![\"Nutty](\"https:\/\/crispybits.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/Nutty-Club.jpg\" "\\"Nutty")
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No, this is not the name of our crafters’ club…although I wouldn’t debate its accuracy.\u00a0 I thought, considering the name of this foodie blog and all, that it was high time I showed you some crispy bits.\u00a0 Please enjoy them in their full-coloured glory.\u00a0 These crunchy candy coralettes (also known as sprinkles, jimmies, candy vermicelli, sugar strands, hundreds-and-thousands, or hagelslag) are from Nutty Club, a Western Canadian company\u00a0with their head office\u00a0in Winnipeg.<\/p>\n
![\"NuttyClubFactory\"](\"https:\/\/crispybits.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/NuttyClubFactory.jpg\" "\\"NuttyClubFactory\\"")
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In operation and “serving Canadians coast to coast” since 1903, I honestly believe they have not changed their branding since probably the 30’s.\u00a0 Bless them for that.\u00a0 I think the handless, dancing\u00a0CAN-D-MAN on the package has worked his way into the collective memories of everyone who spent any time in the Prairies.\u00a0 The company\u00a0specializes in confectionary and baking products and I have vivid recollections of both.<\/p>\n
The racks of snacks are most often seen in small-town grocery stores, co-ops, and gas stations and contain snack-sized bags of ju jubes, allsorts, scotch mints, humbugs, chicken bones, and midget mix.\u00a0 Also available were the more savoury items such as peanuts, popcorn and sunflower seeds.\u00a0\u00a0My high school store had one of these racks and my favourite treat was a bag of salt-and-vinegar peanuts smuggled into typing class.\u00a0 Any type of food was strictly forbidden, so my typing buddy and I were flush with rebellion as we sneakily munched away at the back of class.\u00a0 In retrospect, it was rather unhygienic, what with\u00a0the communal\u00a0Smith-Coronas and all and then licking the sour salt off my fingers.\u00a0 But hey,\u00a0it was the early 80’s and times were simple then;\u00a0no one worried about these things.\u00a0 Well, apparently the teacher did.<\/p>\n
![\"NuttyClubBaking\"](\"https:\/\/crispybits.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/NuttyClubBaking.jpg\" "\\"NuttyClubBaking\\"")
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Anyone who’s spent a nanosecond in a Prairie kitchen, especially during a bout of seasonal baking, has probably caught site of the Nutty Club food colouring in their funky bottles (see above).\u00a0 And no matter how many drops you added to the frosting, your red and green never came out more than pink and mint…not exactly what one hopes for when decorating those Christmas cookies.<\/p>\n
Always the avid baker, my grandmother’s basement larder was a veritable treasure trove of Nutty Club baking products: bags of baking ju jubes she liked to put in her carrot cake (a nice alternative to raisins, I must say), the pressed sugar decorations reserved for special occasions, pecan halves, miniature candied fruit slices, and sprinkles and trim-ettes for days.\u00a0 My grandmother also enjoyed serving\u00a0Nutty Club “juice” made from appropriately-coloured concentrated syrups to which one added water.\u00a0 Cherry was a favourite.<\/p>\n
So if you’re ever passing through a town west of the Great Lakes, keep\u00a0an eye out for the dancing CAN-D-MAN, grab a bag of Midget Mix, and participate in our national identity.\u00a0 If, on the other hand, you’re heading to Paris and see a box of these goodies:<\/p>\n
![\"canasuc\"](\"https:\/\/crispybits.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/09\/canasuc-300x233.jpg\" "\\"canasuc\\"")
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