GooGoo Cluster
The Original - Made with Real Milk Chocolate

A GooGoo Cluster Original has a two-layer disc-shaped core.  It has a layer of real nougat, topped by a layer of caramel. And all that is surrounded by milk chocolate with peanuts.  Yummy.

It was invented in 1912 in Nashville, Tennessee, where it is still made today by the Standard Candy Co.

This Original bar has four high-level ingredients - nougat, caramel, milk chocolate and peanuts.  And the company claims that in 1912 it was the first time that multiple elements were ever combined in a mass- produced retail candy.

Ingredients and Nutrition

This is a somewhat unusual ingredients list.  Probably the most unusual thing about it is the sheer number of different kinds of nuts.  Six, including coconut (No, not seven - remember, peanuts are not nuts).

Overall there are 23 ingredients, which is quite a lot.  And - as is not unusual in a long list - they've included several that make you go, "say what?":
    •    Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil
    •    Enzyme Modified Soy Protein
    •    Soy Protein Isolate
    •    Wheat Starch


Nothing really stands out as particularly horrible.  The most problematic is probably fractionated palm kernel oil. 

That's where they start with palm kernel oil, which is a fairly highly saturated fat to begin with.  Then they remove a lot of the less-saturated fats.  This processing results in a product that is even more highly saturated than the original.

Definitely something that many people try to avoid.

INGREDIENTS
    •    Sugar,
    •    Peanuts,
    •    Corn Syrup,
    •    Cocoa Butter,
    •    Fractionated Palm Kernel Oil,
    •    Chocolate Liquor,
    •    Whole Milk Powder,
    •    Non Fat Dry Milk,
    •    Whey Powder,
    •    Soy Lecithin,
    •    Cocoa Powder,
    •    Butter,
    •    Coconut,
    •    Enzyme Modified Soy Protein,
    •    Natural Flavors,
    •    Salt,
    •    Soy Protein Isolate,
    •    Wheat Starch,
    •    Almonds,
    •    Pecans,
    •    Walnuts,
    •    Cashews,
    •    Hazelnuts.

Ingredient quantity = 23

This bar has 240 calories, with 110 of them (46%) from fat.

Like a lot of vintage candies, I really doubt if the ingredient list is the same as it was on day one.  Still, GooGoo Clusters have been in production at the same stand for over a hundred years now.  They must be doing something right.  And it is definitely tasty.

GooGoo Clusters are not usually available at your neighborhood convenience store - they can be a little hard to find.  I got this one at a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Pooler, Georgia.

I paid $1.29 for this 1.75 ounce bar (August 2013).  For comparison purposes, that's $11.79 per pound.  Just a little above average for for popular chocolate candy pricing.

I'm giving this my personal score of 3.4 out of 5 stars for Overall Enjoyment, 3.2 for Nutrition, and 3.5 for Value. Keep in mind this is just my personal opinion.  Your mileage may vary, and there's no accounting for taste.

Goo Goo Clusters are also made in two other versions. To summarize:


    •    Goo Goo Cluster Original (and most popular)
          A 2-layer core (caramel and nougat) covered with milk chocolate and peanuts.


    •    Goo Goo Cluster Supreme
          A 2-layer core (caramel and nougat) covered with milk chocolate and pecan pieces.


    •    Goo Goo Cluster Peanut Butter
          A 1-layer core (peanut butter) covered with milk chocolate and peanuts.


Now you know what a GooGoo Cluster Original  is. 
Any questions?  You know where my Contact Page is!


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The name Goo Goo is supposedly from baby's first words.  As if to imply that this is a candy which proto-customers ask for by name, almost from birth. 

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