Ferrara Pan Candy Company.

October 31, 2001 2:18 PM

Ferrara Pan Candy Company. My favorite candy company for several reasons. One, I live nearby and the neighborhood around the factory always smells like Lemonheads. Mmmmmmm. Two, they also make my all-time favorite candy: Atomic Fireballs! And of course, everyone's had Red Hots before. Finally, there's Boston Baked Beans, and Black Forest Gummies. Take a virtual tour and see how candy is made. Guaranteed to be less gruesome than watching sausage being made.
posted by JohnBigBoots (18 comments total)

I was just telling some folks on a list I'm on that Lemonheads are my second fav candy (next to Reese's Cups), Lemonheads and very cold water.

P.S. Hit lemonheads with a hammer in the dark for some real fun.
posted by m@ at 2:38 PM on October 31, 2001

JohnBigBoots, sweet post (no pun... okay maybe)! I used to live in the Chicago area, my grandparents in Forest Park, and I loved visiting them because you could smell the candy they were baking that day. Thanks for sharing. Lemonheads and Fireballs are great, but do you remember their lesser known kin: Cherry Chan or Alexander the Grape?
posted by Vek at 2:45 PM on October 31, 2001

Ferrara Pan candies not only taste great, but their empy boxes make awesome noisemakers.

This discovery, however, did not please the management of the theater in my home town, and resulted in many a ten-year-old boy (myself included) being asked to leave before the movie ended.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:56 PM on October 31, 2001 [1 favorite]

I just saw how lemonheads are made on FoodTV like three days ago. The rate at which lemonheads are made averages out to 80 a second! I'm clearly not doing my fair share of lemonhead consumption.
posted by marknau at 2:57 PM on October 31, 2001

When I lived in Atlanta, I used to drive by a Wrigley's plant almost every day. When they were making JuicyFuit, the smell was incredible. On days when they were churning out Big Red, you'd damn near get in a wreck because of the profuse tearing from your burning eyes.
posted by daveleck at 3:03 PM on October 31, 2001

let me just say that lemonheads are scrote rocks compared to SUPER LEMON!!!
posted by kliuless at 3:05 PM on October 31, 2001

The smell going by Ferrara Pan is unmistakable. It's delicious, and you can even catch a whiff from the expressway. Also of note: there is an outlet store!
posted by hijinx at 3:05 PM on October 31, 2001

Mmm Boston Baked Beans. I'm originally from Chicago as well, and my dad used to bring home small boxes of these candies every once in awhile. Including Cherry Chan and Alexander the Grape ;)
posted by valerie at 3:07 PM on October 31, 2001

Thirty points to the first person who can locate an image of the old "Cherry Chan" box on the Internet -- you know, the one with the racist, slanty-eyed mascot. I looked, but to no avail.
posted by Shadowkeeper at 3:10 PM on October 31, 2001

It's called 'Cherry Clan' now.
posted by dragline at 3:21 PM on October 31, 2001

damn. too late. I was about to post the same thing. ( down in the middle of the page.) Do I get any point at all for trying?
posted by bradth27 at 3:25 PM on October 31, 2001

I found it here, but alas, I was also too late.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 3:33 PM on October 31, 2001

I used to live in Oak Park, just across the Ike from the factory. That place smelled pretty cool.
posted by jbelshaw at 3:33 PM on October 31, 2001

there was an issue of "Dork" (Evan Dorkin's comic potpourri) pretty recently (#9 methinks) that had a comic he did about the Cherry Clan going off to the island off misfit candies where all the other racist, outmoded candy went. Wish I could remember the candies he used... My post isn't really going anywhere is it... no link, no picture, no specifics... It's a slow day... back to coffee. No, wait, here's a link to a review at least...
posted by badstone at 3:34 PM on October 31, 2001

Oh, Cherry Clan. No wonder I couldn't find the damned thing.

Well, a promise is a promise. Thirty points for everyone!


(I think it's only fair to tell you that you would have received forty-five points if you had linked to the box autographed by Amy Grant.)
posted by Shadowkeeper at 3:45 PM on October 31, 2001

Wow! I live just down the street from Ferrara and love the smell just about every evening. One day it's cinamon from the Atomic Fireballs, the next day a lot of lemon.

Of course there are days when the only smell is that from the glue of the envelope manufacturer next door.

Ferrara's has a factory store that is a good bargain and a hit with kids.
posted by Qubit at 5:34 PM on October 31, 2001

My synagogue is in River Forest and we always used to pass Ferrara Pan on the way there. My mom went there on a Girl Scout field trip when she was younger, but I've never been. There's a factory store there? That might be worth a stop on my next trip home. : ) I love, love, love Atomic Fireballs and I like Lemonheads too.
posted by SisterHavana at 10:14 PM on October 31, 2001

My favourite Chicago-based supplier of funky music occasionally chucks a box of lemonheads in with my shipment. You don't get that at Amazon.
posted by pascal at 10:34 PM on October 31, 2001