altoids revenge

Posted on April 6, 2005 by mariko

I like Altoids, and I also like sour candy, so when I spied the Altoids sour fruit gum, I was giddy with delight and anticipation. First chew is pretty good, with a nice sour hit, but the gum goes utterly flavorless in a matter of minutes. Not good! But that’s not the worst of it…
altoids_gum_cherry.jpg
I don’t know if this stuff has an expiration date, but the other day I was chewing a couple of pieces when I was out walking Deedle, and the GUM BEGAN TO DISINTEGRATE IN MY MOUTH. I swear there was some sort of chemical breakdown of the gum, because it became kind of foamy and slimy and soft. It wasn’t even chewable anymore. It was so disgusting that I had to spit it out, but I couldn’t get it all out of my mouth! It left a film in my mouth! Then I had this spontaneously disintegrating glob on my fingers because, hello, I was out walking the DOG and did not have tissues or a garbage can handy. Anyway, be warned. Chew Altoids sour gum at your own risk.
A public service announcement brought to you by supereggplant, who does not, as far as she knows, have superhuman saliva.

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24 Responses to altoids revenge

  1. molly says:
    April 6, 2005 at 20:47

    That sounds really awful. I don’t think I will be missing out if I never try that gum. Thanks for the warning!

  2. laurel says:
    April 6, 2005 at 22:06

    The gum is yucky, but the tins make great needle cases!

  4. monica says:
    April 6, 2005 at 22:56

    thanks for the warning. they should just stick to what they do best. mints….. sorry to read about your appliance troubles too!!!!

  5. Catherine says:
    April 7, 2005 at 02:51

    What Laurel said. I tried the sour cherry, was deeply disappointed (though not as grossed-out as you were – that does sound disgusting) but the tin lives on as a needle case.

  6. Mia says:
    April 7, 2005 at 04:42

    Hi,
    Wow.. that same exact thing happened to me! I was in a meeting though and couldn’t even spit it out.. it was totally disgusting.. disintegrated is the right word! I actually wrote to the company to complain.. they said that this “effect” happens if the product had been stored at a temperature extreme (but they never said how that would happen).. and they sent me a coupon for $1.99 for replacement, yeah, right.. like I would want to buy any more of that crap.. Seems like if they KNOW this happens, they’d take it off the shelf until they could figure out how to stop it!!!
    Mia

  7. duff says:
    April 7, 2005 at 06:20

    sounds disgusting.

  8. Gina says:
    April 7, 2005 at 06:33

    Freaky! I tried my Altoids Sour Apple gum yesterday as well, and it was (as yours) horrible. I will stick to the Cinnamon gum and the hard candy sours that they make.

  9. Theresa says:
    April 7, 2005 at 08:02

    A shame, since the sour candies and the cinnamon gum are so good!

  10. Carol says:
    April 7, 2005 at 08:24

    Eww — yuck! The mint gum hasn’t done that, and the flavor lasts awhile too. Must be a different gum formula. Thanks for the warning — will definitely steer clear!

  11. Penny says:
    April 7, 2005 at 08:47

    I think the dissolving has to do with sugar-free- ness. The cinnamon Altiods gum does the same if you chew it for too long. I’ve had the same problems with sugar-free bubble gum of other persuasions. So now I buy it for the tins and give my husband the gum. *evil laugh here*

  12. Lana says:
    April 7, 2005 at 10:50

    Makes me want to gargle and spit! Thanks for the warning. Enjoy your blog!

  13. Sandeey says:
    April 7, 2005 at 11:06

    Bleck! I’ll be sure to steer clear of the gum. The sour candy isn’t so bad tho’!

  14. freecia says:
    April 7, 2005 at 11:20

    Thanks for the heads up! Do you like really minty gum? Try Everest gum (they sell it at Trader Joe’s and I think safeway) but watch your nose. It has a minty-nose effect similar to wasabi and causes me to sneeze in joy.

  15. Rani says:
    April 7, 2005 at 12:04

    I tried it earlier this week and hated it too! I found it so sour that I couldn’t even keep it in long enough to know the flavor doesn’t last. But those tins are adorable. 😀

  16. Anonymous says:
    April 7, 2005 at 13:35

    ive had altoids gum do that to me before. but it was strange, it seemed to turn into this horrid tasting grainy mass as the gum decomposed. ugh.

  17. katie says:
    April 7, 2005 at 13:36

    that was me, whoops

  18. Shelby says:
    April 7, 2005 at 13:58

    eewww – that’s not nice. That sounds worse than the Altoids licorice flavor.

  20. Norma says:
    April 7, 2005 at 14:58

    This gave me such a good giggle. I love seeing important issues such as these* discussed on the blogs. (*tongue planted firmly in cheek, but enjoying every minute of it anyway. When I get home from a hard day’s work, a good giggle IS a very important issue!) Thanks Super-E!

  21. Joy says:
    April 7, 2005 at 16:14

    Ok, this stuff isn’t sold in HK so I’m safe but it’s good to keep in mind if EVER I should come across it since I’d be attracted to the ‘sour’ on the tin. 🙂

  22. brit says:
    April 7, 2005 at 17:40

    bummer, I like the sour altoids too…all though I usually buy them just for the tins…perfect for keeping pins and notions in .

  23. debbie says:
    April 7, 2005 at 19:50

    i think penny’s on to something. one of my daughter’s friends said he chewed an eclipse gum for practically the whole school day and by the end of the day it started to like disintegrate all at once – weird….

  24. Jane B. says:
    April 9, 2005 at 10:41

    thanks for the heads up. We might have bought some of that gum! I have never heard of anything like that.

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