Retro Fireballs

$3.89

Of all the penny candy favorites that people today enjoy, the Atomic Fireball is at the top.  The secret to the popularity of this spicy orb lies in its ancestry, going back to the 17th century “sugar plum” – tiny seeds or nuts coated with layer upon layer of sugar – a process that took weeks to make. These were eaten as after-dinner refreshment for the very rich.

From Sugar Plum to Retro Favorite

In the late 1800s, candy makers started using a machine to coat seeds, nuts and other items in a machine that looked like a cement mixer. Confectioners replaced the seed or nut with a sugar crystal and called the candy the “Jaw Buster” AKA Jaw Breaker AKA Gobstopper – inexpensive, delightful, available to everyone.

From World War II to Retro Favorites

Salvator Ferrara’s “Ferrara Pan Candy Company” was an early maker of Jawbreakers (now called Jaw Busters) in the U.S., including the spicey red sensation called “Red Hots” in the 1930s. About ten years later, Salvator’s son, Nello, an Intelligence Officer in World War II, joined the company. In 1954, he made an explosive new candy based on the Jawbreaker – the Atomic Fireball. What a sensation! And so suitable for the Cold War.

Today’s Flight Controllers in NASA’s Mission Control named the old time Fireballs the “Console Candy of Choice.”

Additional information

Weight 0.2116439443 oz
Dimensions 7 × 3 × 3 in