Bachpan Ke Din: Snacks that define every 90’s kid childhood

Cassettes, landline phones, pen fights, pokemon cards, Noddy- all of these things will transport the 90s kids back to their childhood days. Likewise, the taste of particular snacks or the smell of an old perfume can also make us nostalgic about the beautiful times spent in the past. Looking back, we only realize that we have progressed much beyond the old times, but it is impossible to forget the precious food memories of the 90s.

Here are 7 such foods which were loved by almost every kid of the 90s era. We talked to such people to know about their memories attached to these snacks.

Cheetos

Remembered best as Chester the cheetah, Cheetos challenged our notion of potato chips as they came in the shape of puffs, balls and wheels. The orangey-red colour probably made them look even more appetising.

Also read | “Bachpan ki car” kabhi bhul nahi jana re

Suhail Saify, 23, says, “I always loved the toy cards that came along with Cheetos. I remember buying a Cheeto every day after school in hope to get a new toy to play with.”

Jelly Filled Phone

Jelly kids, here is your memory! Kids loved these phone jellies. Flavoured jellies like- orange, lemon, strawberry, and ripe mango were majorly used in this candy, filled in a phone-shaped bottle. The shape became the centre of attraction and managed to capture hearts.

Nikhil Singh, 24, New Delhi based Graphic Designer, says, “I remember when I was a child, I used to gobble up so many things which I am not able to find these days like the orange shaped candies, jelly cups & one of my all-time favourites, the ice candies in the summer. I don't know why these things got discontinued but we all can agree that they will always be a part of our childhood and will be remembered forever.”

Prakhar Srivastav 24, a resident of Saket, Delhi says, “I used to like those phone shaped jelly’s. They were so amazing. I remember having to cut the top and then enjoy the sweet/sour taste of the jelly. If I see them now, I will buy a whole pack.”

Bytes

As the name suggests, they were meant to eaten in a bite. Filled with chocolate, a packet of bytes was synonymous to joy. The snack won hearts with its scrumptious flavour. These were mini bites of heaven, which had a crunchy texture with rich chocolate filled in it.

Trisha Khanna, 24, a resident of Gurgaon, says, “Cadbury Bytes were a packet of tiny wafer pillows filled with Cadbury chocolate. To me, they were little Cadbury-filled parcels of heaven. Honestly, the flavour is still fresh in my mind, even though they were discontinued almost a decade ago.”

Marbles

I am not sure if you can forget something that made your childhood even more fruity! Marbles were candies, filled with juicy fruit flavours. It had a chewy texture but was not gum. The packet was stuffed with mini balls called marbles. They had unique colours, each indicating a different flavour.

Peepy, Fun-flips

Honestly, there were Uncle Chips and Pringles about which we fantasized most of the time but ended up getting Piknik, Peppy or Fun-flips. But today, even if we want to eat them, they are hardly available anywhere. Those crispy, buttery cheese shots and disks have given immense happiness to our souls and taste buds.

Hitansh Gaur, 22, a resident of Faridabad, says,  “I miss Dip Trix which I used to crave a lot in my childhood and the same goes for Bytes filled with chocolate. They were much better than wafers in my opinion. There were also Hippo chips which were pretty good when you compare them with today's Too Yum or Fun Flips. Another is Cheetos, though they are still available in some selected areas but only of one kind. Some of the others like Cheetos Whoosh have completely disappeared.”

Boomer, Big Babol And Fusen Gums

Buying chewing gums and getting a tattoo for free was something every 90s kid was excited about. Blowing the chewing gum and popping it like a bubble was a style statement during our childhood times. The fun fact is, now many people have chewing gums for facial yoga to flaunt their jawlines better.

Snigdha Banerjee, 22, says, “Whenever someone says 'bachpan ke snacks', I time travel to the late '90s and early 2000. That was the time when I grew up with a wide range of pocket-friendly colourful snacks that we called 'chijji' at that time. Everyone at my age will relate to the value of ₹2 & ₹5 because that's all we got for pocket money. Our pocket money was spent on snacks like a small 2 rupees packet of puffs - fun flips,  1 rupee chewing gum, 5 rupees Cadbury chocolaty bytes and 50 paisa for panpasand toffees. Our generation wasn't restricted to just lays and Doritos, we had the craziest range of snacks, out of which, many have been discontinued and some got rare.”

Phantom Cigarette

This is not just a candy; instead, it was a craze! Kids loved buying Phantom Cigarette to show them off to everyone around. It was a sweet candy stick in the shape of a cigarette made with sugar and corn syrup. It was a privilege back then to smoke this candy cigarette.

Prakshi Verma, 24, resident of Subash Nagar, says, "When I was around 10-12 years old, my elder cousin was eating phantom cigarettes, and I thought he was smoking. When I asked him why are you doing this, he laughed and told me "I am not smoking; it's a candy that is supposed to look like a cigarette". He offered me one, and I absolutely loved it. Since then, it's been my favourite candy; However, I cannot find it anywhere in the market now."

Let us know you’re favourite snacks and story in the comment section below!