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Gobstoppers, also known as jawbreakers in the United States, are a type of
hard candy A hard candy (American English), or boiled sweet (British English), is a sugar candy prepared from one or more sugar-based syrups that is heated to a temperature of 160 °C (320 °F) to make candy. Among the many hard candy varietie ...
. They are usually round, and usually range from across; though gobstoppers can be up to in diameter. The term ''gobstopper'' derives from "gob", which is
slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gr ...
in the United Kingdom and
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
for
mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...
. The sweet was a favourite among British schoolboys in the first half of the twentieth century—author
Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...
, who wrote about a jar of gobstoppers featuring in the prank he played in his local sweet shop in 1924, also referred to them in his fictional
Everlasting Gobstopper The Everlasting Gobstopper is a gobstopper candy from Roald Dahl's 1964 children's novel ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory''. According to its creator Willy Wonka, it was intended "for children with very little pocket money". It not only chan ...
which was featured in his 1964 children's novel ''
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1964 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka. The story was originall ...
''. Gobstoppers usually consist of a number of layers, each layer dissolving to reveal a differently coloured (and sometimes differently flavoured) layer, before dissolving completely. Gobstoppers are too hard to bite without risking dental damage (hence the name "jawbreaker"). Gobstoppers have been sold in traditional
sweet shop A confectionery store (more commonly referred to as a sweet shop in the United Kingdom, a candy shop or candy store in North America, or a lolly shop in Australia and New Zealand) sells confectionery and the intended market is usually children. ...
s for at least a century, often sold by weight from jars. As gobstoppers dissolve very slowly, they last a very long time in the mouth, which is a major factor in their popularity.


Manufacturing

Gobstoppers are made by slowly depositing layers onto a core (such as a pressed ball of sugar, a single seed of
anise Anise (; '), also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Eurasia. The flavor and aroma of its seeds have similarities with some other spices and herbs, such as star anise, fennel, licorice, and t ...
or a gumball). Gobstoppers are made in large, rotating, heated pans in a process known as "hot panning". The candies take several weeks to manufacture, as the process of adding liquid sugar is repeated multiple times. Natural and artificial colours and flavours are also added during the panning process.


Everlasting Gobstoppers

The Everlasting Gobstoppers, sold under Nestlé's Willy Wonka Candy Company brand, were first introduced in 1976 by Breaker Confections, and are named after the
Everlasting Gobstopper The Everlasting Gobstopper is a gobstopper candy from Roald Dahl's 1964 children's novel ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory''. According to its creator Willy Wonka, it was intended "for children with very little pocket money". It not only chan ...
s in
Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...
's
children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...
''
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1964 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka. The story was originall ...
''. In Dahl's story, Everlasting Gobstoppers are purported to last forever. Dahl named the sweet after gobstoppers, which were a favourite among British schoolboys between the two World Wars. A jar of gobstoppers featured in the prank Dahl played on the owner of his local sweet shop in 1924, which he recorded in his autobiography '' Boy: Tales of Childhood''.


In popular culture


Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

In the 1964 children's book ''
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1964 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka. The story was originall ...
'', British author
Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...
described "
Everlasting Gobstopper The Everlasting Gobstopper is a gobstopper candy from Roald Dahl's 1964 children's novel ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory''. According to its creator Willy Wonka, it was intended "for children with very little pocket money". It not only chan ...
s," a fictional gobstopper that could never get smaller or be finished.


Ed, Edd n Eddy

In the animated series ''
Ed, Edd n Eddy '' Ed, Edd n Eddy'' is a Canadian animated comedy television series created by Danny Antonucci for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. The series revolves around three friends named Ed, Edd (called "Double D" ...
'', jawbreakers are humongous, and the entire show revolves around them. Most episodes feature the titular main characters running a variety of scams to earn money to buy jawbreakers. They are also the main subject of the video game adaptation '' Ed, Edd n Eddy: Jawbreakers!''


Happy Tree Friends

In the animated television series '' Happy Tree Friends'', Nutty attempts to eat a jawbreaker, but he ends up breaking his jaw trying to bite it in half, and it's indestructible, unbreakable and stone-harded candy, from the episode "Chew Said a Mouthful".


Jawbreaker

The 1999 American teen black comedy Jawbreaker centers around the main characters accidentally killing their friend after gagging her with a jawbreaker.


Notable incidents

250px, Large gobstoppers sold in a children's store In 2003, Taquandra Diggs, a nine-year-old girl in Starke, Florida, suffered severe burns, allegedly from biting on an exploding Wonka
Everlasting Gobstopper The Everlasting Gobstopper is a gobstopper candy from Roald Dahl's 1964 children's novel ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory''. According to its creator Willy Wonka, it was intended "for children with very little pocket money". It not only chan ...
that had been refrigerated, left out in the sun, then refrigerated again. Diggs and several other alleged victims' families filed lawsuits against
Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...
for medical bills resulting from plastic surgery as well as pain and suffering; the matters were later settled outside of court for an undisclosed amount.


See also

*
Aniseed ball Aniseed balls are a comfit type of hard round sweet sold in the UK, Ireland, Malta, South Africa, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. They are shiny and dark reddish brown, and hard like Gobstoppers, but generally only across. They are flavo ...
* Atomic Fireball * Benne ball * Humbug * Lemonheads


References


External links

{{Commons category, Gobstoppers British confectionery British inventions Candy