9 Bacon-Inspired Candies That Don't Sound Real (But Totally Are)

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If you were on the internet 15 years ago, you know that bacon had a bit of a moment. Thanks to some canny marketing from American pork producers, bacon was embraced as one of the most delicious foods on Earth. Recall Ron Swanson on "Parks and Recreation" gravely ordering a diner cook to "give [him] all the bacon and eggs you have." Then there were those shirts with the periodic table of elements spelling out the word "bacon". The trend may not have aged well ("epic bacon" has become a derogatory term for eye-rolling, millenial cringe), but you can't keep a good pork product down; there are still all sorts of specialty items themed around bacon, including candy.

It sounds absurd at first (honestly, it's a little absurd in practice too), but it also makes a peculiar sort of sense. Candy, after all, is often enhanced by the addition of salt — think about how addicting chocolate-covered pretzels can be — and pork has a subtle sweetness to it that you won't find in, say, chicken or lamb. Anyone who's had candied maple bacon roasted in the oven will tell you it's a solid flavor combination. Still, these candies may or may not be to your taste; if they're not, you can always just stick to classic, mess-free bacon strips.

Some of these entries are earnest attempts to make a tasty, bacon-flavored candy. Not so much with this one, courtesy of the Seattle-based novelty gift dealer Archie McPhee. Thanks to its unpleasantly artificial bacon flavor, this hard candy is more concerned with putting the "gag" in "gag gift." (Said one pithy Amazon review: "Bought as a novelty. It met expectations by tasting horrible.") But hey, it comes in a nice-looking tin, doesn't it?

If you want to see what bacon-flavored candy can be at its best, you may want to give this salt water taffy a try (taffy is admittedly a candy adults love way more than kids do). You can find these chewy morsels in various candy shops across America, and the flavor is better than you'd expect. It finds a good balance between salty and sweet, but your sensitivity for artificial bacon flavors may sway you one way or the other.

This one comes to us from the Des Moines, Iowa-based confectioners at Fairy Tale Cotton Candy, who (in addition to normal, sensible cotton candy flavors) sell novelty flavors like pickle, jalapeño, and maple bacon. The label certainly looks friendly and appealing, but as for the flavor ... well, it depends on how much you like maple and bacon.

If you're getting a little sick of the maple bacon flavor combination, don't worry Melville has you covered. This specialty lollipop maker offers maple bacon lollipops, but it also sells honey bacon and BBQ bacon lollies as well; all enriched with bacon bits encased inside the hard candy. It may not sound like a surefire hit, but if Melville can charge $84 for 24 lollipops and still stay in business, it must be doing something right.

Archie McPhee strikes again! This one goes a little farther than the hard candy above because it seeks to imitate a key part of the bacon experience; namely the tantalizing sizzle that announces an imminent bacon event. In essence, it's just bacon-flavored Pop Rocks (a classic candy from the '70s that give us the ultimate nostalgia), but there are worse things to exist.

Godiva, Ghirardelli, Hammond's Pigs n' Taters; you're probably raising your eyebrows at the name alone. What's actually in these chocolate bars may make them rise even further: They're milk chocolate bars filled with bacon bits and crushed potato chips. Despite the funny name, these are no mere novelty: Hammond's is a legit chocolate company and these bars get solid reviews on Amazon. "I love the potato chip crunch and hint of bacon flavor," said one review. "I highly recommend."

Another one of the more legitimate candies on this list is the Little Piggy Caramels from Roni-Sue's Chocolates (a New York institution not far from Essex Market), which make use of the familiar yet tasty maple bacon combination. A mix of cream, maple syrup, applewood-smoked bacon, and sugar is all it takes to make the core of these candies. The filling is then coated in milk chocolate and topped with a cute little pig symbol.

We've seen a lot of bacon-flavored candy or candy that has bacon bits in it, but what about straight-up candied bacon? Bear Creek Smokehouse has you covered with its Bacon Bark. It's basically just chocolate-covered bacon, which from the sound of it has a 50/50 chance of either being an abomination or bringing about world peace.

The idea of bacon brittle makes a curious amount of sense. After all, one of the most famous kinds of brittle is peanut brittle, which has a similarly sweet, salty, and smoky flavor profile. What's a little bit of meat going to do to change that calculus? Coming to us courtesy of Brittle Brothers (based in Nashville), this bacon brittle seems as good as bacon candy can get.