Jessica Benedek, senior, first tried freeze dried Skittles two years ago with her grandmother while on vacation and loved it.

“They’re better freeze dried,” Benedek said. “The texture is, like, softer than regular Skittles, but they taste the same.”

Freeze dried candy like the ones Benedek tried are popular today after they became a trend online. This candy is a powdery version of the original. Some versions  include freeze dried Skittles, Jolly Ranchers and gummy worms.

Fable Mauss, freshman, tried a freeze dried gummy worm.

“It tasted like if Fruit Loops were sweeter and artificial,” Mauss said. “It was not very good at all. It’s like if colored sugar and Pirates Booty had a baby.”

Patrick Schrappen, chemistry teacher, said America has a long history with freeze drying foods. Schrappen said that early in the 1920s, lots of companies were finding better success if they freeze dried foods. 

“The freezing of foods, especially fruits and vegetables, was huge back starting in the 20s into the 30s,” Schrappen said. “It became a huge part of American culture.”

Schrappen said the reason candy started becoming freeze dried was because of a need for storage without spoiling because candy would go bad after a certain amount of time.

The process essentially freezes the product in a non-water based environment to a certain temperature using dry ice, which then allows the moisture to be drawn out, which dries the candy.

“Anytime you freeze something, you’re causing the crystals in the food item to change,” Schrappen said. “When you defrost it, it’s going to change those crystals again, which definitely changes the flavor of the food.”

Armani Irving, sophomore, tried freeze dried peach rings.

“They kinda tasted like sour Kool-Aid, and they remind me of crunchy Funyuns,” Irving said.

Josie Muenks, foods teacher, said she’s seen the freeze dried candy everywhere. The first candy she tried was freeze dried Skittles from a senior in her class last semester. In her opinion the candy is good, but it’s not her favorite.

“I do like sour candy, but for some reason the texture is, like, powdery and just falls apart, and I like something that’s either chewy or chocolaty,” Muenks said.

Ashwin Premkumar, freshman, heard a lot about freeze dried candy online, and heard that it was incredibly popular, so he wanted to try it.

“It was really new to me, and it was one of my first times trying it,” Premkumar said. 

In particular, Premkumar tried blue raspberry freeze dried candy from a gas station, and his favorite part of it was the texture.

Max Ungerboeck, junior, tried a Skittles version of freeze dried candy.

“They tasted very good,” Ungerboeck said. “It looks like something I would find on the floor as a kid and really want to eat it.”

This story was originally published on Marquette Messenger on February 27, 2025.