Peanut Chews are a family of a U.S.
candy bar
A candy bar is a type of candy that is in the shape of a bar. The most common type of candy bar is the chocolate bar, including both bars made of solid chocolate and combination candy bars, which are candy bars that combine chocolate with other ...
products manufactured by
Just Born
Just Born, Inc. is a family-owned Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based candy company that manufactures and markets a number of candies including Goldenberg's Peanut Chews, Hot Tamales, Mike and Ike, Peeps, Teenee Beanee jelly beans, and Zours.
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. They consist of
peanut
The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small ...
s and
molasses
Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods ...
covered in
chocolatey coating, and are available in original dark chocolatey flavor and milk
chocolatey coatings. The bars are small, similar in size to a "fun size" or Halloween-size bar. They are especially familiar to residents of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, the
Philadelphia area
The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Val ...
, and neighboring Mid-Atlantic states.
Overview
Peanut Chews were developed and, during most of their history, manufactured by the Goldenberg Candy Company, which was founded by a
Romanian immigrant, David Goldenberg, in 1890. Peanut Chews were first introduced in 1917. The candies were originally developed for use by the U.S. military as a ration bar during World War I. The high-energy, high-protein recipe and unique taste made it popular with the troops.
[Kanaley, Reid. Philly sweet's global reach. ''Philadelphia Inquirer'', September 18, 2006]
/ref> In 1921, Harry Goldenberg introduced the first wrapped Peanut Chews candy for retail sales. In the 1930s, the candy was converted from a full-size bar to small individual pieces. In 1949, Harry and Sylvia Goldenberg (second generation) purchased the Peanut Chews Division of D. Goldenberg, Inc., to focus solely on the production of Peanut Chews candies. In 2003, Just Born, Inc., a Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...
–based candy company, purchased the Peanut Chews brand and the Northeast Philadelphia manufacturing facility.
Some vegan
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...
s are fond of the original flavor, which contains no milk or egg products, as would be typical of most dark chocolate and some caramel candies. Just Born made changes in both the formulation and packaging of the candy and attempted to expand its market area beyond the Mid-Atlantic states. After realizing that the product was losing ground in its core market (roughly from Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
to New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
), the company decided to re-emphasize its marketing within the home region. The Goldenberg's name was also restored to equal prominence alongside "Peanut Chews" on the redesigned candy wrappers.Armstrong, Mike. "Peanut Chews putting the Goldenberg's name out front again," ''Philadelphia Inquirer'', Monday, December 26, 2011.
/ref>
On November 16, 2017, two individually wrapped Peanut Chews were awarded to any contestant who could finish an obstacle course during an episode of ''The Chris Gethard Show
''The Chris Gethard Show'' was a phone-in comedy and variety talk show created and hosted by Chris Gethard. Initially a live show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York, the show debuted on public-access channel Manhattan Neighborh ...
''. The show's host, Chris Gethard, referred to them several times as an "underrated candy".
See also
* List of confectionery brands
This is a list of brand name confectionery products. Sugar confectionery includes candies (''sweets'' in British English), candied nuts, chocolates, chewing gum, bubble gum, pastillage, and other confections that are made primarily of sugar. In so ...
* List of chocolate bar brands
This is a list of chocolate bar brands, in alphabetical order. Flavour variants and discontinued chocolate bars are included. A chocolate bar, also known as a candy bar in American English, is a confection in an oblong or rectangular form co ...
References
External links
Official website
{{Just Born
Brand name confectionery
Chocolate bars
Cuisine of Philadelphia
Just Born brands
Peanut dishes
Products introduced in 1917