Sharability: 7
Denture Danger: 6
Convenience: 8
Novelty: 9
Overall: 9
The Quaker City Confectionary Company first produced the Good & Plenty candy in 1893 and believe it or not it is the oldest branded candy in the United States.
Over the years the company has changed hands from Quaker City, to Warner-Lambert, to Leaf Candy Company, to Beatrice Foods, to the current manufacturer, Hershey.
There was much controversy over the naming of this candy, but eventually the Quaker City Confectionary Company settled with Good & Plenty as the name instead of the less catchy Bad & Scarce.
The name is sometimes misleading because though it might imply that there are plenty to go around, once you give them away you realize that there aren’t enough for you.
Over 50 years after the candy was first produced, the company came up with a catchy cartoon character for marketing the candy. Choo Choo Charlie quickly became popular to kids all over America (including my mom) with his theme song:
Once upon a time there was an engineer
Choo Choo Charlie was his name, we hear.
He had an engine and he sure had fun
He used Good & Plenty candy to make his train run.
Charlie says “Love my Good & Plenty!”
Charlie says “Really rings my bell!”
Charlie says “Love my Good & Plenty!”
Don’t know any other candy that I love so well!
The only kind of person that doesn’t like the Good & Plenty candy is the kind of person who doesn’t like the black licorice flavor to begin with. If you like black licorice then this candy is great. The chewy licorice cylinder is covered in a hard candy shell, and the best part is that the ratio of candy to licorice is just right.
The question lies in the color. Does the white one have a different flavor than the pink one? I have personally done field research to answer this question, as I’m sure most of you have done as well. I have found that the results concur with my hypothesis, and friends, I’m pleased to inform you that the answer is, (SPOILER ALERT) no. So you can all stop fighting over the last pink one.
Sources:
- http://www.hersheys.com/products/details/goodandplenty.asp
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_&_Plenty
35 Comments
I’m eating a box of good & plenty’s right now and I’m wondering – are there more white ones than pink ones?
Another thing I remember, around 1967, the advertising showcased that the empty box could be used as a train engine horn. If you left one end of the box closed and blew in the other you got Choo Choo Charles train horn. All for a nickel.
I always divide my Good & Plenty’s into servings, for Weight Watcher Points; Yes there are always more white ones than pink ones and the white ones are bigger.
I do not know why.
I always divide my Good & Plenty\’s into servings, for Weight Watcher Points; Yes there are always more white ones than pink ones and the white ones are bigger.
I do not know why.
I’m just opened a 6 ounce box of Good and Plenty and discovered that it contains only white ones. This is the first time in my 46 years that I have encountered this. Has anyone else experienced this?
Yea. I just got one with all white! Never happened b4! I get them all the time. I love good and plenty!
My Uncle created the Choo Choo Charley character and the add that became so famous.
That’s awesome!
My son Charles was born in 1961. I gave him the nickname “Choo Choo Chralie” He still answers to that name Choo Choo even today! I have always loved Good and Plenty. Bought some yesterday for Trick or Treat.
My son Charles was born in 1961. I gave him the nickname \\"Choo Choo Chralie\\" He still answers to that name Choo Choo even today! I have always loved Good and Plenty. Bought some yesterday for Trick or Treat.
That is so cool! I love the choo choo Charlie character!
I love Good & Plenty, but contrary to what many have said, I always find the white ones to be skinny while the pink ones are plumper. Does anyone know any truth to this…I was once told that the white ones are the “plenty” and the pink ones are the “good”?? I makes sense because there are always plenty more white than pink.
I\\\’ve always wondered if Hollywood could make a feature film based on the character of Choo Choo Charlie, either live or animated.
I am 48 years old and I just opened an all white box of good & plenty
That’s funny that you say that about the “plenty” white ones — I found this page by Googling “What percent of Good & Plentys are pink?”, because I just opened a box that was about 80% pink. But I still wanted to believe that the answer would be 50/50 pink and white.
I’m looking for the Good and Plenty commercial with the Indians. I can’t find it. Can anyone help?
Good & Plenty is NOT “the oldest branded candy in the US.” Necco Wafers were first produced in 1847. That trumps 1893 any day… Posers…
I am 58 years old and eating them right now enjoying every minute of it. And so glad that my question was answered regarding the taste difference between the pink and the white. To me the pink will always taste better, sorry !
I️ am 69 and still eating good and plenty every day I️ used to get a box on Saturday from sally star at the Berlin action in Berlin no I️ don’t leave the house without a bag in my purse
Do you have heart trouble? They say eating 2 Oz of licorice a day drains your potassium which in turn gives you heart trouble. Just wondering. I love my good and plenty too. 😊
Yes, I’m an old dude and I like black licorice since the red stuff ain’t licorice at all. I’m also of Dutch descent and they have a long history of licorice appreciation, including salt-licorice (I like that too.)
Anyway, I also played with electric trains, like every other kid in America, while eating Good and Plenty. I’d shake the. box, blow it when empty and throttle the train, and of course, sing the jingle.
So much fun, so many memories!
(I also know what a Necco is and love them too.)
Nothing beats great Black Licorice and the best often comes from the Netherlands! Thanks so much for sharing your memories. We have long believed that candy helps us connect to a time when life was simpler…
Love my good and plenty been enjoying them for 55 years!!😎🦆😍
Have they ever been black and white?
My favorite candy in the world. I can them 24 hrs a day 7 days a week! I have have been eating them sence I was 7 years old. I’m now 60. For the first time in all those years I have never had just one pink one and all the rest white. Is this normal ? I saved the box. Just special to me for I have never heard of this either. Choo choo !!!!!
I’m not a fan of the candy anymore,but did like as a small child. But I remembered all the words to the song from the commercial. And I’m in my 60’s ne.
For awhile you could mail back a box top or two and a couple of bucks and they mailed you a engineer cap
I’ve always loved Good & Plenty! They’re Plenty Good! I’m in my late 70’s & always have a box or more on hand. Great snack at any time of day or night!
What ever happened to his cap I had one and all the guys in our shop had one
Will you ever bring it back
Today I bought 2 boxes of Good and Plenty and 1 had all white candies and the other was mostly white but had 6 pinks. I felt like I won the lottery.
[…] remember similar ads on TV back in the 60’s. Accessed at https://www.candyfavorites.com/blog/choo-choo-charlie-says-love-my-good-plenty/, where you can read all about the history of this and other […]
This was NOT the first Candy in America!
And it is ICELAND that makes the finest Licorice.
Ok we know it’s from the Hershey candy company, we know the words, and maybe who wrote it…BUT who was Charlie’s voice has had me wondering all these years if they did more since.
Just like in the Tootsie pop commercial…the voices used were people of great game later- Paul Winchell, Paul Frees, Ralph James(later became the voice of Orson in Mork and Mindy), and Buddy Foster- yes, Jodie’s actor/brother.
But who was Choo Choo Charlie’s voice?
Were me and my friends the only ones who felt the jingle was just a bit suggestive.
“He had an engine.
And he sure had fun.
He used good and plenty candy
to make his train run.”
[Girl joins in]
“Charlie says he loves my good and plenty”