A long, long, LONG time ago, I used to be 7 years old. I know, it’s crazy, but stay with me. I have vivid memories of going to the Farmer’s Market on Fairfax Street in Los Angeles with my folks, weaving my way through all the bizarre little shops. Most of all though, I remember these candies that I bought for the first time there, little fruit shaped candies that I’ve been obsessed with ever since.
Officially, they’re now called “Swiss Petite Fruits”. Available all over the web, they come in the following flavors: pear, banana, strawberry, lemon, apple, grape, orange, and…red. Seriously, I don’t know what the red is supposed to be. Cherry?
The cool thing, especially to a 7 year old (or a 38 year old, apparently), is that each candy is shaped like the fruit it’s flavored as. And lemmee tell ya about the flavor. There’s a reason these have stuck with me so long. Combining a touch of tart with a lot of sweet, they start out as a hard chew. Soon though, they sort of disintegrate in your mouth, opening up a flood of real, genuine fruit flavor.
I’ve had many nights in front of the TV with a jar of these by my side. By the time “Seinfeld” comes on at 11:00, the jar is empty. I feel guilty, go to bed, wake up, go online, order more. Vicious cycle.
The real trick many years ago was to actually find these-it wasn’t easy. My folks would find them overseas, or in random places, and surprise me every few years. Now, the internet makes them just a few days away. Truly, I can’t recommend these enough.
But wait-there’s more.
I don’t know when it happened, but they’ve created a sour version of these candies. I don’t know if they’re called Sour Swiss Petite Fruit or something else, but they are INSANELY good. Take everything great about the original candy, and just throw a general level of sour-more like a very tarts flavor, not too sour-over them. Delish. SCARILY delish.
But now…poof! Gone? Well, yes and no. They exist, but as far as I can tell (and please, SOMEONE prove me wrong and email us the link to them) they only are sold at the Sweet Factory now. this makes zero sense to me, as their original counterparts are sold in many online stores, but…as of now, this is how it appears to be. If you do stumble across these, check them out. They don’t have the sentimental value for me of the original, but who gives a shit? They rock.
People, try these and email us. We’d love to hear what you think of them, but please, be gentle. They’re very important to me.
Bottom Line: Put on your LP of “Free to Be You and Me”, find your Toughskins® jeans, pop open a Tab®, and feast on these delish little lovelies. I love them with an unnatural passion, and hopefully you will too.
