The Swedish fish topic

[Fat Guy]

There are many things to love about Sweden -- Swedish meatballs, IKEA, Swedish Erotica -- but for me Swedish fish overshadow all else. I think it's about time we expressed some love of Swedish fish here. I'm assuming Swedish fish actually exist in Sweden, but I guess you never know.

In addition, my wife and son noticed today a new product from the makers of Swedish Fish: Swedish Fish Aqua Life -- assorted sea creature shapes made from the same stuff as Swedish Fish:

http://www.swedishfish.com/products.html

[Lisa Shock]

I like them, originals and all the variants. The purple ones are very good, I wish they made bags of just the purple ones.

[StefanS]

I'm assuming Swedish fish actually exist in Sweden, but I guess you never know.

Beeing a Swede and never having heard of it I checked, see Wikipedia for the fully story, they do exists, but with a different name and the Swedish fish brand is made specifically for Northern America. But the 'style' of candy is quite popular Sweden.

[karlos]

I love all things gummi (gummy?) and swedish fish are right up there with gummi worms in my book. Totally love the agua life swedish fish as well. All of us have their quirks and mine is I like them stale. If I have the foresight, I'll buy a bag and leave them open for days/ weeks so they get a little dry/crusty. Then I have to suck on them a little to make them soft and squishy before scrunching down on them. Fresh ones will do in a pinch but old ones are the best!

Edited May 8, 2011 by karlos (log)

[JonD]

Wow, I had no idea those was called Swedish fish outside of sweden.

[Lisa Shock]

As a vegetarian, I'd like to point out that swedish fish are not gummi candies. Gummis contain gelatin, swedish fish do not. There's a distinct textural difference.

I always hated gummis, even before I went veg. Swedish fish are a candy I remember discovering and enjoying as a child.

[BeeZee]

mmm, red Swedish fish. One of the few candies where I like the green ones, too. They aren't lime. But red is my favorite, they are more of a raspberry flavor. I tried the "Sea Life" shapes and somehow the flavors seemed different, I didn't like them as much as the original fish.

If you live in the northeast/midatlantic, Rita's Water Ice has a Swedish Fish flavor ice.

[Lisa Shock]

mmm, red Swedish fish. One of the few candies where I like the green ones, too. They aren't lime. But red is my favorite, they are more of a raspberry flavor. I tried the "Sea Life" shapes and somehow the flavors seemed different, I didn't like them as much as the original fish.

If you live in the northeast/midatlantic, Rita's Water Ice has a Swedish Fish flavor ice.

Ok, I live far from there, so a tasting isn't possible. But, I own an ice cream machine and a blender, and an immersion blender...so, this goes into the future projects file!

[toolprincess]

Love gummies. Dislike Swedish fish. It's a textural thing. I also dislike mike and ikes, good n plenty, dots, and gumdrops for the same reasons.

[Kouign Aman]

They had little bags of Swedish Fish Eggs for easter.

[rebecca]

I have fond memories of the red ones. When I was in high school, those many years ago, I was on the technical crew for the school plays. The tradition was that if you worked in the lighting booth you lined swedish fish under the small console lamp during a performance, and were rewarded with warm (and gummier) fishes by intermission or shows end! Have never tried them dried though...

[EatNopales]

Really?

"SUGAR, INVERT SUGAR, CORN SYRUP, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, CITRIC ACID, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORING, WHITE MINERAL OIL, CARNAUBA WAX, RED 40, YELLOW 6, YELLOW 5 AND BLUE 1."

They are bland & full of artificial color & flavor.

Now these are fantastic:

http://cdn.greenoptions.com/a/ae/800x600px-LL-0186.jpg

The flavors are very intense & satisfying

[cookingofjoy]

Now these are fantastic:

http://cdn.greenopti...0px-LL-0186.jpg

The flavors are very intense & satisfying

Those are good lollipops.

[Kim Shook]

I love Swedish fish! I actually prefer the texture to that of 'gummies'. And I never expect candy to taste like actual fruit. I find that one enjoys it more that way. Do I expect Wild Cherry Lifesavers to taste like cherries? Of course not - they taste like 'RED'. And so do red fish. I'm ok with that.

[Wholemeal Crank]

I learned to love Swedish fish when I was working in an ice cream and candy shop, and had just become allergic to chocolate. They were my favorite of the permissible chocolate-free candies. One fish could be savored in small nibbles, and the different colors had distinct and pleasing flavors. Yes, they're not flavored much like actual fruit, but they were and remain a tasty treat. Sadly, though, with the popularity of the small boxes or bags of just mini red fish, it's gotten a little harder to find the full color spectrum without buying a very large bag--and because they are just flavored sugar and starch, I really don't like bringing home such a big bag.

Here's hoping that the other sea creatures will be more available in different colors than the fish...

Edited May 15, 2011 by Wholemeal Crank (log)

[RDaneel]

The Rita's water ice flavor is shockingly true to the candy original. I was pretty amazed at that flavor engineering. It isn't just that they captured the "red" flavor, but it has some slight note of the "gummi" flavor, too. I liked it...

[lagoldberg8397]

I read recently that a store devoted to Swedish candy has opened in Manhattan. Sockerbit is at 89 Christopher Street in the West Village. Here's the Flickr page.

Edited May 20, 2011 by lagoldberg8397 (log)

[Fat Guy]

That is the greatest news ever.

[OliverB]

I haven't eaten these in for ever, I found them too soft and sticky to my teeth. I'm all for Haribo gold bears from Germany (though they're made in Hungary or who knows where for the US market). They now even have Saftbären, the same bears but made only with natural juices and colors, and they are delicious! I always bring several bags back from Germany. Love most of their other offerings as well.

I guess I'll have to try the swedish fish once more some day.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Found the 'Aqualife' version at a shop with a good selection of candies recently. They were pretty good, but the color/flavor combos weren't quite the same as what I remembered from the original fish in the bulk boxes. I didn't care so much for the purple ones.