Farley and Sathers.
Circus peanuts led to the creation of
Lucky Charms in 1964 when a General Mills employee chopped pieces into a bowl of Cheerios.
References
External links
*Archive of (Brach's brand subsequently under
Ferrara Candy Company
The Ferrara Candy Company is an American candy manufacturer, based in Chicago, Illinois, and owned by the Ferrero Group.
The company was formed from a 2012 merger of the Illinois-based Ferrara Pan Candy Company and Minnesota-based Farley's & Sa ...
)
Confectionery
Peanuts
Marshmallows
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