Swedish Fish? What is that?
Swedish Fish are chewy
winegum candies especially notable apart from other varieties of winegums in
Sweden. They have been developed with special flavors specifically for the North American market<SUP id=cite_ref-0 class=reference>
[1]</SUP> by the Swedish candy producer
Malaco, which exports products to North America.
History
In 1958,
Malaco, a Swedish
confectionery manufacturer, expanded its business by exporting a few of their products to
North America. Various
licorice ribbon and licorice lace candies were the first products to be exported.
Malaco's export trade grew and in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Swedish Fish and
Swedish Berries (identical in composition but in the shape of
berries) were developed specifically for the North American market.
Today the Swedish Fish consumed in North America are made in
Hamilton, Ontario,
Canada by the
Cadbury Adams Company. The fish are distributed in the U.S. by Cadbury Adams USA in
Parsippany,
New Jersey. In the
UK Swedish Fish can be found in
IKEA's Swedish Food section, including the
salmiak flavour.<SUP id=cite_ref-LEAFIKEA_1-0 class=reference>
[2]</SUP><SUP style="WHITE-SPACE: nowrap" class="noprint Inline-Template" title="The material in the vicinity of this tag may be based upon unreliable original research from February 2009">[
original research?]</SUP>
<SUP></SUP>
In the United States
The flavor varies with color: Originally colored red with a flavor unique to the candy, they are now also available in orange, yellow, green, and purple. A Swedish Fish flavored orange is orange, lemon is yellow, lime is green, and grape is purple. The fish come in two different sizes. Initially, the smaller fish came only in red; now fish of both sizes are available in multiple colors and flavors.
According to a visit to the factory on the Food Network's show Unwrapped, Green is not lime, but pineapple flavor, while yellow is a lemon lime flavor.
In Sweden
In Sweden huge amounts of winegum candies are sold every year,<SUP id=cite_ref-2 class=reference>[3]</SUP> in all kinds of shapes in shops and supermarkets, where everyone serves themselves, purchasing any type of winegums and candies they desire, placing the assorted candies in small paperbags available in the shops. Common shapes are rats, flowers, coins, boats, guns, elephants, cars and also fish<SUP id=cite_ref-3 class=reference>[4]</SUP> The fish shape of the Swedish Fish is just one of the many other candy shapes.<SUP id=cite_ref-4 class=reference>[5]</SUP>
In Sweden, the Swedish Fish candy is marketed under the name "pastellfiskar,"<SUP id=cite_ref-5 class=reference>[6]</SUP> literally "pastel colored fishes." The fish in Sweden are generally much paler in color and more translucent (save the black fish). In particular, the yellow fish color is almost cream. The taste also differs slightly, the Swedish version being less sweet but more fruit-flavored, especially the yellow one, which is more tangy. The green fish is not lime flavored; the green candy color in Scandinavia is usually associated with apple or pear flavor. They are slightly thicker, have the text "Malaco" instead of "Swedish" embossed, and stick less to the teeth.<SUP style="WHITE-SPACE: nowrap" class="noprint Inline-Template" title="The material in the vicinity of this tag may be based upon unreliable original research from February 2009">[original research?]</SUP>
"Pastellfiskar" are also sold at Swedish IKEA stores under the name Swedish Fish (and a slightly different bag), but they are still the same Scandinavian "Pastellfiskar" rather than the North American Swedish Fish
