GooGoo Cluster
Encyclopedia
The GooGoo Cluster is an American
candy bar
sold since 1899 in Nashville, Tennessee
. It was developed by Howell Campbell and the Standard Candy Company. The disk-shaped candy bar contains marshmallow
, caramel
and roasted peanuts
covered in milk chocolate
. GooGoo Cluster is considered the first combination candy bar, meaning it contained several types of candy rather than an all-chocolate bar. The name is thought to refer to the sound a baby makes; another, somewhat questionable theory is that the candy was sold at the Grand Ole Opry
(GOO), except that the Opry was established in 1925, 13 years after the candy's debut. However, Standard Candy (with particular emphasis on the GooGoo Cluster) was a long-time sponsor of the program.
During the Great Depression
, Goo Goo Clusters were advertised as "a nourishing lunch for a nickel." This slogan was used until the 1950s.
Variations include GooGoo Supreme (pecans replace the peanuts) and Peanut Butter GooGoo (peanut butter replaces marshmallow).
GooGoo Clusters have appeared in the movies Nashville (film), The Nutty Professor
and Charlie's War.
GooGoo Clusters have also appeared throughout the PC video game "Redneck Rampage
" and "Viva Pinata
".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
candy bar
Candy bar
A chocolate bar is a confection in bar form comprising some or all of the following components: cocoa solids, cocoa butter, sugar, milk. The relative presence or absence of these components form the subclasses of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. In addition to these main...
sold since 1899 in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. It was developed by Howell Campbell and the Standard Candy Company. The disk-shaped candy bar contains marshmallow
Marshmallow
The marshmallow is a confection that, in its modern form, typically consists of sugar, corn syrup, water, gelatin that has been softened in hot water, dextrose, vanilla flavourings, and sometimes colouring, whipped to a spongy consistency. Some marshmallow recipes call for egg whites...
, caramel
Caramel
Caramel is a beige to dark-brown confection made by heating any of a variety of sugars. It is used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, and as a topping for ice cream, custard and coffee....
and roasted peanuts
Peanuts
Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
covered in milk chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
. GooGoo Cluster is considered the first combination candy bar, meaning it contained several types of candy rather than an all-chocolate bar. The name is thought to refer to the sound a baby makes; another, somewhat questionable theory is that the candy was sold at the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
(GOO), except that the Opry was established in 1925, 13 years after the candy's debut. However, Standard Candy (with particular emphasis on the GooGoo Cluster) was a long-time sponsor of the program.
During the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, Goo Goo Clusters were advertised as "a nourishing lunch for a nickel." This slogan was used until the 1950s.
Variations include GooGoo Supreme (pecans replace the peanuts) and Peanut Butter GooGoo (peanut butter replaces marshmallow).
GooGoo Clusters have appeared in the movies Nashville (film), The Nutty Professor
The Nutty Professor
The Nutty Professor is a 1963 Paramount Pictures science fiction comedy feature film produced, directed, co-written and starring Jerry Lewis...
and Charlie's War.
GooGoo Clusters have also appeared throughout the PC video game "Redneck Rampage
Redneck Rampage
Redneck Rampage is a 1997 first-person shooter game designed by Xatrix Entertainment and published by Interplay. The game features songs by Mojo Nixon, Reverend Horton Heat, Beat Farmers and other Psychobilly artists. As the name implies, Redneck Rampage has many hillbilly elements in it...
" and "Viva Pinata
Viva Piñata
Viva Piñata is a life simulation game developed by Rare, for the Xbox 360 video game console. The project was headed by Gregg Mayles and the team behind the Banjo-Kazooie series, based on an idea from Tim Stamper. Although rumors of the title circulated among fans for some time, Viva Piñata was...
".