Having been recently appointed the official licorice reviewer of Candy Addict, I thought I would start with an old standby of mine, Good & Plenty. As usual, I opted for the 7 oz bag, though it’s also available in many other bag and box sizes.
Good & Plenty are small pieces of soft black licorice coated in a pink or white crunchy candy coating. The licorice flavor is tempered very nicely by the candy outside, which makes the flavor much more interesting than something along the lines of licorice jelly beans. The key to good Good & Plenty is to get a fresh bag. Stale Good & Plenty would be rough on even the toughest of jaws.
With only a few readily available choices of licorice, Good & Plenty is an ideal choice. Unlike other candies which can be overpowering, Good & Plenty is good for its combination of sweet candy outside and strong licorice inside. While I would certainly call this an Awesomely Addictive candy, it definitely isn’t for those who don’t enjoy a good dose of licorice!
Buy Good & Plenty:
I love me the Good & Plenty. I could eat a pound of it in one sitting. Welcome, fellow licorice lover!
August 17th, 2006 at 11:49 amI bought a bag like the one pictured on the Penn Turnpike back in June … they were fresh and soft, I finished them within 200 miles. The ones in the box are more often than not stale.
Of course, I’m no snob when it comes to licorice pastilles – I don’t mind eating the stale ones at the bottom of my purse.
Too bad you’re not allowed to declare it awesomely addictive ™.
August 17th, 2006 at 1:00 pmI’ve had Good & Plenty a hundred times but I haven’t had them in a while. Now that I saw this review I’ve got to go out and buy some, darn it!
Eating a whole box involves a lot of chewing though. I remember having some jaw issues the last time I finished a box.
As much as I like black licorice, I think I might like Good & Fruity better. I haven’t seen those in a long time though.
RESPONSE: Here’s a petition to bring them back :)
August 17th, 2006 at 2:03 pm–Brian
I have TMJ, so I can totally understand the jaw issues. Like I said, the key is absolute freshness; the boxes definitely tend to be more stale, in addition to being more money per ounce (at least, they used to be, back when I was in college and actually spent time dwelling on such things).
August 17th, 2006 at 4:23 pmMmm, good and plentys are indeed awesome. I wonder, Miss (Ms?) licorice reviewer, have you tried double salted licorice, or doublezout, as it is also known?
Here are some examples:
August 18th, 2006 at 2:17 amexample1
example2
example3
I remember eating Good & Plenty when I was growing up. Now, years later, I got a box to revisit that licorice/candy joy.
What? The pieces look smaller. No, not just because I grew up. Is it possible that, since the candy has changed hands a few times in its 100-plus-year history, the pieces are now made smaller than they were back in the 1960s?
What do YOU think?
December 21st, 2006 at 11:57 pmHmm, I really don’t know. It’s entirely possible. What size do you remember? More like Mike and Ike size? Occasionally I get freakishly small pieces, but the average size hasn’t changed within my memory.
December 22nd, 2006 at 10:50 amI personally hate Good & Plenty. I grew up liking Good & Fruity and was terribly deceived into trying Good & Plenty. I grabbed a handful expecting the fruity, chewy goodness of Good & Fruity and instead spewed out a gob of white, black and pinkish gunk that reminded me more of cough-medicine than candy.
Some people are just evil – making a candy taste like medicine :-P
July 21st, 2007 at 6:43 pmWhat is the flavor of both the white & pink candy coating?
Are they different or the same differing only in color?
May 21st, 2008 at 8:55 pmAt first it feels great to find others who share my views on Good n’Plenty Licorices, and then I have to wonder if some of you aren’t responsible for my not being able to find the candy in the first place. You’ve probably been responsible for my sudden weight loss,also. Hmm.
August 20th, 2008 at 6:27 pmI Googled GnP to see if anyone thought the same thing I am about the candy shell. It seems a lot thinner than it used to be and it isn’t crunchy at all the way I remember.
As for others questions…I don’t think they are much smaller and as far as I can tell, the pink and white taste the same, mainly just sugary.
October 5th, 2008 at 7:32 pmYes, I do believe GnP has changed recipes. I recall the original GnPs to be much more uniform in shape and size; having a shinier/glossy coating and not so plump and soft and chewy. The Licorice core was about 3/4 inch in length and a wee bit thinner, similar to the size of a cooked, large spaghetti noodle.
I’ve noticed many cookies, candies, crackers and chips and other munchy-type-products have changed recipes/sizes, over the years.
Major change with Doritos brand tortilla chips. They are pressed out, and cut with round edges. Taste different than when they were first put out on to consumers shelves.
Altoids: Altoid mints used to be smooth and uniform in size.
Fresca: Dear ‘ol Fresca doesn’t EVEN compare to what it used to taste like. – So sad. I LOVED that drink.
There are other products I could talk about changing from the original recipe ……but, hey, I’m hungry for some new-fashioned GnPs. ;0)
Any other thoughts or observations regarding product change?
August 6th, 2009 at 5:11 pmI could live on Good and Plenty! Breakfast, lunch and dinner. I get an overwhelming craving for them…it’s an addiction!
January 8th, 2011 at 7:13 pm