It’s that time of year again and no matter what food market or pharmacy you step into, there is guaranteed to be an aisle dedicated to Easter candy, but more specifically to the one and only Peeps. Whether you are pro-Peeps or anti-Peeps, one thing can certainly be agreed upon: after the Easter holiday of baskets filled with sweets, Peeps are the most forgotten “edible” item in the world. Typically, the basket receiver will open up the flimsy paper box and rip off one or two of the marshmallow blobs, but then their eyes will be diverted to the rest of the chocolate eggs and the three or four other Peeps will be abandoned.

These leftover Peeps sit in a pile with the remainder of the candy (and candy wrappers) for a few more days, becoming closer and closer to sediment rocks. The next stage soon arrives when the opened Peeps get stored in the pantry along with the other leftover candy. The one difference? The chocolate supply quickly depletes while the Peeps live on and only see the light of day when someone opens the doors to snack on something else. Cue the depressing violins.

Month after month, new food items come and go and the hardened peeps remain untouched, being shoved into the back corner behind the bags of chips and pretzels. Only when the summer months arrive is the box of Peeps pulled out by its forgetful owners. Yet, the sole reason why these Peeps are pitifully snatched up again is because the household needs marshmallows for s’mores around the campfire; in looking for a Kraft Jet-Puffed marshmallow bag, the Peeps are rediscovered. After a few “These are still in here?” remarks and a quick squeeze to see how similar the Peeps are to blocks of brick, the battered box is thrown into the deep abyss of the garbage. Cue even more depressing violins.

Personally, I enjoy partaking in the eating of Peeps during the Easter season, but I wouldn’t go as far to say that I think they taste good. Basically, when consuming the mystery marshmallow formation, you’re eating air and a cup of colored sugar. Despite the criticism that the puffs receive, I have to give the Peeps Company credit. For a candy company that has been around since the 1940s, they certainly know how to sell the colorful mystery blobs quite efficiently. Today, you can find them in all sorts of colors, flavors, and shapes (they’re not just for the Easter season anymore). Believe it or not, you can buy Peeps in liquid form in chocolate, egg nog, strawberry and orange crème flavor. I don’t think I’ll ever be up to try this form of Peeps, but if you do, let me know how it goes.

Regardless of the vast success that the Peeps Company has attained over the years, I would like to advise all Peep buyers this Easter season to be mindful of the sugar-coated white blobs and to throw them out at an acceptable time. Do not let them turn into bricks and forget them in your pantry like every other year! Enjoy them while you can and in moderation, and don’t be ashamed of eating them in front of Peep haters.