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Goody Goody Gumdrops


Last week I was at the grocery store, fulfilling one of my weekly husbandly duties that keep me in Mrs. Dufus' good books. You know, things like building decks, painting living rooms, cleaning the windows, re-roofing the house - not that I do any of those things, but they are good examples.

Any way, somewhere between cat litter and food waste garbage bags I came across a little confection that I used to love eating as a kid. Confection for those of you who can't keep up is a fancy word for candy.

I got home, unpacked and put away the groceries and then pulled out my guilty pleasure: a 950 gram tub of jujubes. As I merrily plopped one after another in orgasmic pleasure into my salivating pie-hole - I didn't have to worry about how many I ate because they were fat free -- yippee! - I started to think (uh-oh) about what I was eating and where they came from.

According to Wikipedia:

Jujube (pronounced /ˈdʒuːdʒuːb/ or /ˈdʒuːdʒuːbiː/), or jube, is the name of several types of candy, varying in description on a regional basis. The candies can vary in texture form being hard and resinous to something similar to firm loukoum or gummy candies.

In the United States, Jujubes is the brand name of a particular type of candy, whereas in Canada the word is generic, and describes any of many similar confections.


Pronounced what? Whatever. But they appear to be more popular in Canada than in the United States, having already hit generic status. You know like Q-tips, Kleenex, Jello, Canadian dollar? Anyway, my interest was peaked. Speaking of which I was by now a little peaked myself having eaten half a tub of jujubes.

Where did the name come from I wondered? Did some Jewish guy wandering the desert carry a bunch of jubes in his pocket to enjoy as he sought a homeland? And upon finding it, he shared them with a non-Jewish fellow who said "Hey, I guess those must be jujubes." Little did either of them know that many years later that simple act of sharing would result in jujubes being non-denominational.

The Beatles liked jujubes, so much they immortalized them in the song I Am The Walrus. You know how it goes:

"I am the eggman, they are the eggmen, I am the walrus, ju, ju, ju, jube"

That was a really popular song in its day. But not as popular as jujubes.

But the Beatles weren't the first to croon about their favourite candy. Frank Sinatra was encouraging his fans to share them with him when he sang:

"jubies, jubies, do - dah, dah, dah dee, dah"

I don't know what that last part was but Frank was a little weird now and then. In fact they used to say he was often saying something stupid.

Well, gotta go, I think...I'm going...into a bit of...a diabetic shock.

Comments

BERNADETTE CALLINAN said…
lol........but they;re LOLLIES!!!
nonamedufus said…
Interesting comment.
nonamedufus said…
Ah, the Brits have waded in. Well, I've got to say I just love lollies, mate.
LOTGK said…
Don't forget about the "Mexican Hats" Jujube's,
Alas, now its all about the Gummy worms.
nonamedufus said…
Oh, I love gummy worms too. That's what I bought last week. I had to look up Mexican Hats. Must be an American (or Mexican) thing. I don't remember them growing up in Canada.
nonamedufus said…
Oh, I love gummy worms too. That's what I bought last week. I had to look up Mexican Hats. Must be an American (or Mexican) thing. I don't remember them growing up in Canada.
Madge said…
Really? Every time I eat those I feel like I'm going to lose every filling in my head.
nonamedufus said…
I know, eh? I get that stuff stuck in my teeth for days. My dentist is gonna love me.
Linda Medrano said…
Alex loves Jujubees. I used to eat them as kid, but only in the movies. They are a little yucky truth be told.
nonamedufus said…
Yucky? Are we talking about the same thing? Chewy, gooey, and delicious? I love them. But I go through phases. My last phase was spearmint leaves and before that it was red licorice twizzlers.
Mike said…
Jujubes are the shit. In my hierarchy of candy, jujubes rank just below jelly beans.
nonamedufus said…
I love those too! I can't make a detailed comment right now. I finished off the jujubes and now I think I've got the trots.
Nicky said…
I can't eat those things. They are delicious, but they stick to my teeth for days and no amount of brushing and flossing can get rid of them!!!
nonamedufus said…
I know just what you mean. But at my age it actually helps keep my teeth from falling out.
LOTGK said…
Technically, they were Jujube's shaped like Mexican hats, but just a slightly less sticky texture.
SP said…
Jujubes are generic in my country also. I don't see/hear the word Jujubes in the US. I love jujubes!
nonamedufus said…
Yeah I saw pictures of them. I like the idea of less sticky. But you know those hats are way to small to fit on anyone's head.
nonamedufus said…
In the States, Jujubes are a brand name. And they come in boxes.
meleahrebeccah said…
I love *LOVE* Jujubes!

PS: this made me laugh out loud:

"I am the eggman, they are the eggmen, I am the walrus, ju, ju, ju, jube"
nonamedufus said…
Well, I try. I'm glad you like jujubes...and the post!
LOTGK said…
But not on fingers.
Don't ask cause I won't tell.
nonamedufus said…
Oh, so when you play "here's the church, here's the steeple, open the doors and here's all the people" the people are all wearing hats!
LOTGK said…
You never wear hats in church..
:D
Nonamedufus said…
Oh, okay. So then when you give someone the finger you're being kinda polite because the finger's wearing a hat?
LOTGK said…
Not just a hat but a Mexican hat.
nonamedufus said…
The only two things I know in Spanish are "areba, areba, andele, andele" and "cerveza" and I usually use them together.
LOTGK said…
Continuing the thread on Mexican hats:
nonamedufus says...The only two things I know in Spanish are "areba, areba, andele, andele" and "cerveza" and I usually use them together.

Well, the only thing in Spanish i know is Uno. It's some sort of card game... :D
nonamedufus said…
We have the same game except we call it Phase 10.
LOTGK said…
Here in the states, Phase 10 is right before the Zombie Apocalypse.

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