The Sweet, Sweet Taste of Home

Pearson Candy Co.

Customer Service

2140 E. 9th St.

P.O. Box 66459

St. Paul, Minn. 55164

(612) 698-0356

Check or money order only

In 1982, the Pearson Candy Co. of St. Paul, Minn., stopped making Nut Goodie candy bars. The result? “We got angry letters,” recalls Judy Johnston, executive vice president of Pearson’s. “People were even calling the radio station to form a group to restore the Nut Goodie.” In the end, Minnesotans made such a fuss the company brought the bar back.

Looking more like a cow pie than a candy bar, the Nut Goodie is a concoction of peanuts and milk chocolate with a creamy maple center. It is exactly the same as it was when it was first made in 1912--it even comes in the same wrapper. But the firm, which makes only four basic bars, is so small (it employs 160 people) that the candy bars are available only in Minnesota, Iowa, the Dakotas and western Wisconsin.

This has made life difficult for people who leave the Midwest. In fact, so many former Midwesterners wrote to request Nut Goodies that Pearson has started shipping them in boxes of 24 for $13.50, including postage. Should you think 24 candy bars too much temptation, remember that you can always store them in the freezer: They are delicious either room temperature or ice-cold.