Abba-Zaba is a taffy candy bar with peanut butter center, made by the Annabelle Candy Company in Hayward, California.
History
According to the Candy Wrapper Museum, the first Abba Zaba bars were manufactured in 1922 by Colby and McDermott.
[ The Candy Wrapper Museum. The Candy Wrapper Museum. Retrieved on 2014-03-30.] Before Annabelle Candy Co. started manufacturing Abba-Zaba, the packaging featured racist imagery.
Annabelle Candy Co. will only say that the wrapper has been the same for as long as they have manufactured the candy. The bar was later manufactured by the Cardinet Candy Co. along with
U-No Bar. Annabelle Candy purchased the Cardinet Candy Co. in 1978. Annabelle now manufactures both candy bars in addition to others.
Abba-Zaba bars can be found almost exclusively west of the Rockies.
In 2005, Annabelle introduced an apple-flavored taffy variant of Abba-Zaba.
In popular culture
Music
-
The bar was a favorite of rock musician Don Van Vliet, who is best known by his stage name Captain Beefheart. He used the bar's name as a song title on his album Safe as Milk in 1967. Artwork on the rear album sleeve also features a black and yellow checkerboard pattern inspired by the Abba-Zaba wrapper.
-
Abba-Zaba is mentioned, along with Almond Joy in the Tom Waits song "Chocolate Jesus" that appeared on his album Mule Variations.
-
Fenix TX included a song entitled "Abba Zabba" on their 2001 second album Lechuza.
Film
-
Abba-Zaba bars are featured prominently in the 1998 Dave Chappelle comedy film Half Baked.
Series
-
In HBO's Boardwalk Empire Gillian offers an Abba-Zaba bar to her grandson Tommy.
-
In the episode "Brenda's Unemployment" of Rhoda, Brenda Morgenstern mentions wanting a Abba-Zaba bar, even though the show is set in NYC.
Celebrities
-
Actor John Wayne had a sweet tooth and Abba-Zaba bars were his favorite candy.
-
Actress and TV host Tiffani Thiessen counts the candy bars among her favorite snacks on set while filming episodes of Saved By the Bell.
Other sources
External links
