Rhubarb and custard is one of the few boiled sweets where the name tells you exactly what it's trying to be: a sugar-confectionery copy of an actual pudding, not an abstract flavour someone invented from scratch.
A school dinner, in sweet form
Stewed rhubarb with vanilla custard was a staple British dessert for generations, especially common on school dinner menus. The sweet takes that exact pairing - sharp, pink-tinged fruit against a yellow, vanilla-sweet base - and renders it as a striped or two-tone boiled sweet. It's one of the more literal "flavour translations" in British confectionery: no invented fantasy flavour, just a well-loved pudding shrunk down into a boiled sweet.
Why rhubarb had a moment in the first place
Rhubarb's popularity as an ingredient got a real boost in 1837, when grower Joseph Myatt bred the sweeter Victoria variety - named for the new queen that same year. That sweeter rhubarb made it far more useful in desserts and preserves, which is likely part of why it became common enough in British kitchens to be worth turning into a sweet in the first place.
An honest gap: no confirmed invention date
We'd like to tell you exactly who first made a rhubarb and custard boiled sweet and when, but that detail isn't documented anywhere we could verify. What we do know is that long-running British boiled-sweet makers - Stockley's, founded in Accrington in 1918 by Malcolm Stockley on his return from the First World War, among others - have been producing the flavour for a very long time. Rhubarb's popularity dipped during the Second World War, when sugar rationing made sugar-hungry ingredients like rhubarb less practical in cooking generally, sweets included.
What we stock
We carry Haribo Rhubarb & Custard 3kg, the Haribo Rhubarb & Custard Sweets Tub and its 810g size, plus Bonds Rhubarb & Custard Jar 2.5kg. See more classic boiled sweets in our Retro Sweets collection.
Frequently asked questions
What inspired the rhubarb and custard sweet?
The classic British stewed rhubarb and custard dessert, especially common in schools - the sweet copies that pairing directly.
When were rhubarb and custard sweets first made?
No confirmed date is on record, though rhubarb's rise in British kitchens traces to the sweeter Victoria variety bred in 1837.
Why did rhubarb sweets dip in popularity during WWII?
Sugar rationing made sugar-hungry rhubarb less practical to cook with generally, sweets included.
What rhubarb and custard products do you stock?
Haribo Rhubarb & Custard (3kg bag and two tub sizes) and Bonds Rhubarb & Custard 2.5kg jar.