The foods we loved that are gone but not forgotten
EVERY generation has its favourite foods. Some stand the test of time, others fade into obscurity. Here’s a look back at some of the delights that tickled our tastebuds.
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WE’VE all had the cravings that you simply can’t fill.
Those special foods from your childhood — or adulthood — that tickled your tastebuds like no other.
Maybe it was a sentimental thing.
Maybe you just loved the taste and it hit the spot.
Whatever the attachment, there are certain foods that were once like rolled gold, but are now either very rare, or gone from existence.
Have we missed any? What other foods would you like to see make a comeback? Scroll down and tell us in the comment box below.
With the news that Tasty Toobs have bitten the dust, but the iconic pollywaffle is making a comeback, we’ve compiled a list of old (and new) school favourites that haven’t quite stood the test of time.
Which ones do you remember?
*Disclaimer: If you hunt hard enough, you can still find some of these, but they no longer possess the mass appeal of yesteryear.
RELATED: Pollywaffle makes a comeback
Choo Choo Bar
Type Choo Choo bar into Google and you’ll probably be sent to that funky little Thai restaurant at Melbourne’s popular The Toff night spot. But there’s a Choo Choo Bar of a different kind that used to turn kids’ mouths black. Hands up who remembers unwrapping the iconic blue wrapper with the Choo Choo Funtime Express on it and chowing down on the thick sticky licorice, then spending the next two days trying to get it out of your teeth. They haven’t been on our shelves for more than 20 years, but you’ll find them online if you look hard enough
Tasty Toobs
Smith’s answer to Cheezels, Tasty Toobs offer plenty of nostalgia, but that doesn’t translate to sales, the company winding up the product only this month. I twas shelved for six years before being relaunched in 2007. Aussie spin king Shane Warne has launched a social media campaign to save Tasty Toobs: “Where are the Toobs, I read in the paper ... they’ve shut down Toobs! This cannot be happening,” Wanre said. Tweet or Facebook #WhereAreTheToobs and #SaveToobs to join the campaign.
Bertie Beatle
The Violet Crumble is a perfect segueway into the Bertie Beetle — did you know the little beetle was invented as a way of using up the broken pieces of the Violet Crumble? You learn something new every day. The Bertie Beetle was removed from our shelves in 1970, but is still the Melbourne Show’s all time favourite showbag. It’s an exclusive showbag that costs just $2 and remained that price since 1989. Of course, to stave off inflation, the contents have shrunk considerably. In 1989, you’d get five Bertie Beetle chocolates, a Violet Crumble, a Kit Kat, a Smarties box and a beetle toy. Flash forward to this year and you get five 10 gram Bertie Beatles.
Space Food sticks
Did you know Space Food Sticks were an actual space food? That’s right the precursor to Space Food Sticks — space food cubes — were the first solid foods eaten in space. And the sticks were later used to feed astronauts on mission. The developer actually worked with NASA to make them a viable option, before a wildly successful marketing campaign, with the above classic TV ad. Known as Nestle Starz Space Food Sticks, they were sold in Australia until last year. These days, shelves are packed with energy bars, etc, but Space Food Sticks might have actually been the first ones.
RELATED: The frozen Aussie treats we’d love to taste again
Barney Banana ice cream
Social media campaigns to bring back foods of the past have largely been successful. Barney Banana made a comeback from 2009-2012, before dying off again. The banana ice creams were missing the real banana bits in the new incarnation, but were still enough to satisfy devotees. Launched in 1958, they used to be as prevalent as Paddle Pops, such was their popularity, but, as the saying goes, all good things come to an end.
Wink ice cream
Chocolate and caramel ice cream swirled together with a smooth and fudgey sort of texture, all on a splintery stick, what’s not to love? We’re not sure when the Peters company started and finished production of this ice cream, but there is a suggestion that Paddlepops were invented by Streets in 1953 to provide a competitor to Wink. One wink fancier tells us he used to buy them at the long-gone store opposite the Somers Yacht Club, when taking a break from the beach. We say the Paddlepop lion has had it too good for too long: it’s time to get Winks back in the freezer.
Hoadley’s Violet Crumble
Yes, we know you can get a Violet Crumble, but not a Hoadley’s. We’re cheating with this one a little, but we’re reliably told the original incarnation — produced from 1913-1972 — had a different taste to the current version. The business was sold to Rowntree in 1972 and ended up with Nestle, which still produces the honeycomb and chocolate combination today. There is still an age old debate over which is better, Violet Crumble or Crunchie. What do you think?
Spearmint leaves and green frogs
Australia was a nation in mourning in June when lolly lovers finally realised the crime Allen’s had committed against them — deleting the much-loved spearmint leaves and green frogs. Social media erupted as sweet tooths bemoaned the decision, despite the fact it had actually been made in late 2014, with no new lollies made this year. You either loved or hated the spearmint leaves as a kid, while most people were more on the side of the red tree frog than the green, but clearly there were some hardcore devotees to the now-gone duo.
Fads/Fags
Wait! - Are we allowed to call them that? Now known as Fads Fun Sticks, Fags, and then later Fads, are a throw back to a bygone era — white candy sticks with red colouring on the end, emulating a lit cigarette. Apart from the obvious offence of the name, Fags were once popular as ‘kids’ ciggies’. Fags’ name was changed to Fads in the 1990s to stop the promotion of cigarettes to children. The candy, first made in Victoria in the 1940s, is now made in Colombia and no longer features the red tip.
Vice Versas
How good were these things. These little balls of joy were either a white chocolate centre with milk chocolate outside or the flip side, white on the outside, milk in the centre — hence the name. Vice Versas have faded in and out of existence over the years and while you won’t find them in Australia, they are available in England.
Rolo
All right, we’re cheating here, because you can still get Rolo, but we just had to show you this video of giant Rolo. That gooey caramel is so dreamy!
Have we missed any? What other foods would you like to see make a comeback? Tell us in the comment box below.