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[Warning:\u00a0 Today’s post is a little bananas.]<\/p>\n
Pablo Picasso had his “Blue Period” and Burt Convy’s Tatletales game show had its Banana Section<\/a>, so perhaps it was destiny that the Tootise company would one day have a “Banana Period” of their own.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If that last sentence is a bit of gibberish to you, I apologize, but this all to bring a little color and attention to a time when the Tootsie company endeavored bring the banana flavor to the forefront with a pair of fun confectionery offerings.<\/p>\n As best as I can determine, sometime around 1990 the Tootise company created a Tootsie Roll Pop or Tootsie Pop-inspired “Banana Pop” and a Tootsie Roll-inspired “Banana Peels” candy.<\/p>\n I first uncovered evidence of what I’m calling Tootsie’s “Banana Period” about three years ago, when I came across a wrapper for Banana Peels.\u00a0 Banana Peels seems to have been a banana-flavored confection served up in a similar Tootsie Roll shape and package.\u00a0\u00a0 That initial wrapper I found had been trimmed down for someone’s banana-themed scrapbook, but it still included a trio of banana mascots :<\/p>\n Tootsie – Banana Peels roll candy wrapper – 1980’s 1990’s<\/p><\/div>\n I recently found an intact Banana Peels wrapper which is nearly identical to the trimmed version, though it does sport some subtle differences:<\/p>\n Tootsie – Banana Peels – candy wrapper – circa 1987-1993<\/p><\/div>\n As with the standard Tootsie Roll packaging, these sport a bright red stripe on both ends of the wrapper, which makes me suspect that Banana Peels really was essentially a banana Tootsie Roll.<\/p>\n [Editor’s Note:\u00a0 Tootsie still makes fruit-flavored Tootsie Roll type confections.\u00a0 They have both Tootsie Fruit Rolls<\/a> and Tootsie Frooties<\/a> in various fruit flavors.\u00a0\u00a0 Though they don’t have a dedicated banana flavor, for a time they did offer a Banana-Berry Tootsie Frooties – though that flavor appears to now be discontinued.]<\/p>\n For a long time I had assumed that Banana Peels was a one-off, but then I came across a wrapper for another banana-themed Tootsie product. \u00a0 This one was for a Tootsie Banana Pop, and it shared the banana logo typeface that I’d previously found on the Banana Peels wrapper.\u00a0 Also like Banana Peels, this one includes a couple of fun-loving banana mascots:<\/p>\n Tootsie – Banana Pop – candy wrapper – circa 1987-1993<\/p><\/div>\n At first glance, this might appear to simply be a Banana Tootsie Pop re-branded to give extra attention to the banana flavor, but that isn’t the case.\u00a0 A banana-flavor Tootsie Pop has a banana-flavored lollipop outer and a standard chocolatey Tootsie Roll center.\u00a0 This Tootsie Banana Pop on the other hand features a banana-flavored lollipop candy outer as well as a banana-flavored candy center.\u00a0 You might even go so far as to say that it’s got a Banana Peels center – but I suppose I’m speculating there.<\/p>\n Banana is currently one of the special rotating Tootsie Pop flavors, so you can find them from time-to-time included along with the standard Tootie Pop assortment.\u00a0 For comparison here is a current Tootsie Pop Banana wrapper:<\/p>\n Tootsie – Tootsie Roll Pop – Banana – candy lolipop wrapper – 2011<\/p><\/div>\n I’ve sampled and enjoyed a number of banana-flavored Tootsie Pops in recent years, but finding this Tootsie Banana Pop wrapper does make me wonder just how a through-and-through Tootsie Banana Pop might be.\u00a0\u00a0 Who knows, maybe Tootsie will bring something like this back to market again someday.\u00a0 We can hope.<\/p>\n I don’t know exactly how long Tootsie’s Banana Period lasted but it was probably no more than a couple of years.\u00a0 It’s also possible that there were other banana-flavored Tootsie creations that came from this period, but so far these are the only two I’ve found.<\/p>\n And that’s everything for today’s banana-rific post.\u00a0 I hope you’ve enjoyed learning about Tootsie’s “Banana Period”.<\/p>\n See you next time!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [Warning:\u00a0 Today’s post is a little bananas.] Pablo Picasso had his “Blue Period” and Burt Convy’s Tatletales game show had its Banana Section, so perhaps it was destiny that the Tootise company would one day have a “Banana Period” of … Continue reading ![\"Tootsie](\"http:\/\/www.collectingcandy.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/CC_Tootsie-Banana-Peels-roll-candy-wrapper-1980s-1990s.jpg\")
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