Long familiar to residents of the Philadelphia area and neighboring Mid-Atlantic states, Peanut Chews are a family of US candy products manufactured by Just Born. They consist of peanuts and molasses covered in chocolatey coating, and are available in original dark chocolatey flavor and milk chocolatey coatings. The bars are small, similar in size to a "fun size" or Halloween-size bar.
Peanut Chews were developed and, during most of their history, manufactured by the Goldenberg Candy Company, which was founded by a Romanian immigrant, David Goldenberg in 1890. Peanut Chews were first introduced in 1917. The candies were originally developed for use by the U.S. military as a ration bar during World War I. The high-energy, high-protein recipe and unique taste made it popular with the troops. In 1921 Harry Goldenberg introduced the first wrapped Peanut Chews candy for retail sales. In the 1930s the candy was converted from a full-size bar to small individual pieces. In 1949 Harry and Sylvia Goldenberg (2nd generation) purchased the Peanut Chews Division of D. Goldenberg, Inc. to focus solely on the production of Peanut Chews candies. In 2003 Just Born, Inc., a Bethlehem, Pennsylvania–based candy company, purchased the Peanut Chews brand and the Northeast Philadelphia manufacturing facility.
Some vegans are fond of the original flavor, which contain no milk or egg products, as would be typical of most dark chocolate and some caramel candies. Just Born made changes in both the formulation and packaging of the candy and attempted to expand its market area beyond the mid-Atlantic. After realizing that the product was losing ground in its core market (roughly from Baltimore to New York City), the company decided to re-emphasize its marketing within the home region. The Goldenberg's name was also restored to equal prominence alongside "Peanut Chews" on the redesigned candy wrappers.
Famous quotes containing the words peanut and/or chews:
“It has been an unchallengeable American doctrine that cranberry sauce, a pink goo with overtones of sugared tomatoes, is a delectable necessity of the Thanksgiving board and that turkey is uneatable without it.... There are some things in every country that you must be born to endure; and another hundred years of general satisfaction with Americans and America could not reconcile this expatriate to cranberry sauce, peanut butter, and drum majorettes.”
—Alistair Cooke (b. 1908)
“When a daughter tries suicide
and the chimney falls down like a drunk
and the dog chews her tail off
and the kitchen blows up its shiny kettle
and the vacuum cleaner swallows its bag
and the toilet washes itself in tears ...”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)