Charleston Chew is a

candy bar A candy bar is a type of candy that is in the shape of a bar. The most common type of candy bar is the chocolate bar, including both bars made of solid chocolate and combination candy bars, which are candy bars that combine chocolate with other ...

consisting of

marshmallow Marshmallow (, ) is a type of confectionery that is typically made from sugar, water and gelatin whipped to a solid-but-soft consistency. It is used as a filling in baking or normally molded into shapes and coated with corn starch. The sugar ...

flavored

nougat Nougat ( , ; ; az, nuqa; fa, نوقا) is a family of confections made with sugar or honey, roasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, and macadamia nuts are common), whipped egg whites, and sometimes chopped candied fruit. The ...

covered in chocolate flavor coating. It was created in 1925 by the Fox-Cross Candy Company, founded by stage actor Donley Cross and his friend Charlie Fox. The candy was named after the Charleston, a popular dance at that time.

History

The company was purchased in 1957 by Nathan Sloane and later sold to

Nabisco Nabisco (, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International. Nabisco' ...

in 1980. Although Sloane did not invent the Charleston Chew, he did change the candy's original form, chocolate-covered vanilla nougat. In the 1970s, he introduced such new flavors as chocolate and

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus ''Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

. Warner-Lambert purchased Charleston Chew from RJR Nabisco in 1988, then

Tootsie Roll Industries Tootsie Roll Industries is an American manufacturer of confectionery based in Chicago, Illinois. Its best-known products include the namesake Tootsie Rolls and Tootsie Pops. Tootsie Roll Industries currently markets its brands internationally i ...

purchased the brand from Warner-Lambert in 1993.

Flavors and varieties

The candy is available in

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the p ...

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec ci ...

, and

flavors. At one time, there were three additional flavours;

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

, grape, and

cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour ''Prunus cerasus''. The n ...

. "Mini Charleston Chews" are a bite-sized, similarly-shaped version of the candy bar, introduced in 1998. The original packaging for Charleston Chews was a grey box that had the brand name in a small red font at the bottom of the box.

In science and technology demonstrations

Charleston Chew candy bars have been used to demonstrate

rheology Rheology (; ) is the study of the flow of matter, primarily in a fluid (liquid or gas) state, but also as "soft solids" or solids under conditions in which they respond with plastic flow rather than deforming elastically in response to an appli ...

to students in North American university

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

labs.

In popular culture

*In the adult animated sitcom '' The Life & Times of Tim'', Charleston Chew is frequently mentioned throughout the series. When asked what would be Tim's epitaph, Steve Dildarian, the show's creator
replied
"Probably something like, 'Here lies Tim. He loved Charleston Chews.'" *In the animated sci-fi TV series ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction animated sitcom, sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryonics, cryogenically ...

'', Charleston Chew is frequently mentioned (and advertised) by the head of Richard Nixon, who is the President of Earth. *In the Amazon Prime series ''The Boys'', the Charleston Chew is mentioned by the character Annie (Starlight) as one of her three favorite candies. The other two are Almond Joy and

Bit-O-Honey Bit-O-Honey is an American candy product; it first appeared in 1928 and was made by the Schutter-Johnson Company of Chicago, Illinois. Bit-O-Honey was a new kind of candy bar consisting of six pieces wrapped in waxed paper and then packaged in ...

. *In season 2, episode 13 of the sitcom ''

Community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, t ...

'', Charleston Chew is mentioned by the Dean a few times in the episode as a candy bar nobody likes. *In the 2001 Dr. Dre song "

Forgot about Dre "Forgot About Dre" is a song by American rapper-producer Dr. Dre featuring vocals and sole songwriting from American rapper Eminem, released as second single from the former's album ''2001'' (1999). Background The song is considered a response ...

" Eminem raps “And I'm still loco enough to choke you to death with a Charleston Chew”

References

External links

Tootsie Roll Industries Charleston Chews product page
{{Tootsie Roll confectionery products Chocolate bars Candy bars Tootsie Roll Industries brands Products introduced in 1922