Pop Rocks Candy – Don’t Fear the Fizz

Don’t fear the Fizz, Pop Rocks Candy is safe, sound – and delicious!

Hard to believe it, but are still some people out there that are afraid to eat Pop Rocks candy or will never eat them with a serving of Coke. If you are one of those people, then I am writing this article especially for you. Years after the rumors have gone, the retro candy treat lives on.

Pop Rocks, the carbonated popping candy, was invented by chemist William A. Mitchell while working for the General Foods Corporation in 1956. Mitchell was also responsible for such innovations as Cool Whip, powdered egg whites, Tang, and quick-set Jell-O. He created the popular treat by mixing sugar, lactose, corn syrup, dye and artificial flavoring. The ingredients are heated, allowed to melt, and then carbonized. Bubbles form as the mixture is cooled. As you eat the candy, the bubbles burst, creating the signature popping sensation.

Contrary to urban legend, Pop Rocks candy does not contain an acid/base mixture (such as baking soda and vinegar) which produces large volumes of gas when mixed through chewing and saliva. Everyone remembers the rumor about Mikey from the Life cereal commercials. Mikey was reported to have died due to a stomach “explosion” after eating the candy and cola mixture. The rumor was and is completely false and the former child actor who was in the commercials, John Gilchrist, is alive and well.

If you have been craving the truly unique Pop Rocks candy experience, but were too scared, Don’t Fear the Fizz any longer! They have found their way back onto the candy scene; however, due the explosion in candy sales, they can still be hard to find. With their resurgence has come a wide variety of flavors, such as blue raspberry, watermelon, fruit punch, bubble gum, strawberry and occasionally the classic cherry flavor. They are even available now in sugar free! Sugar-Free strawberry Pop Rocks taste like their sugared cousins, only without the sugar. The are also available as Dips, which come with a lollipop to dip into the popping candy. Now, you just can’t beat that for good, clean, old-fashioned fun!