Boiled sweets are one of the oldest forms of confectionery still in mainstream production. They have been around in one form or another for centuries, and the classics that were popular in British sweet shops fifty years ago are largely the same ones people are still buying today. Cola cubes, pear drops, sherbet lemons, rhubarb and custard sweets: none of them have been reformulated, rebranded or given a modern makeover. They are exactly what they have always been.
This guide covers the main types of boiled sweet, what makes each one worth trying, and which ones to look for if you want a proper retro sweet shop selection.
What Are Boiled Sweets?
How They Are Made
Boiled sweets are made by heating sugar and glucose syrup to a high temperature until the mixture reaches what confectioners call the hard crack stage. At that point it becomes glass-like when cooled: hard, brittle and clear. Flavourings and colourings are added before the mixture is shaped, either by pulling and cutting into pieces or by pressing into moulds. The result is a dense, hard sweet that dissolves slowly on the tongue rather than being chewed.
The process is essentially the same as it was when the first boiled sweets were made in the nineteenth century. The equipment has changed. The chemistry has not.
Why They Last So Long
Boiled sweets have a very low moisture content, which is why they have such a long shelf life. There is nothing in them to go stale or spoil quickly. A bag kept in a cool, dry place will stay good for months. This makes them practical for stocking up in bulk, keeping in a tin, or ordering online without worrying about them arriving past their best.
The Classic Boiled Sweets Worth Knowing
Cola Cubes
Cola cubes are one of the most recognisable boiled sweets in the UK. Small, red and square, they have a sharp cola flavour with a slight fizz from the tartaric acid in the recipe. The flavour is more concentrated than an actual cola drink and noticeably more acidic, which is part of the appeal. They are consistently one of the best-selling retro sweets and have been for decades.
Sherbet Lemons
Sherbet lemons are a hard lemon-flavoured boiled sweet with a sherbet centre. Crack through the outer shell and there is a burst of fizzy powder inside, which gives them an extra dimension that straightforward fruit drops do not have. The lemon flavour is sharp and properly citrusy rather than sweet, and the sherbet adds a bit of theatre. They are one of the longest-running picks in any traditional sweet shop selection.
Rhubarb and Custard Sweets
Rhubarb and custard sweets are two-tone, pink and yellow, with a flavour that genuinely captures the combination of tart rhubarb and creamy custard. The contrast between the sharp rhubarb side and the sweeter custard side is what makes them interesting. They are harder to find in supermarkets than they once were, but they remain a genuinely popular retro choice.
Pear Drops
Pear drops have a distinct artificial pear flavour that comes from isoamyl acetate, the same ester used to give banana sweets their characteristic taste. The combination of pear and banana notes is unusual but works. Traditional pear drops are half pink and half yellow, and the flavour is sharper than you might expect from something shaped like fruit. They are one of the older formats still in production and have been a sweet shop staple since the Victorian era.
Army and Navy Sweets
Army and navy sweets are black, lozenge-shaped tablets with a flavour that combines liquorice, aniseed and something faintly medicinal that people either find comforting or impenetrable. The name reportedly derives from their popularity with service personnel during the First World War. They are not a sweet for everyone, but they have a devoted following among people who grew up with them and among anyone who likes the liquorice-aniseed flavour family.
Aniseed Twists
Aniseed twists are a soft-style boiled sweet twisted into a spiral shape and dusted with aniseed. The texture is slightly softer than a hard boiled sweet, sitting somewhere between a chew and a proper boiled. The aniseed flavour is strong and clean, with a similar profile to liquorice but lighter. They are a traditional pick and mix staple and one of the more divisive sweets in any selection, loved by people who like aniseed and completely ignored by those who do not.
Humbugs
Humbugs are striped, mint-flavoured boiled sweets, usually black and white, with a soft toffee centre. The mint flavour is strong and the toffee centre gives them a different texture from other boiled sweets once you work through the hard outer shell. They are a classic sweet tin staple and one of the few boiled sweets where the flavour works as well in a sugar-free version as in the standard one.
Are Boiled Sweets Vegan?
Most Are, but Check the Label
Traditional boiled sweets are made from sugar, glucose syrup and flavourings, with no animal-derived ingredients. Cola cubes, pear drops, rhubarb and custard sweets, sherbet lemons and aniseed twists are all typically vegan friendly. Army and navy tablets are also usually vegan.
Some manufacturers add beeswax as a glazing agent to give sweets a shiny finish, which makes those products unsuitable for vegans. Humbugs sometimes contain beeswax glaze depending on the brand. If you are buying for someone who is vegan, check the individual product page or browse the vegan sweets range.
Are They Gluten Free?
Standard boiled sweets made from sugar and glucose syrup are naturally gluten free. There is no wheat or barley in a traditional boiled sweet recipe. The main thing to watch for is cross-contamination if the sweets are made in a facility that also handles wheat-based products. For people with coeliac disease, checking the individual product for manufacturing information is worth doing. Browse the gluten free sweets range for confirmed options.
Buying Boiled Sweets in Bulk
What Is Available
The full boiled sweets range at One Pound Sweets covers all the classics: cola cubes, sherbet lemons, rhubarb and custard, pear drops, army and navy tablets, aniseed twists and humbugs, all available from £1 a bag. If you want to try several at once, the Haribo Nostalgix range is worth a look: gummy versions of the classic boiled sweet flavours including cola cubes, pear drops and rhubarb and custard, in a softer format for anyone who prefers not to work through a hard sweet.
For Events and Sweet Tables
Boiled sweets work well for retro-themed sweet tables and party bags because they look the part. The two-tone pink and yellow of rhubarb and custard, the red of cola cubes, the yellow of pear drops: they give a selection visual variety alongside the flavour variety. They are also among the least expensive options per bag, which makes filling a table practical without spending a lot. Orders over £20 qualify for free UK delivery. The full cases range has bulk pricing on high-volume orders.
Boiled sweets have outlasted a lot of trends in confectionery because the format is genuinely good. Hard, long-lasting, intensely flavoured and cheap: there is not much to improve on. The same sweets that were in British sweet shops in the 1970s are still the ones people reach for today, which tells you everything you need to know about how well they work.
Shop Boiled Sweets at One Pound Sweets
Browse the full range of traditional boiled sweets from £1 a bag, with free UK delivery on orders over £20.