A Spicy Candy Of The Atomic Age That's Extremely Difficult To Find Today
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Few things are more powerful sources of nostalgia than candy. As long as it's not one of the sadly discontinued candies we wish would come back, whatever your favorite is may still be readily available — every so often, you can bite into it and experience not just a tasty sugar rush but also a flood of happy childhood memories. One of these especially stands out in our collective candy consciousness thanks to its bold branding and even bolder flavor: the Atomic FireBall. Learning its story will motivate you to start a hunt for this candy. It's quite tough to find, to the extent that it's been rumored to be discontinued. But spoiler, it's not, which makes nabbing it all the sweeter.
Atomic FireBalls debuted in 1954 during what was known as the Atomic Age. This started with the first nuclear bomb being used in World War II in 1945 and continued through the 1950s as atom bombs were tested as part of the Cold War effort. It was a scary, complicated period in American history, and yet its significance couldn't be avoided — to the extent that Las Vegas was dubbed "Atomic City, U.S.A." because the tests happened in Nevada. Products like toys and candies were marketed around all things atomic. Named for the bomb's actual fireball effect, Atomic FireBalls captured a corresponding heat. They're cinnamon-flavored, but also utilize capsaicin, the natural chemical in chili peppers that gives them their heat.
Who made Atomic Fireballs, and where are they now?
The Atomic FireBall was invented by the Ferrara Pan Candy Company in 1954. "Panning" is a method used for centuries, in which candies are built up from sugar as they get transferred into different pans. The Illinois-based Ferrara company is behind several other iconic candies in addition to FireBalls. It began in 1908 with Italian immigrant Salvatore Ferrara making candy-coated almonds. The brand introduced Red Hots in 1932, FireBalls in 1954, and Lemonheads in 1962. While not the inventors, Ferrara helped shape the history of jawbreaker candy and how it became so popular.
Ferrara merged with another candy company, now shuttered, in 2018 and acquired other household names like Brach's, Now and Later, and Trolli. The company is behind some of the most popular candies today that are older than you might realize, like Boston Beans, Runts, Jujyfruits, Spree, Fun Dip, and Pixy Stix. Atomic FireBalls are a standout member of the lineup, though, with their history and fiery heat. The cinnamon flavor is artificial, but with the capsaicin, you get a sweetly spicy heat that challenges you until after the candy dissolves.
FireBalls are so hard to find that many assume they're discontinued. For reasons that remain unclear, they've vanished from retailers like Dollar General Stores. But the good news is, you can find Ferrara's Atomic FireBalls on Amazon for about $20 per pound. Stock up for either a spicy trip down memory lane or a sweet but challenging discovery.