In all of my previous candy entries, I’ve focused on the traditional sweets that have been around for centuries. Cajeta and camotes provide a historical context for modern-day Mexican candy, but that doesn’t mean it’s what kids eat on a day to day basis. With the Industrial Revolution came the ability to mass-produce a wide variety of candy, and with the invention of (alas!) corn syrup, candy producers are able to help offset the extremely high price of sugar in making sweet treats.

Today, the candy that lines the shelves of almost all of the supermarkets and corner stores is similar to American candy, albeit with a Mexican twist. Sweetened chili powder is widely used, and candies probably have a higher ratio of sugar to corn syrup (glucosa) than in the USA. Watermelon, tamarind, strawberry, lime, and mango are the popular fruit flavors - almost nothing is in lemon!

The bubble gum is very sweet. My favorite kind was the “Maxi” brand gum - it came in strawberry, mango, blueberry, and spearmint flavors and was juicy and delicious. Each piece had a center of cream flavored gum, so the overall taste wasn’t too fruity. I probably ate about 30 of these during my time in Oaxaca… every day I would go to the little store on the corner and order another handful. Soooo good! Another kind of gum seemed to be actually made out of fizzy Tang powder. I prefered the mango&cream though…

One day, I set out to buy a lot of different random flavors of candy and have a little tasting session. It was excellent, even though I think I might have had too much sugar to go to sleep that night. Make sure to click the picture to the left to see a close-up version of the candy, if you’re interested!

On the very left is a package with bubble gum advertising. I assumed this was a stick of bubble gum. Alas, it was actually just bubble gum flavored taffy… a huge disappointment. On the bottom you can see the Tang-flavored gum and the Maxi gum, along with two pieces of fairly standard hard candy filled with a sweet flavored liquid center. On the top left was another favorite of mine: mango and strawberry flavored lollipop surrounding a piece of mango bubble gum, in a package with sweetened chili powder to dip it in. The chili powder added a little kick to the sweet lollipop, for an excellent combination of flavors. Even the mango flavored bubble gum was pretty good (although not excellent.)

Other candies you can see are little mint flavored sugar covered balls of chocolate (similar to Sixlets) and Mexican style Runts (sadly disgusting compared to American runts. Very hard and crunchy, but in a way that sticks badly to your teeth. Also, the different fruit flavors weren’t very distinct.) There is a lime flavored lollipop that tasted like real lime juice, and two of my most interesting purchases: one was a watermelon lollipop “spoon” and a separate package of hot chili sauce to pour in the spoon, and the other was a sugar dipping stick and a package of mango flavored chili sugar. The logistics were a bit difficult, but the combinations of flavor were exotic and delicious.

As I’ve mentioned before, these types of mass produced candy are edging out the more old-fashioned colonial or pre-Columbian candies found in markets and traditional stores today. In a way, it’s a shame: cajeta, ate, dulce de leche, and the “little cocks” are all delicious and probably a bit healthier than the sugar, corn syrup & artificial flavorings of the more popular sweets. On the other hand, I actually kind of like corn syrup! I like artificially flavored mango bubble gum! I like the mixture of sweetness and spice you find in the chili flavored sugar. At the very least, the modern candy in Mexico seems largely designed, produced, and distributed all within Mexico, helping it maintain a unique flavor.