A Very Sweet Tooth.
Hi,
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Did you know that a revolution has been going on under our very own noses.
Yes it is true.
Sweeties are going all Retro.
There has been a swing away from the modern style of sweets, with all their E Numbers, and associated bad effects upon children.
I mean, if they must eat sweeties, then at least the confections in question should be made with pure and natural ingredients.
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I read about this subject in The Times a few weeks ago and something has just jogged my memory, so it seems well worth passing the information on, as it a subject that concerns most parents…not to mention a large proportion of us adult sweetie addicts too.
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The retro sweets are proving to be amazingly popular.
Like for instance, the new Colin The Caterpillar sweet.
This is a new idea from M&S, which they hope will be as popular as their Percy Pig has been.
Colin, who is a 5cm long vari-coloured worm is choc full of natural ingredients such as Lemon, Grape, Safflower, Blackcurrant and Apple.
The one ingredient that may give you pause is called Spirulina, but do not worry, this is only an algae which is the crucial ingredient that allowed children to experience the marvellous blue Smartie.
Percy the pig is a rubbery type of sweet that has been a modern phenomenon.
He contains Apple, Elderberry, Orange, Grape, blackcurrant and animal gelatin.
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A recent launch of a new derivative Percy sweet, called Percy’s Tails, and which is fizzy, has been a triumph too.
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A very famous York sweetie makers called Tangerine, has found their business to be booming due to their knowledge of making traditional sweets in the traditional ways.
It can be very physical work too.
Striped Humbugs are made by heating the ingredients in a big copper vat and then pouring the mix out onto a table, where two strong men pound it into a 30kg lump.
They then get a smaller piece, which makes the mint, sherbet or fruit stripe, and then pull that until one lump is resting upon the other, both the same size.
They then stretch and fold, again and again.
When you consider that the mixture is 100c, and that the guys work it bare handed, so they can judge the texture and heat you have to be amazed .
Eventually they throw the lump at each other to allow it to grow longer and longer and the stripes emerge colourfully.
After this process is judged to be finished, the mixture goes into a stretching machine that pulls it out to a thumb’s width, 10 metre snake.
This is chopped off in sweetie sized pieces, that pour out of the machine.
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Doesn’t that conjure up scenes from a Willie Wonka film?
Excellent!
Tangerine have decided to close down production in Eastern Europe and hire more workers to join their present 250 strong workforce of local staff in York.
They have been looking into their old recipes from the 18th century and may once again produce all the old Victorian bestsellers.
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The new sweets are obviously a duller colour but the taste is said to be unbelievably good.
The factory is producing 1,000 tons of sweets each week for major supermarkets, having abandoned all artificial colourings and flavourings.
Parents will be relieved to know that this means no exposure to the notorious azodyes, still legal though, which are derived from coal tar and can cause eczema and asthma-prone children to come out in a rash.
The Government’s Food Standards Agency has done research to show that if azodyes are ingested with Sodium Benzoate, a preservative found in many colas and soft drinks, then the azodyes will make children hyperactive.
The Government did ask the manufacturers to stop using azodyes in 2007 but some big names such as Nestle and Cadbury are dragging their feet.
There is still Sunset Yellow in Cadbury’s Creme Eggs, Maynard’s Wine Gums and Cadbury’s Roses but you do not have to buy them!
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It can be a bit tricksy though, because although Nestle’s Smarties state on the packet that there are ‘no artificial colours or flavours used’, they do contain Titanium Dioxide, which is a white pigment used in house paints!
On the other hand, Rowntrees Fruit Pastilles contain’ Carmic Acid’ as a red.
This is actually made by crushing up beetles…probably an added attraction as far as children are concerned..and it is really natural!
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Anyway, I hope you found this information to be interesting.
At least, all you need to worry about with these natural sweeties, is making sure that the children really do clean their teeth afterwards.
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LOL
J
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