Gumdrops Laying On Table
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Gumdrops are a type of gummy
candy Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a Confectionery, confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum ...
. They are brightly colored
pectin Pectin ( ': "congealed" and "curdled") is a heteropolysaccharide, a structural polymer contained in the primary lamella, in the middle lamella, and in the cell walls of terrestrial plants. The principal chemical component of pectin is galact ...
-based pieces, shaped like a narrow
dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
(sometimes with a flattened top), often coated in granulated
sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...
and having fruit and spice flavors; the latter are also known as spice drops.


History

Gumdrops first appeared in the 19th century
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, purportedly as early as 1801, although at that time gumdrop likely referred to small, hard sweets also derived from fruit gelatin. The name "gumdrop" is not found in print until 1859, appearing in an advertisement published by the
Decatur, IL Decatur ( ) is the largest city in Macon County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. As of the 2020 census, it had a populat ...
''Illinois State Chronicle'' for a candy shop owned by a George Julier. By that time, a
gelatin Gelatin or gelatine () is a translucent, colorless, flavorless food ingredient, commonly derived from collagen taken from animal body parts. It is brittle when dry and rubbery when moist. It may also be referred to as hydrolyzed collagen, coll ...
-based, rubbery candy akin to modern
gummies Gummies, fruitgums, gummi candies, gummy candies, or jelly sweets are a broad category of gelatin-based chewable sweets. Popular types include gummy bears, Sour Patch Kids, Jelly Babies and gummy worms. Various brands such as Bassett's, Harib ...
went by the ''gumdrop'' name, but also a pastier candy with a
potato starch Potato starch is starch extracted from potatoes. The cells of the root tubers of the potato plant contain leucoplasts (starch grains). To extract the starch, the potatoes are crushed, and the starch grains are released from the destroyed cells. Th ...
base. One of the oldest types of gumdrops still produced are "spice" gumdrops, using traditional spices including clove, anise, allspice, spearmint, cinnamon, and wintergreen for flavoring.


Usage

Gumdrops, spice drops, and their variations are used in baking for decorating cakes. Around
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
, they are sometimes used to decorate
gingerbread house A gingerbread house is a novelty confectionery shaped like a building that is made of cookie dough, cut and baked into appropriate components like walls and roofing. The usual base material is crisp gingerbread, hence the name. Another type of ...
s and other confections.


In popular culture

The children's board game ''
Candy Land ''Candy Land'' is a simple racing board game created by Eleanor Abbott and published by Milton Bradley in 1949. The game requires no reading and minimal counting skills, making it suitable for young children. No strategy is involved as players ...
'' includes a "Gumdrop Pass" and "Gumdrop Mountain" amongst its confectionery-themed nomenclature. The use of the expression "goody gumdrops" as an alliterative exclamation of joy was first recorded in the 1959 novel ''Strike Out Where Not Applicable'' by British crime author
Nicolas Freeling Nicolas Freeling (born Nicolas Davidson; 3 March 1927 – 20 July 2003), was a British crime novelist, best known as the author of the "Van der Valk" series of detective novels. A television series based on the character, ''Van der Valk'', was pro ...
: "Buttered toast, and cherry cake, as well as
Marmite Marmite ( ) is a British savoury food spread based on yeast extract, invented by the German scientist Justus von Liebig. It is made from by-products of beer brewing ( lees) and is produced by the British company Unilever. Marmite is a vegan ...
. Goody, goody gumdrops". The
Apollo 9 Apollo 9 (March 3–13, 1969) was the third human spaceflight in NASA's Apollo program, which successfully tested systems and procedures critical to landing on the Moon. The three-man crew consisted of Commander James McDivitt, Command Modul ...
Command module was nicknamed "Gumdrop" due to its shape. In the ''
Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, and written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, loosely based on the 1990 children's picture boo ...
'' film series, the Gingerbread Man (also known as 'Gingy', and based on the fairytale character of the same name) places great importance on his gumdrop 'buttons' (mimicking buttons on a suit). When
Lord Farquaad This is a list of characters that appear in the ''Shrek (franchise), Shrek'' franchise. Main *Shrek (character), Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers in the films and Michael Gough (voice actor), Michael Gough in the video games, spin-offs, commercial ...
is interrogating him, Gingy refuses to co-operate until Farquaad threatens to remove his gumdrop buttons, causing Gingy to exclaim "No! Not my gumdrop buttons!". Gingy then begins to answer Farquaad's questions.


See also

*
Chuckles Chuckles are jelly candies coated with a light layer of sugar. They come in five flavors: lime, orange, cherry, lemon, and licorice. Each package of Chuckles contains one piece of each flavor. The candies are made with corn syrup, sugar, mo ...
*
Dots Directly observed treatment, short-course (DOTS, also known as TB-DOTS) is the name given to the tuberculosis (TB) control strategy recommended by the World Health Organization. According to WHO, "The most cost-effective way to stop the spread of ...
*
Goody Goody Gum Drops Goody Goody Gum Drops is a New Zealand flavour of ice cream made by Tip Top (ice cream), Tip Top. It is pastel-green-coloured, bubblegum-flavoured and contains gumdrops. It is considered iconic to New Zealand, and perception of the flavour is p ...
*
Gummi bear Gummy bears (German: ''Gummibär'') are small, fruit gum candies, similar to a jelly baby in some English-speaking countries. The candy is roughly long and shaped in the form of a bear. The gummy bear is one of many gummies, popular gelat ...
*
Jelly baby Jelly Babies are a type of soft sugar jelly sweets in the shape of plump babies, sold in a variety of colours. They were first manufactured in Lancashire, England, in the nineteenth century. Their popularity waned before being revived by Basse ...
* Jelly bean *
Jelly Drops Jelly Drops is a British confectionery company, based in London, England. It produces sugar-free gummy candy that is made of 95% water, designed to support increased hydration in people who are susceptible to becoming dehydrated. It was foun ...
*
Jujube Jujube (UK ; US or ), sometimes jujuba, scientific name ''Ziziphus jujuba'', and also called red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube, is a species in the genus '' Ziziphus'' in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. It is often confused wit ...
*
Maynards Maynards was a British confectionery manufacturer best known for manufacturing wine gums. It was acquired by Cadbury in the 1990s, which in turn was acquired by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) in 2010. In 2016, the brand was j ...
*
Mint (candy) A mint or breath mint is a food item often consumed as an after-meal refreshment or before business and social engagements to improve breath odor. Mints are commonly believed to soothe the stomach, given their association with natural byproducts ...
*
Turkish delight Turkish delight, or lokum () is a family of confectionery, confections based on a gel of starch and sugar. Premium varieties consist largely of chopped dates, pistachios, hazelnuts or walnuts bound by the gel; traditional varieties are often fl ...
* Wine gum


References


External links


Cooks.com Gumdrop recipes
Gummi candies {{confection-stub es:Pastilla de goma