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Thursday, May 01, 2008
Canada Wintergreen
Wintergreen is a natural flavor derived from a few sources, one of them being the Wintergreen plant. It’s also found in the North American teaberry and birch bark. Wintergreen is sometimes called Winter Mint, but isn’t really a mint (in the sense that it’s derived from a mint plant), but it still falls into the “aromatics” of flavors. (Still, I characterize it as a mint flavor, because it reminds me tooth powder - yes, I’m old enough to remember tooth powder.) It’s a flavor that’s more popular in North American than the rest of the planet. It’s also a flavor found in Root Beer and Birch Beer, two other uniquely North American flavors. For many of us Wintergreen is associated with things like Pepto Bismol, Icy Hot or Ben Gay. So even if you enjoy the flavor, other people associate it with those things and when they smell it they ask if you have sore muscles or a queasy stomach. Canada Wintergreen are built on the flavor and don’t seem to have suffered for it. They’re a simple candy, just a firm sugar-based dough with some gums & gelatin in there to hold it all together in a firm chalky tablet.
They’re a bit more intense than Necco wafers. The texture of the tablet is a little softer than a conversation heart. They’re crumbly, not too sweet and have a pretty intense wintergreen flavor, so much that it makes my mouth a little numb. (There’s also a slight and quick-to-dissipate bitter aftertaste, but I chalk that up to the presence of Red #40.) I prefer the texture of these to something like the LifeSavers Wint-O-Green (but there’s no spark-making with these). I pretty much love these and don’t care of someone thinks that I’ve been rubbing muscle-soothing balms into my muscles (but my pink tongue is probably a dead giveaway that it’s candy related). The only problem I can think of with wintergreen is that it doesn’t really go well with coffee. Canada Mints come in a peppermint version in white as well (and supposedly a spearmint version that I haven’t found in years). They’re supposedly available in rolls, but I only ever see them in bulk bins or in these types of bags. I used to buy them a lot when I was a teen and when I was in college, I think because it was a dirt-cheap candy, usually less than a dollar a pound. Now I just buy Neccos every once in a while (mostly because they’re available in rolls). The package heralds that they’re fat free. They’re also 100% carbs, for those watching those. (About 12 calories each, for those who just track that.) As a strange side note, there is a plant that’s known as Canada Mint, Corn Mint or simply wild mint (Mentha arvensis) which is the only mint species native to North America. It’s not wintergreen flavored though. The name Canada Mint in this case was because it was sold in Canada starting in the 1880s and looks pretty much unchanged since then. Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 11:32 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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I love these though I haven’t seen them in a while. They always make me think of Pepto Bismal - flavor AND color are identical. I wonder why?
You “pretty much love these” but they only rate a 6?
I love wintergreen to pieces, it’s my favorite “minty” flavor. I didn’t know that “winter mint” = wintergreen (my allowed “duh” moment of the day) so I’ll have to keep an eye out for these.
Man, I love these things. I found them in a roll just yesterday at Powell’s in Paso Robles—overpriced, sure, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen them in roll OR bag anywhere up here in the Bay Area, or maybe I haven’t been looking hard enough.
My favorite conversation heart is wintergreen, so these definitely fill that role for me.
Powell’s had the peppermint ones in rolls too. Will have to check the Los Gatos branch to see if they have them.
I get bags of these at CVS all the time--they have them on sale fairly frequently for 88 cents! I hate it when I get a stale bag--they’re like rocks. Fresh is best--I can’t stop eating them when they’re soft. The stale ones nearly crack my teeth.
I love these too. NECCO used to make a wintergreen pattie (just like a peppermint pattie, only better), but I have not seen one of those around in years. Too bad, they were yummy.
I always associate wintergreen with slot cars. Back in the day when places to race those little electric cars were pretty common, the treatment of choice for their wheels was oil of wintergreen.
I guess it *is* the same smell as some medicines, but I never made the connection. I’ll take your word for it.
I used to like wintergreen before I started college and now have to clean my own bathroom. (no mom to do it for me anymore) Now every time I eat something wintergreen, it makes me think of toilet bowl cleaner.
Gah, I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE these. When I was a kid I’d buy a bag and go through it in one sitting. :D
“They’re supposedly available in rolls, but I only ever see them in bulk bins or in these types of bags.”
ive actually never seen them in the bag before, and thought they only came in rolls. i think you used to be able to get them at places like Shoney’s and Cracker Barrel, usually at the registers for like .25 a roll.
I hate wintergreen with a passion.
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