Junior Mints and Sugar Babies now OU-D Kosher

[latke]

Still waiting for packaging to reflect, but the OU's website shows the products as certified and this was confirmed by the Tootsie company!!

[phenanthrene]

So has anyone actually seen these kosher junior mints yet? I've looked everywhere, and no sign of them anywhere yet...

[grumpus]

I found Junior Mints with the OU-D at Walmart in Niles, IL. OMG, they are even better than I remember. It took me almost a week, but I ate two boxes all by myself, and totally enjoyed every smooth and creamy bite. Ever since I was a kid I marveled at the almost liquid center, and how the minty flavor seemed just right - not too strong, perfectly refreshing. Now I can't wait 'til the Tootsie Pops and Sugar Babies get their hechsherim. :-)

[SoCal Mother]

So what do they taste like?

[Prettypoodle]

Jr mints??? Uh well YUM! Hard to describe but so good/ So glad i can finally eat them without guilt. :)

[berel]

"it's chocolate, peppermint, it's delicious" Kramer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvmtg3...

[SoCal Mother]

LOL

[queenscook]

A little like a York Peppermint Patty would be in a smaller, rounder form. Chocolate coating, as I recall from 25+ years ago, was thinner, though.

[Prettypoodle]

Smoother and creamier than a York, and IMO way better too! I am really happy about this!

[koshergourmetmart]

article in jewish week about Junior Mints and Sugar Babies. note at the end it says "kosher movie-goers should see the OU-bearing packages arriving on shelves soon, as the factory has been certified for “a couple of months,” according to Rabbi David Jenkins, rabbinic coordinator at the OU. But don’t rush out just yet; packages still at the concession stand without the OU, said Rabbi Jenkins, are not for kosher consumption."

Add two classic movie confections to this year’s Oscar-watching party shopping list.

Junior Mints and Sugar Babies, decades-old candies distributed by Tootsie Roll Industries, will now display the OU symbol. They join the Tootsie Roll and DOTS candies that were declared kosher at the end of 2009, as Tootsie works on certifying all of its offerings.

“It took us a long time to get all our products and ingredients and plants inspected,” said Ellen Gordon, president and CEO of Tootsie Roll Industries. “Once we made the decision” to make some products kosher, said Gordon, who is Jewish, the company wanted all its products to bear certification. “We’re very delighted we did.”

Junior Mints, which are dark chocolate-covered creamy mints, and Sugar Babies, chewy caramels coated in milk chocolate, are iconic movie theater treats. The old Junior Mints ingredient list contained gelatin, which was removed to make the products kosher. A popular rumor says that Sugar Babies’ original formula contained bacon, which led to the red-and-white wavy strips on the package, but “we’ve always thought it was confetti,” said Gordon. Created in 1935, Sugar Babies (and their lollipop form, Sugar Daddy) were acquired in 1993 by Tootsie. The company’s other kosher products include the Charleston Chew and Frooties, certified by the OU, and Andes Mints and Cella’s Cherries, certified by the OK.

So after decades of opting for M&Ms or Twizzlers, kosher movie-goers should see the OU-bearing packages arriving on shelves soon, as the factory has been certified for “a couple of months,” according to Rabbi David Jenkins, rabbinic coordinator at the OU. But don’t rush out just yet; packages still at the concession stand without the OU, said Rabbi Jenkins, are not for kosher consumption

[SoCal Mother]

Just so long as movie popcorn never becomes kosher...

[berel]

most movie popcorn is kosher certified (the certification is on the large bags of precooked popcorn that's delivered to the concessions)

[mrmoose]

I one time checked the movie popcorn for a hecsher (the kind they pop in the theater). While I was doing that, I saw the nutritional information as well and was so grossed by how much fat it had, and never ate it again...

[azcohen]

This is all I have to say about Junior Mints being kosher.

[queenscook]

Yasher koach! That had been my first thought as well!

[Prettypoodle]

Oh man this is fabulous news! THANKS!!!

[queenscook]

Can you provide the link? As usual, I find the OU's website impossible to use; almost nothing I ever look for there is ever easily found. I searched in the general part of the site, the newly certified listings, and tried the advanced search, and still found nothing.

[latke]

http://www.oukosher.org/index.php/pro... and type in junior mints in product search box. I agree their search sucks. You have to wait as you're typing for the product to show up. But did you doubt me though? ;)

[queenscook]

Nope; just wanted to see it for myself, and possibly send a link to a friend. But even with your link, I didn't get anything until I checked off the "consumer" box.

Anyway, thanks for the info. I have actually been checking the packages of Sugar Babies for the last 10 years or so, always hoping to find a hechsher! Now I won't quite say it's a sign of the coming of mashiach, but I'm really happy. (Now I just hope they don't have the transfats that Tootsie Rolls have.)

[koshergourmetmart]

I suspect the ou does need to be on the packaging since these candies are made in several different plants and all may not be certified kosher as of yet. The tootsie rolls/frooties were made in 1 location-when that plant was heckshered (given certification) everything was ok even w/o a hecksher on the packaging.

[sl96]

It says Symbol Required under "Conditions".

[latke]

it actually almost always says that, but the OU might say otherwise verbally.

[koshergourmetmart]

i was at the candy expo in may 2010 and the tootsie roll people told me about the different plants where the same candy is manufactured. With tootsie rolls being kosher w/o the heksher there was a press release/announcement circulated-here there is not

[latke]

just spoke to the OU- he was definitely sure the tootsie pops need an OU-D, he was not 100% sure of the other two, saying he believed changes were made, and should require an OU-D.

[berel]

Shucks, Closeout connection, Dwtn Brooklyn. is selling Sugar Babies without the hechsher

[yeahthatskosher]

I took pictures of the OU site as a reference since you couldnt pull it into a URL: http://news.yeahthatskosher.com/2011/...

[seikoloco]

Does it need to have OU on the packaging or can you just buy those out there now (Like with Tootsie rolls?

[latke]

I emailed the OU- waiting for response. Though Junior Mints in the past did have gelatin, so it might actually hafta have the OU.