Last updated 4 months ago | Originally Published: May 17, 2021

All About Tangy Sour and Lemon Candy

If you’ve ever stuck a Warheads candy in your mouth, you know exactly how painfully wonderful sour candy can be. Or, maybe you’ve had a handful of Lemonheads, sucked on a Sour Punch Straw, or eaten a crave-worthy bag of Sour Patch Kids. Either way, pretty much everyone has had sour candy of some kind!   

As such, you’ve probably experienced the signature zing that only sour candies can provide. It’s the kind of feeling that we all love to hate! After all, nothing quite beats the way that sour or lemon candy flavors tantalize your taste buds. 

Well, pucker up, because below, we’re about to talk about this deliciously sour subject in-depth. That’s right, in this guide, we’ll tell you everything you could ever want to know about sour candy, lemon candy, and all other forms of mouth-watering tangy tart treats! 

Why We Love Sour Flavors

First of all, you may be wondering why people even like sour flavors. Well, many theories can answer this. Generally, it is because sour flavors have nutrients that we humans crave. In particular, humans need vitamin C (ascorbic acid) from their diets. 

Unlike animals, without vitamin C, human beings will get a condition called Scurvy. Animals, however, tend to manufacture vitamin C on their own or get it from the plants they eat. Additionally, sour foods release endorphins as a response to the sour zing created by the acidic taste. Then, these endorphins make us feel happy and keep coming back for more!

The Rising Popularity of Sour Candy 

For around 50 years, sour candies have gone from something relatively unheard of to an everyday delight. Indeed, sour candy sales have dramatically risen over the last 30 years. For some candy lovers, sour treats are now their absolute favorite confections!

Since the 1970s, sour candy has become a standard food item in the USA. Offering the ideal balance of fruit and tart, the candy industry now sells over one million pounds of sour candy every year. In America alone, one out of every five candy lovers reports that Sour Punch Straws, Lemonheads, or other similar styles of sour candy, are their automatic go-to. 

Currently, the most popular types of sour candies include Warheads, Sour Patch Kids, Sour Power Quattro, Hi-Chew Sensationally Sweet & Sour Mixes, AirHeads Xtreme Sour Bites, Sweet Tarts, and of course, Lemonheads. 

The Original Sour Lemon Candy 

Introduced in 1962, the first-ever widely popular sour candy was a flavorful lemon candy. We’re talking of course, about Lemonheads. Today, most of us are quite familiar with the sweetly tart goodness of Lemonheads. 

Originally, they were produced by the Ferrara Candy Company. Invented by Salvatore Ferrara, these sweet and tart lemon candies are actually named after the shape of his baby grandson’s head. After seeing that the child’s head resembled the shape of a lemon, he decided to commemorate the joke forever in his famous Lemohhead candy! 

Where Sour Flavors Comes From 

Typically, sour candies are made by adding an outside coating of either an acid shell or acidic powder, to a sweet candy interior. Indeed, this method is the reason that when you bite into a Sour Patch Kid or a Sour Punch Straw, you will get both sweet and sour sensations. This sour coating method also lets consumers get a potent hit of super-sour flavor that they will crave again and again. 

This sour coating is most often made using citric acid, tartaric acid, fumaric acid, or malic acid. Because these acids offer different levels of sour flavor, manufacturers carefully mix their ingredients using specialized recipes. By yielding hydrogen ions, sour candy can activate the sour taste receptors on our tongues!

Where to Buy Sour Candy for a Discount 

So where should you buy your favorite sour treats for cheap? Well, one great option is to purchase sour or lemon candy online! If you simply follow the aforementioned link, you’ll be taken to CandyRetailer.Com. There, you can buy a range of delicious sour and lemon candies at close to wholesale prices!