Concepts: Rhubarb and Custard Sweets.

Gin and Tonic, Peanut Butter and Jelly...Rhubarb and Custard...some things were just MADE for one another. 

But...in sweet form? Good grief, you just topped yourself there. I'm sure I'm not the only sweet tooth that is a slave to rhubarb and custard sweets...the crystalised combo that never grows old.

So, here is the complication of my reasons and opinions as to why I think RHUBARB AND CUSTARD SWEETS are good.

20 REASONS WHY I THINK RHUBARB AND CUSTARD SWEETS ARE GOOD

1. It's like a pudding...in a sweet. Willy Wonka totally snatched this idea.

2. Rhubarb and Custard sweets are generally resonably inexpensive, as many boiled sweets are.

3. The combination is unusual, but they work perfectly together. Sweet and sour.

4. Rhubarb and custard sweets are very nostalgic of British sweet shop heritage. Shame the price isn't (when all sweets used to be a mere 1p...the "good ol' days"...I feel like I'm getting old already...)

5. As a colour fanatic, they make me happy. One of my favourite colour combinations, pink and yellow just scream "garish and proud". Note to self: NEVER use this colour combination in my GD practice...or face Fred's wrath...

6. Ye olde rhubarb and custard jars are beyond lovely...perfect for any farm house kitchen (I solemnly swear I will own one...one day...)

7. They are great for long car journeys and trips...they last for hours (or minutes if you get the insatiable urge to crunch, like I do...boo).

8. Rhubarb and custard sweets are a favourite among all generations- a classic combo, they will be happily shared among the entire family (if you let them out of your sight, that is!)

9. Boiled sweets are a good alternative to high fat or calorie-ladden foods...just don't forget to brush your teeth with all the extra sugar!

10. Rhubarb and custard is so popular- you can get the flavour in yoghurts too!

11. They're a good alternative to pricey items when going to the cinema- and you can smuggle them into your pockets so you're not caught out too!

12. Heck...if you eat too many, at least when your teeth fall out you will get a return when the tooth fairy comes to visit...

13. Small but sweet...rhubarb and custards are easy to smuggle into lectures...just don't them see you.

14. Who doesn't like sweets. I mean, c'mon...

15. They are a great bribe to shush people. Tried and tested.

16. Sweets make for inexpensive and fun gifts for friends and family.

17. They usually come in wrappers, so the smuggling needn't be a sticky experience.

18. Rhubarb and Custard sweets are the type that could become ironic hipster. They're the Granny Chic of the confectionary world.

19. Despite a seemingly unusual sweet, they are quite commonly found in supermarkets and local food stores- so there's no excuses.

20. They're a great alternative to the usual expensive rhubarb plant. If only they had the nutritional benefits...I can dream.

20 FACTS ABOUT RHUBARB AND CUSTARD SWEETS

1. Rhubarb custard candies are a very popular candy in Britain.

2. Most UK Sweetshops carry this popular brand in the form of the great taste of rhubarb-and-custard combined to form a sour yet sweet hard candy.

3. It is usually noted as a favorite and best-seller among the varieties of all candies being sold.

4. The candy shops produce a number of these delectable sweets by different names and shapes. You can choose from quite a variety, such as rhubarb lollies, or rhubarb pips.

5. You will also see rhubarb-custard candies referred to as stubbies or pencils. All have that tangy but creamy taste and texture people seem to love.

6. Another favorite snack of many people all over the world is rhubarb-leather.

7. These lovely candies are also quite popular in British candy shops and are called Rhubarb Rock.

8. The rhubarb tastes fresh and with just a hint of sharpness.  And it is perfectly balanced by the rich, luxuriousness of the sweet, creamy custard.

9. Thankfully, these personal favourites are having a comeback at the current time, due to the efforts of Marks and Spencers making and selling them again.

10. In the same way as the drink Dandelion and Burdock having little to do anymore with its original ingredients, its unlikely that any real fresh rhubarb or any heavenly custard got near to these sweets, as such flavours can be easily created synthetically nowadays, but the sense of these great tastes; a perfect combination lingers.

11. This exemplifies what the British want from their confectionery : something that tastes of or reminds the buyer about Britishness - uniqueness and flavourful.

(AGAIN, VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON THE SWEETS- STARTED TO RESEARCH RHUBARB/CUSTARD AS SEPERATE ITEMS...)

12. Rhubarb is a group of plants that belong to the genus Rheum in the family Polygonaceae. They are herbaceous perennial plants growing from short, thick rhizomes.

13. They have large leaves that are somewhat triangular-shaped with long fleshy petioles. They have small flowers grouped in large compound leafy greenish-white to rose-red inflorescences.

14. Although the leaves are toxic, various parts of the plants have medicinal and culinary uses. The traditional Chinese pharmacopeia features rhubarb

15. In culinary use, fresh raw stalks are crisp (similar to celery) with a strong tart taste; most commonly the plant's stalks are cooked and used in pies and other foods for their tart flavour.

16. Custard is a variety of culinary preparations based on a cooked mixture of milk or cream and egg yolk.

17. Depending on how much egg or thickener is used, custard may vary in consistency from a thin pouring sauce (crème anglaise), to a thick pastry cream used to fill éclairs.

18. The most common custards are used as desserts or dessert sauces and typically include sugar and vanilla.

19. Custard bases may also be used for quiches and other savoury foods. Sometimes flour, corn starch, or gelatin is added.

20. Nowadays, you may get custard in a variety of flavours e.g, strawberry or maybe chocolate.

20 WORDS ASSOCIATED WITH RHUBARB AND CUSTARD SWEETS

1. Rhubarb

2. Custard

3. Sweets

4. Combination

5. Boiled

6. Sugar

7. Childhood

8. Penny

9. Shop

10. Pick 'n' Mix

11. Tart

12. Sweet

13. Pink

14. Yellow

15. Suck

16. Jar

17. Nostalgia

18. Grandparents

19. Inexpensive

20. Creamy

20 OPINIONS OF RHUBARB AND CUSTARD SWEETS

(In response to the previously posted question 'Favourite childhood sweet? I love bulls eyes or rhubarb and custard, how about you?' by jeremey_put, via Yahoo Answers)

1. Sherbet dips Yummy

hazelnut toffee ( crack jaw !)

seaside rock
( Rolled up peppermint candy sticks, the name of the resort in pink , all the way through )

Candy -floss (spun sugar )

soft fruit jellies- sweet-cookie, via Yahoo Answers.

2. Fruit salad, drum-sticks and buttersnap. also Lord Toffinham ice lollies which had a big lump of soft toffee on the middle of the stick when you had eaten all the ice cream- splishsplash, via Yahoo Answers.

3. SUCKERS!!! aka: Lolipops- killabee, via Yahoo Answers.

4. Dairy Queen's Banana Split! I loved soft-serve ice cream, but this was back in the days when there were no such things as "concretes" and frozen custard -- but ya know, that DQ Banana Split is still pretty fine!- Honeybee, via Yahoo Answers.

5. Aniseed balls, or those gob stoppers that went from hot too cold ,not forgetting black jacks of course and moon dust..- Thornsey, via Yahoo Answers.

6. I loved pineapple chunks and chewing nuts but hated yorkshire mix- buggerlugs, via Yahoo Answers.

7. Sherbert dabs- she wolf., via Yahoo Answers.

8. Shrimps, bananas, black jacks, fruit salads, bubble gum, marathons(snickers), opal fruits (starbursts), my list is endless- poggle_63, via Yahoo Answers.

9. I loved fish and chip crisps...lion bar when it had the nuts on the out side with the see through brown wrapper....
can't remember the name of the bubble gum..but when you bit into it lots of yummy juices came out.....

also the very hard liquorice that look like a small paddle- powerofme_123, via Yahoo Answers.

10. Spangles.
Aniseed balls.
Liquorice pipes- Mrs.Doyle, via Yahoo Answers.

11. Fruit Salad, Black Jacks, Refreshers, Sports Mixtures, Cola Bottles & MB Bars- pinkbarca, via Yahoo Answers.

12. Fruit salad and black jacks- btmduk, via Yahoo Answers.

13. Margaritas- ccccccc, via Yahoo Answers.

14. White cream soda- Garfield, via Yahoo Answers.

15. Hi i liked them squiggy blue dolphins, also there was these green sweets that were shaped like little guys and they looked blue when you held them to the light,but i dont know what they were called. Also them liqurice things with pink swirls in them, they were also toffee coloured- Angel, via Yahoo Answers.

16. I used to love Pear drops, don't know if they still sell them. They came in all different colours and they would last you ages because you have to suck on them ;-)- Crystal, via Yahoo Answers.

17. Sherbert fountains, sherbert dabs, flying saucers, Swizzle lollies, in fact anything with sherbert- jaygirl, via Yahoo Answers.

18. Rainbow Drops

I think that what they were called they were like different coloured rice krispies lol- STEPHANIE, via Yahoo Answers.

19. Hawick Balls & Sweetie Peanuts- Neil the hypocrite, via Yahoo Answers.

20. I loved plums off our tree. We would pick them then jump in the pool with them. Great memories- chrissie, via Yahoo Answers.

20 IMAGES OF RHUBARB AND CUSTARD SWEETS

 I want this more than words can say. A cupcake with crunch.