FANS:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
MEMORIES:
Mrs_Pookie remembers...This are another favorite. On Halloween I tried to collect as many of these and M&Ms as I could. More »
Posted on 01/24/09
PHOTOS:
Originally created in England, Skittles has taken American candy consumers by storm with their wide array of colors and their invitation to "taste the rainbow." Since M&M/Mars introduced them in 1974, they've gained a legion of fans who swear by the sweet, tart, awesome goodness of the bite-sized and candy-coated fruit shoes. By 1981, popularity was so high that Skittles production started up in the U.S. The introduction of the new American-made Skittles, was heralded with a memorable commercial featuring a kid doing the Michael Jackson’s famous “moonwalk.” In later commercials, Skittles would play up the wide variety of colors in each bag with a rainbow theme.
Skittles are made using the same panned process that has created other classic candy favorites like Jawbreakers and Lemonheads, though instead of a grain of sugar, it starts off with a chewy-fruit-flavor center that is coated with a hard-candy shell. Once coated, the little candies are sent off for polishing, mixing (to get that perfect blend of all the colors of the rainbow). At the end of their journey, Skittles are stamped with a little “s” to go on the top, bagged up and shipped off to stores around the world.
Today, Skittles come in many more flavors than the original Orange, Lemon, Lime, Strawberry and Grape. Almost 20 years ago, Skittles introduced Wild Berry and Tropical packs, featuring exciting new flavors like Raspberry, Wild Cherry, Melon Berry, Berry Punch along with their classic Strawberry for the Wild Berry line, and Banana Berry, Kiwi Lime, Strawberry Watermelon, Mango Peach and Passion Punch for their packs of Tropical Skittles. Skittles now comes in a Sour variety and Smoothie Mix, all made using the original process. In 2005 and 2006, Skittles went into a new direction with Mint Skittles, Ice Cream Skittles and the limited edition Carnival Skittles, moving them away from their original fruit flavors into the lands of mints, chocolates, bubble gums and red licorice.
With so many options out there to choose from, it’s easier than ever to “taste the rainbow.”
