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What Makes Sour Candy So Mouth-Puckering?

Sour candy has a unique way of making your taste buds tingle, delivering an intense puckering sensation. But what exactly gives sour candy its mouth-watering tang? It all comes down to specific acids to create that lip-smacking flavor. The sourness in candy is primarily achieved through citric, malic, tartaric, and fumaric acids. These naturally-occurring compounds are what you taste in sour fruits like lemons or green apples. When added to candy, they mimic the same sharp, tangy flavor but in a much more concentrated form.

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Citric acid, commonly found in citrus fruits, is the most often used in sour candies. Its bright, tangy taste provides a familiar and refreshing sourness. Malic acid, which occurs in green apples and cherries, delivers a more intense which is why it's often used in extra-sour candies. Tartaric acid, which occurs naturally in grapes, adds a dry, almost astringent sourness, while fumaric acid is prized for its super-concentrated, long-lasting tang and is often used in powders that coat extremely sour treats.

In fact, much of a sour candy's intensity comes from its coating, as candies like sour gummies are dusted with a blend of sugar and acid powders. This coating is the first thing to hit your tongue, delivering a burst of sour flavor before the sweetness beneath takes over. The contrast between sweet and sour creates a dynamic taste experience that keeps you coming back for more.

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Why does sour candy make you pucker?

You now know what sort of acids make sour candy sour, but what exactly are they doing when they make contact with your taste buds? When the acids hit your tongue, they stimulate sour-tasting receptors there, causing that signature puckering reaction. Some sour candies are so potent that they may even cause a slight tingle or temporary sensitivity in your mouth — a testament to just how powerful those acids can be.

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For those who can't get enough of the tang, sour candies come in a variety of styles and intensities, from mildly tart gummies to shockingly sour hard candies. They probably have every kind imaginable at America's largest candy store in Ohio (although even it won't likely have the discontinued Altoids Sours in stock). Whether you enjoy the gentle zing of sour belts or the extreme sourness of candies like Warheads, understanding what's behind the tang only makes the experience sweeter — or, in this case, sourer!

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