What Exactly Is The Flavor Of Swedish Fish?
Swedish Fish are the nautical gummy of the candy world. With a neon red color scheme and coming in both regular or miniature sizes, there's no denying that these chewy fish candies have made quite the splash in the candy market. They did make an impressive $126.8 million in profit in 2021, after all. But for as popular as Swedish Fish are, do we even know what they are supposed to taste like?
For some, the crimson gummy fish may have a taste similar to cherry, while others may find the taste to be closer to that of strawberry. Others may even say that the taste reminds them of fruit punch. Who could blame them? After all, when you see a red-colored candy, you're most likely expecting to taste one of those popular flavors. While these are all good guesses, none of them are correct.
The true flavor, believe it or not, isn't cherry, strawberry, or fruit punch. In fact, it's a berry — a lingonberry, to be exact.
The true flavor of Swedish Fish is lingonberry
Chances are you might not have had a lingonberry before. But if you ever chewed down on a pack of Swedish Fish, you've certainly tasted the flavor of one. Lingonberry is a type of berry found in Europe and certain parts of North America. Lingonberries, much like berries here in the United States, serve as a popular flavoring in Europe, especially in Scandinavia.
The flavor of a fresh lingonberry is described as being tart and sour but also subtly sweet, similar to the flavor of a cranberry. If you're thinking that if Swedish Fish are lingonberry-flavored then they should also taste tart, you're not exactly wrong. However, this is a case of the real fruit and its artificial counterpart not being entirely one and the same. Just as artificial banana flavoring doesn't taste exactly like the bananas you're used to eating, lingonberry flavoring doesn't taste the same as fresh lingonberry. When sugars and other sweeteners are added, the flavor is further removed from tasting like the actual berry.
Although Swedish Fish by themselves will have that familiar lingonberry taste to them, artificial or not, the flavor of Swedish Fish themselves has been the basis for a few unique treats over the years
The famous candy has spurned many Swedish Fish-flavored items
If you're a fan of the Italian ice chain Rita's, you'll know that among the many popular flavors of its Italian ices, the "Swedish Fish" flavor is one of its most famous. The company rolled out this candy-inspired flavor back in the summer of 2009, having partnered with Cadbury to produce it. The flavor has since become a popular staple of the Italian ice chain, with many praising how accurately Rita's managed to capture the sweet "red" flavor of the classic gummy fish. In fact, a 2009 review from The Impulsive Buy stated that the sugary sweet flavor of Swedish Fish is actually improved by the cold texture of the shaved ice.
Even Oreos attempted to jump on the Swedish Fish bandwagon, though with somewhat less successful results. In 2016, Oreo rolled out Swedish Fish Oreos, cookies stuffed with a bright red Swedish Fish-flavored crème filling. Although the combination of a famous cookie and a famous gummy treat was certainly eye-catching, the end result wasn't anything truly spectacular. A CBS News review of the cookies described the bizarre, off-putting taste of the chocolate and fruit flavors together, and claimed that the filling even had a "medicine-like" aftertaste. It seems Swedish Fish and its complex flavor profile don't go well with everything.