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Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Bit-O-Honey
Bit-O-Honey was introduced in 1924 by a company called Schutter-Johnson Company in Chicago, Ill. Schutter and Johnson later split (Johnson went on to invent the PowerHouse bar which became a Peter Paul product, a nougat, peanuts and caramel product covered with chocolate, something I’ll have to write about further later). Schutter’s made a nice variety of chewy goods including the Bit-O-Choc and the Bit-O-Coconut and a chocolate bar called Old Nick that featured milk chocolate over fudge and nuts. In the 1960s Schutter’s sold out to the Chunky folks who discontinued the Old Nick citing that it competed with their much more popular Oh Henry! Then in 1984 Nestle bought Chunky and the now orphaned Bit-O-Honey. (There may have been some intermediate companies in there for a while too, candy history is mighty confusing!) The smiling bee on the wrapper didn’t appear until the late seventies and later got arms as he does today. Nestle has kept the bar largely the same as when it was first introduced. They even still make the six segment bar with the wax wrapper dividers. This is an interesting way to sell the candy and solves one of the enduring problems for taffy bars ... how do you eat it? Many taffy bars are easy to smack on the corner of the table and break into pieces (but who knows how those pieces will be sized?). The assortment of bars from Annabelle’s and items like Laffy Taffy suffer from this (though Laffy Taffy also makes the ropes, which I think are probably the best format for a large quantity of taffy).
The Bit-O-Honey segments break apart pretty easily, though I always end up with a little smidge of paper on the back side of each piece where the candy has folded over the waxed paper. (It’s not the end of the world if it ends up in your mouth though ... not like the foil on a Hershey’s Kiss if you have fillings.) As long as the candy is fresh and soft, it’s a pleasant and surprisingly long-lasting chew. There are notes of honey as you would expect, as well as a smooth and creamy flavor of almonds. The chew is consistent to the very end, instead of descending into some grainy mess as many caramels do. There’s a little egg white in there, which is part of what give it the smooth chew (a little different timing on the cooking and it could be nougat). Bit-O-Honey are also sold individually wrapped, but I’ve never liked those as much (they’re a little boxier in shape). They tend to be firmer (or rock hard). There’s something about the bar that I’ve always loved. I don’t buy them very often, for fear of pulling out fillings (though I’ve never actually lost a filling on candy ... I lost a filling once on scrambled eggs and cracked a tooth on a rock in a bean salad once). It was nice to see them on shelves again at the 99 Cent Only Store and even better to find the product virtually unchanged. Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 8:09 am 
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Candy, you know, that stuff made with sugar. These are my candy reviews. Open your mouth, expand your mind.
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VOTE IN OUR POLLDo you stock up on candy?
Total Votes: 158
Yes, when it's on sale. 
18% (29)Yes, it's a regular item on my shopping list, no matter what the price.
15% (23)Kind of, I keep regular items on hand and supplement when I need a different fix.
23% (36)No, just single servings as my cravings dictate.
39% (61)I don't buy candy, I just mooch off of others.
6% (9)voting ends 05/08/2008
 
All content (text and photos unless otherwise credited) is copyright 2005-2008 by Cybele May
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Bit-O-Honey is one of those candies that I’m always surprised (and pleased) to see that they still make. And why wouldn’t they? There’s nothing else like it out there.
SUPERB 
YUMMY 
TASTY 
WORTH IT 
TEMPTING 
PLEASANT 
BENIGN 
UNAPPEALING 
APPALLING 
INEDIBLE 
SUPERB
YUMMY 
TASTY 
WORTH IT 
PLEASANT 
BENIGN 
UNAPPEALING 
APPALLING 
INEDIBLE 
This is one of my absolute favorite candies. This, and those peanut butter candies in the orange and black wrappers are two candies I love that nobody else likes.
These are my obsession! Possibly the best movie candy ever. A year or so ago, I was unable to find them at the usual places & thought they had gone the way of Bonomo Turkish Taffy. Horrors! I paid a huge price for them at a Linens N Things in desperation. Later, I found out they are always at your local Cracker Barrel gift shop. They have turned up again in drug & grocery stores in my area. Thank heaven!
I cannot believe you have a post about this candy—just last week I went on a hunt for a Bit O Honey bar. They’re almost impossible to find in my area! Supposedly they carried them at a local Albertsons, but the manager couldn’t find them for me, and I just happened in to a McLendon’s hardware that was selling the bags with the little individual ones, so I snatched one up.
This is also one of my very favorite candies and I don’t understand why it’s not more popular. It’s even lower in fat than most candy bars. I don’t eat much candy (just read about it
) so I was shocked to see it was missing from so many candy aisles.
I adore Bit-O-Honey. I always forget about them, but they have been a favorite for years. They aren’t too bad calorie-wise, either. And can last a few minutes, unlike chocolate treats. Mmm. Wonder what they’d taste like with a chocolate coating....
Gosh, i havnt had one of these for a long time, guess now i HAVE to go and find one lol.
OMG i want to try that so bad but I’m allergic to eggiweg:(
dang. i REALLY love bit-o-honey. why did you have to remind me now i have to go find some
LOVE this! And to think I’ve only discovered it recently!
I agree about the individually wrapped pieces not being up to the traditional segmented candy. But I’d give these peanut butter beauties a Yummy at least. And hey, if you’re going to destroy your teeth, what better way to do it?
K - I’m actually a bigger fan of the Peanut Butter Kisses (see the reaction those go here).
Anne - I too noticed that they disappeared, and then suddenly were everywhere.
Carol - the other place I see them is in those prepack assortment of individually wrapped Bit-O-Honeys “2 for 99” peg bags at the drug stores. Not always fresh though.
Kate - I’d love them in little bits dipped in chocolate, of course I thought that about Sugar Babies and it didn’t turn out as well as I’d thought.
Patti & Liz - I wonder if the candy companies have some sort of “candy blog review metric” that tracks these sort of upticks in interest in candy out of the blue.
bebe - that’s a tough one. I think regular Taffy is probably the closest to it.
Sera - I shouldn’t be surprised, there are quite a few bars that I’ve never tried (I’ll have to put together a list).
Jeanna Olson - that’s the thing, it’s only a fear ... but probably a well-grounded one.
I love Bit-O-Honey and am fortunate that they are always available here. Even better, they are often on sale for 33 cents. I prefer the bars to the nuggets. I recently shared my candy with a co-worker who had never eaten one! She really likes Bit-O-Honey now too. I’m going to eat a bar now. Yummy.
I have not had one of these since probably 1989. I can’t say that I’ve missed them, but my tastes have changed a lot since then. I might have to give them a shot.
I recently had a bit o honey and wow was it good and since I have not been able to find a single bar, where do we purchase them at??
I am eating bit-o-honey as I type this. I recently quit smoking and wanted something to replace as the urges hit. I have now been eating bit o honeys since then (7/15/07). I’ve been lucky to find a family dollar store that carries the 4.8 oz bags of them and I get them by the case now. If I get the urge for a cigarette (especially when I drink my coffee) I just reach for a bit o honey.
I am eating bit-o-honey right now and it is great!! I love it, but it’s hard to find around here. I wish I could make it I would stay in the kitchen just so I could have it 24-7!!!! I love it I could eat all day everyday.
IT’S JUST SO GOOD.......................
I LOVE Bit O’ Honey candy. It is one of my two favs. I like the bars best, and like them “fresh”. The stale ones (which the old gas stations seem to carry most), are tough to get into, but eventually soften into something edible. But you better be willing to put the time into working it! LOL.. and you better have strong jaw muscles. But a Bit O’ Honey is so worth it. Fresh or stale.
And I wanted to commend you on your stand AGAINST artificial sweetener. Good for you! It is getting more and more difficult to find certain foods WITHOUT artificial sweetner. At one grocery store here, they have done away with all but TWO flavors of store-brand yogurt with actual sugar (well.. corn syrup.. but that is another rant). If you want anyting else, it’s going to have Nutrasweet or Splenda in it. YUCK!!!
just craving for bit o’ honey,can someone direct me a place within 100 miles radius from where I live to get my hands on these?
Apparently ‘bit’ means both bee and honey in Egyptian, or something… see its occultic roots here: http://www.geocities.com/laverite_99/Bees.html
I have been looking for bit o honey and can’t find them still! Holloween just isn’t the same without them. Will have to scout around for them again.
I tried this for the first time when I saw it in a candy shop. I’m 21, so a lot of the candies I find and like - such as Good & Plenty, Lemonheads, etc - are ones I’ve never had before. And I loved this. The almonds were surprisingly strong, sort of toasted notes, and like you said, the taffy is creamy. I wish I could find it cheaper. I’ve got to say...since I started reading this blog, my candy interest has exploded. I’m even starting to garner impressed looks from candy shop employees, when I choose “retro” candy instead of newfangled stuff.
Bit O Honey is the greatest candy ever! The name fits it puuurrrfect because every bite has honey poured inside! Yum!
I remember when Bit O’ Honey was made by the Ward Candy Company, which was before Nestle, but after the others. I remember that because my maiden name was Ward, and I always dreamed of having a candy company, kind of like Willy Wonka or something.
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