Dots (candy)
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DOTS, or Mason DOTS, are a brand of gum drops marketed by Tootsie Roll Industries.
Overview
DOTS were introduced in 1940 by Mason and trademarked that year. In 1972, Tootsie Roll Industries acquired the DOTS brand by purchasing the Mason Division of Candy Corporation of America. Prior to that acquisition they were manufactured by Mason, AU and Magenheimer Confectionery Manufacturing Company of Brooklyn and later Mineola, New York.[1] Most DOTS come in small boxes, with six gum drops inside.[citation needed]
Varieties
DOTS have come in a number of varieties:
- Original DOTS (a.k.a. Mason DOTS)
- Sour DOTS
- Tropical DOTS
- Wild Berry DOTS (no longer being produced)
- Yogurt DOTS (introduced in 2007)
- Ghost DOTS (presumably seasonal for Halloween)
- DOTS Elements in pomegranate, cinnamon, green tea, and wintergreen (introduced in 2008)
- Bat DOTS (Blood Orange Flavored, introduced in 2009 for Halloween)
- Candy Corn DOTS (introduced in 2009 for Halloween)
- Valentine DOTS in Cherry, Vanilla, and Passion Fruit (introduced in 2010)
- Easter DOTS in Blueberry, Lemon, Lime, Cherry, and Orange (introduced in 2010)
- Christmas DOTS in Cherry, Lime, and Vanilla Flavored
- Patriotic DOTS in Blueberry, Strawberry, and Vanilla Flavored
The original DOTS come in five different flavors: cherry, strawberry (a relatively new flavor), lemon, lime, and orange. According to Tootsie, they make each flavor equally. Additionally, Sour DOTS have five flavors, but are created with a sour sugar; cherry, lemon, orange, grape, and green apple.
Based on the popularity of Original DOTS, Wild Berry DOTS were introduced in 2000. Wild Berry DOTS are sweet, chewy gumdrops coated with a tart, crunchy coating. Wild Berry DOTS were discontinued in 2007.
In 2003, Tropical DOTS began sporting a new "ocean horizon" package and "new, improved" flavors including island nectar, wild mango, grapefruit cooler, carambola melon, and paradise punch.[1]
In 2007, Yogurt DOTS ("fruit and yogurt flavored gumdrops") were released. They come in Strawberry, Banana, Orange, Blackberry, and Lemon-Lime flavors.
Crows are also considered to be part of the DOTS family. Crows were invented in the 1890s by confectioners Ernest Von Au and Joseph Maison. Originally, Crows were to be called "Black Rose", but the printer misheard the name as "Black Crows" and printed wrappers with the wrong name on them.
Hot DOTS (aka Cinnamon DOTS) were released in 2004 but were discontinued in 2006.
Ghost DOTS are uncolored variants of original DOTS, with the small gum drop boxes sporting a Halloween theme illustrating the DOTS as happy ghosts. "Which Flavor? Which Ghost? IT'S A MYSTERY!" is the tag line for the Ghost branded dots.
Bat DOTS are black-colored DOTS that are Blood Orange flavored, with a box featuring a bat-like DOT with an orange slice for a mouth, dripping with orange juice that resembles blood.
Candy Corn DOTS are candy corn flavored gumdrops that resemble candy corn. Their box features a happy scarecrow waving between the O and T in DOTS, and different colored Fall leaves.
During the 1980s, there was a variety of Dots called Spice Dots.
Recently, Tootsie introduced Sour Dots, with the tag-line "The Dot That Bites Back!".
Ingredients
DOTS contain the following ingredients: Corn Syrup, Sugar, Modified Food Starch, Malic Acid, Artificial and Natural Flavors, Sodium Citrate, and Artificial Colors (Including FD&C Red 40, Yellow 5, and Blue 1).
Kosher certification
In December 2009 Tootsie Roll industries announced that a number of its products, including Dots would now be certified as kosher by the Orthodox Union, the world's largest kosher certification agency. New packages would include the O-U symbol (the letter U inside a circle representing the letter O).[2]