The Unexpected Fruit Flavor That Inspired Swedish Fish

Swedish Fish candies have been popular in the United States for more than half a century. The soft and chewy piscine-shaped confections are made to resemble surströmming, a traditional Swedish dish of fermented sour herring that's notorious for its strong odor. Thankfully, the candy version neither smells nor tastes like pickled fish, but what it actually does taste like is somewhat of a mystery.  

The essence is definitely sweet and fruity, but pinning down the actual flavor is nearly impossible. Many people assume it's cherry while some swear that it's strawberry, watermelon, or even fruit punch. While Mondelez International, the company that produces the gummy goodies, has never officially confirmed this as fact, all signs point to the real flavor of Swedish Fish as being lingonberry. Hints have been dropped on Facebook by the manufacturer, such as picturing one of the candies captioned with "I just want to be a lil lingonberry fish," and "born to be lingonberry."

Lingonberries, also known as cowberries, are a Scandinavian berry related to (and resembling) cranberries, but taste less tart. Although folks in the U.S. may only be familiar with it in the form of lingonberry jam — a must-have in order to eat Ikea's Swedish meatballs the right way — the fruit is commonly enjoyed in Nordic countries.

If you're curious to taste lingonberries, you'd be hard-pressed to pick up the flavor in Swedish Fish. There's no actual fruit in the candy; its ingredients include sugar, invert sugar, corn syrup, modified corn starch, citric acid, white mineral oil, natural and artificial flavors, carnauba wax, and Red 40 food coloring. While there might be some derivation of fruit that qualifies as the "natural flavor," the bulk of the candy is composed of sugar and other sweeteners, along with preservatives and stabilizers. 

One thing you won't find in Swedish Fish is gelatin, which distinguishes them from gummy candies like gummy bears, worms, or cola bottles. The fish are actually "wine gums" or starch jellies. Gelatin is made from animal products — namely, the collagen from bones and ligaments, which explains why some gummy candy isn't actually vegan. Much to the delight of vegetarians and vegans alike (and despite the name), Swedish Fish are animal-free.

In Sweden, this candy is called pastellfiskar, which translates to pale-color or pastel fish. While in America, we're mostly familiar with the red berry-flavored kind, a very different version is popular in Sweden, too. There, the Malaco company (which invented the original Swedish Fish) also sells a black variety known as salmiak. Salmiak has a salty black licorice flavor that gets its briny pop from ammonium chloride.

In the middle of the century, the Cadbury company partnered with Malaco to bring Swedish Fish to the States. Cadbury later merged with the Adams & Sons Company, whose founder invented modern-day chewing gum that was sold in the very first food vending machines. The Cadbury group was acquired by Kraft in 2010, which then split into two companies in 2012: Kraft Foods Group in North America and Mondelez International. Today, it is distributed in the United States by SnackWorks. 

Aside from Swedish Fish, Mondelez via SnackWorks also owns many other beloved snack and candy brands, including Ritz, Chips Ahoy, Belvita, Honey Maid, Teddy Grahams, Nilla Wafers, Nutter Butter, Toblerone, Oreo, and Clif Bar. And even if you're not in Sweden, you may have seen Swedish Fish in colors other than just red or black. The company now makes a blue raspberry lemonade version, as well as a mini tropical pack that comes with little fishies in piña colada, tropical island, beachy punch, and passion fruit flavors.

The ocean-themed Swedish Fish and Friends brings attention to endangered sea creatures, such as the green sea turtle (watermelon flavored) and the Amazon river dolphin (in strawberry). Two of the brand's latest offerings are limited edition Snapple-flavored fish in the juice drink's fruit punch, kiwi strawberry, and Mango Madness flavors.