Everlasting Gobstopper

The Everlasting Gobstopper is both a fictional brand of gobstopper, and a real-life confection named after the fictional product.

Literary Everlasting Gobstoppers

While jawbreakers have been known as Gobstoppers in the United Kingdom for at least eighty years, the fictional Everlasting Gobstoppers first appeared in Roald Dahl's 1964 children's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and later in its two movie adaptations (the 1971 musical Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and the 2005 Tim Burton adaptation Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). In Dahl's story, Everlasting Gobstoppers were designed by Willy Wonka, the owner of a massive chocolate factory, for children with "very little pocket-money," and were purported to last forever, as the name suggests. If someone bit an Everlasting Gobstopper, the person would break their teeth. It's also mentioned in the book that it is like a gum in that it never loses its flavor or texture.

In the original novel, the Everlasting Gobstopper looked like a normal round jawbreaker which flashed with a variety of colors. In the 1971 film, it had a defined core with small colored bursts traversing the outside of the core, similar to kompeito or a bumble ball. The 2005 film showed Everlasting Gobstoppers as they were in the novel, as round jawbreaker-like candies.

Nestlé Everlasting Gobstoppers

Everlasting Gobstoppers

A product called Everlasting Gobstoppers was introduced in 1976 by the Chicago candy company Breaker Confections, which had licensed the "Willy Wonka" name in 1971 so that it could be used as a merchandising tie-in for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.^[1] It was not everlasting. The Willy Wonka Candy Company brand is now owned by Nestlé, and made in Itasca, Illinois.^[1]

The standard type has a chalky center somewhat like a SweeTart. A version with a chewy center is also available.

See also

Wonka Bar

References