The friendly Swedish Fish are a staple of the U.S. confect panorama , a denizen of nearly every movie theater counter and public lavatory store . But where did they add up from ? And why fish ? Why not Swedish Reindeer ? Or Geese ? There is n’t a lot of enquiry on Swedish Pisces the Fishes out there , but here ’s what we know .
IN THE BEGINNING
Out of the primal guck of the dough ocean , from whence the botany and fauna of the gummed earth have evolved , come the Swedish Fish . The Swedish Pisces belong to the genus of " starch jellies , " a unbendable version of gummy confect that does n’t take gelatin , making it a popular vegetarian food ( another term for this eccentric of confect is frequently wine-colored gum , but rather bewilderingly , many wine gums — a type of confect that contains no wine — do in reality moderate gelatin . )
The Pisces the Fishes first wash up on U.S. shore in the late fifties , an signification from Swedish candy store company Malaco . At the time , Malaco was count to expand into North America with its varieties of starch and liquorice - base candies . The fish - shaped candies — call " Swedish Fish" because , well , they were Swedish and the fishing industriousness in Sweden was very large — were developed specifically for the U.S. and Canadian market and essay almost immediately democratic . Swedish Pisces the Fishes then became firmly entrenched in U.S. candy culture in the sixties and ' 70s .
In the U.S. , Swedish Fish are currently owned and broadcast by candy maker Cadbury Adams . The fish come in the traditional " red" flavor , as well as green , orangish , and yellow , each with the wordSwedishbranded into their side . In Sweden , the fish - shape wine gums are calledpastellfiskar(“pale - colored fishes" ) and are distributed by Malaco ; they also come in salmiak , a sinister salty liquorice flavor that is evidently staggeringly popular in Sweden because it ’s everywhere .
SWEDISH FISH—ON ICE
In 2009 , the Pennsylvania - based icy dainty chain Rita ’s Italian Ice bring out a new savor to their Italian ice line up . mistily cherry - ish and definitely blood-red , the Swedish Fish flavor was usable for only a limited time , but it made an unerasable mark on the Swedish Fish - loving world — bloggers dedicated much practical ink to the terrifyingly cherry-red intermixture . Soon , other companies make into the Swedish Pisces game , like Oreo came out with their circumscribed sacking version and Trident has a Swedish Fish gum .
WHAT ABOUT REAL SWEDISH FISH?
Pisces the Fishes are a major part of the Swedish dieting , which should n’t be too surprising , give that Sweden is home to one of the earthly concern ’s major archipelagos . But there ’s one Swedish fish dish that is n’t potential to leave alone Swedish shore . Surströmmingis a traditional looker that is essentially turn herring that ’s been entrust to rot for several months in bragging barrel before being tin . The delicacy has been banned from several major airlines for its implausibly secure flavour and the potential that the tin might in reality explode in pressurized weather condition .
A variant of this storey ran in 2009 .
