Candy Facts, Myths and Sweet & Sour Tidbits
Cavemen satisfied their sugar cravings by chewing on bee hive honey -- the first candy.
Hard candy is made with hot temperatures, soft candy is made using medium heat and chewy candy is made with cool temperatures.
In 1997, Americans ate over 24 pounds of candy per capita, not including chewing gum.
Midwestern and northeastern states eat more candy than other region in the United States.
Children spend most of their money on candy.
Trivia and Facts about Candy
Trivia about Candy
- It takes an average of 252 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. Source: recent Purdue University study.
- Every day Tootsie Roll Industries produces 16 million Tootsie Pops.
- Tootsie Rolls were once marketed as a health food! Their slogan was, "Eat Tootsie Rolls — The Luscious Candy That Helps Beat Fatigue"!
- Nearly 9 billion pieces of candy corn are produced annually. What is Candy Corn, exactly? Sugar, corn syrup, and marshmallow.
- Halloween is responsible for 3/4 of the annual sales of candy corn.
- When trick-or-treating first became popular in the United States in the 1800s, more children played mischievous pranks than asked for candy. By the 1950s, though, the focus had switched to good old family fun, with sugar-hyped children dressed in costumes.
- The most popular holidays for candy are Halloween, followed by Easter, Christmas and Valentine's Day!
- There are about 1,600 candy manufacturng companies in the United States. But just 2 manufacture 15 of the top 20 selling chocolate candy bars - Hershey and Mars.
- The most popular Halloween candy is Snickers fun-size bars.
- Chocolate makes up about three-quarters of a trick-or-treater’s loot, according to the National Confectioners Association.
- 93% of children in the U.S. go "trick or treating."
- The Aztecs of Mexico introduced Europeans to chocolate in the 16th century, but not in the form we know today. Chocolate was originally a sweetened drink that only the wealthy would consume!
- There are 22 M&M colors.
- M&Ms are the most popular chocolate candy in the U.S. with annual sales of $425 million.
- Prohibition was a ripe time for introducing new candy bars. Between 1920 and 1930 these new candy bars were introduced: Baby Ruth, Oh Henry, Mounds, Milky Way, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Mr. Goodbar, Butterfinger and Snickers. Source: Inc magazine. I need my chocolate fix - quick, throw me a peanut M&M.
- Fairy Floss was the original name of the cotton candy. It was invented by William Morrison. Cotton Candy has only one ingredient, sugar.
- In the United States, December 7th is National Cotton Candy day. For a list of all the candy days check out http://www.candyusa.com/FunStuff//content.cfm?ItemNumber=987&navItemNumber=4911
- Candy corn – Used to be called “chicken feed” and was a popular Easter candy due to the association with baby farm animals.
- Americans over 18 years of age consume 65 percent of the candy which is produced each year.
- About 65 percent of American candy brands have introduced before more than 50 years.
- Leave a Skittle in water, and the S floats to the surface.
- The Snickers candy bar, which was introduced in 1929 by Frank and Ethel Mars, was named after the family horse.
- For Valentine's Day more than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate are sold
- In the 1800's physicians commonly advised their broken-hearted patients to eat chocolate to calm their pining.
- The ancient Aztecs believed that chocolate was an aphrodisiac. Chocolate contains phenyl ethylamine (PEA), a natural substance that is said to stimulate the same reaction in the body as falling in love.
- During the 1849 Gold Rush, Dombringo Ghirardelli from Italy began making chocolate in San Francisco. His factory still stands at Ghirardelli Square.
- Daniel Peter and Henri Nestle created milk chocolate in 1875.
- In 1871, at the age of 19, Milton Hershey setup his confectionary shop in Philadelphia.
- Milky Way – Used to be huge – weighing upwards of four ounces (compare to 1.5 ounces today).
- A one-ounce piece of milk chocolate and a cup of decaffeinated coffee contain the same amount of caffeine.
- Some candies, such as lollipops, candy canes, gummy bears, gum drops, licorice twist and sour balls are free of fat and cholesterol, making them a healthier treat than many people realize.
- Licorice has a rich history! Napoleon Bonaparte found it soothing for battle, and a large surplus of licorice was found in King Tut's tomb!
- 2.8 billion pounds of chocolate are consumed in America each year, which is over 11 pounds per person.
- Americans consume an average of 22 pounds of candy each year (equally candy and chocolate). That's far less than most Europeans eat.
- M & M’s – Were named for the inventor Forrest Mars, Jr, and his business associate Bruce Murrie of Hershey’s chocolate.
- The U.S. produce more chocolate than any other country in the world but the Swiss consume the most, followed closely by the United Kingdom.
- The melting point of cocoa butter is just below the body temperature, which is why chocolate melts when you put it in your mouth.
- Chocolate can be lethal to dogs. Chocolate's toxicity is caused by Theo bromine, an ingredient that stimulates the cardiac muscle and the central nervous system. For a 10-lb puppy about two ounces of milk chocolate can be poisonous.
- More than $7 billion a year are spent on chocolate.
- Sixty million chocolate Easter bunnies are produced each year.
- Americans eat 25 pounds of candy, per person, per year. The people of Denmark eat more 36 pounds of candy per person, per year.
- Rock candy takes the longest of any candy to produce! It can take anywhere from a few days to weeks to form!
- A lollipop, which was invented by George Smith in 1908, was named after Lolly Pop, a racing horse.
- According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Franssons of Sweden made the world's largest lollipop weighted 4.759.1 pounds for a festival on July 27, 2003. It was cherry-flavored.
Important Dates In History
It is believed that the idea of a sweet treat was first conceived by cavemen. The caveman satisfied his sweet tooth with honey from beehives. Long before we had sugar the Egyptians, the Chinese, the Indians, the people of Middle East, and then the Greeks and Romans combined fruits and nuts with honey to make candy. The first sweets were consumed as a sort of medical treatment for digestive troubles.
1600s
Ancient Olmec civilizations of Mexico made the first chocolate drink. The Spaniards introduced Europe to chocolate in 16th century. History suggests that in 1670, the cane shaped candy became historical when a choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany bent the sugar-sticks into canes to appear as shepherd's hooks.
1700s
As sugar became a more available, people in England and in America ate boiled sugar candies mixed with fruit and nuts. The first chocolate factory in the United States was established in 1765.
1800s
Caramels and lollipops were known in the early eighteen century. By the mid-1800s over 380 factories was built in the United States to manufacture candy. Most of them were producing individual hard candies which were then sold loose
1847 The first candy bar for the mass market was created by Joseph Fry.
1847 The first documented example of the use of candy canes to celebrate Christmas occurred, when August Imgard, a German-Swedish immigrant, from Wooster, Ohio decorated the Christmas tree with paper ornaments and candy canes.
1854 The first packaged box of Whitman's chocolate was introduced.
1868 Richard Cadbury introduces the first Valentine's Day box of chocolates.
1876 David Peter and Henry Nestle from Switzerland created the first milk chocolate which made the American candy bar such a phenomenon of the late nineteenth century.
1880s Wunderle Candy Company creates candy corn. In 1898, Goelitz Confectionery Company began making candy corn and has made this Halloween favorite longer than any other company. The Goelitz Company which is now known as the Jelly Belly Company. Have used the same recipe for over 100 years.
1893 William Wrigley, Jr. introduces Juicy Fruit gum and Wrigley's Spearmint gum.
1896 Tootsie Rolls debut, introduced by Leo Hirshfield of New York who named them after his daughter's nickname, "Tootsie". In 1896 Tootsie Roll cost one cent. In fact, it was the first "individually wrapped penny candy". The Tootsie Company makes 64 million Tootsie Rolls a day.
1897 The first electrical cotton candy machine was invented by William Morrison and John C. Wharton, candy maker from Nashville and they presented cotton candy to a wide audience at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair as Fairy Floss with great success, selling 68.655 boxes at the then-high cost of 25 cents, which was half of the cost of admission to the fair.
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1900s
1900 Milton S. Hershey of Lancaster, PA introduces the first Hershey milk chocolate bar.
1901 The King Leo pure peppermint stick candy is developed and trademarked. The stick has been in continuous production since then and is still offered today in old-fashioned gift tins with the King Leo Lion motif by its current manufacturer, Quality Candy Company, Inc.
1901 Pastel-colored little candy disks called NECCO wafers first appear named for the acronym of the New England Confectionery Company.
1902 Necco makes the first conversation hearts - tiny Valentine's Day favorites with messages printed on them.
1905 The Squirrel Brand Company of Massachusetts creates the first peanut bar.
1907 Hershey's Kisses chocolates appear in their familiar foil wraps.
1908 George Smith invented the first modern style Lolly Pop. In 1931 he trademarked the lollipop name.
1910s
1912 Life Savers, the candy named for its ring shape with the hole in the center is introduced in peppermint flavor. It would be 22 years before the popular five-flavor roll is introduced.
1912 The Whitman's Sampler box of chocolates is born when the company president decides the needlework sampler hanging in his home would make beautiful packaging. It is the the first box of chocolates to include a now-famous index showing the filling in each candy.
1913 Goo Goo Clusters, a Southern favorite, is the first bar to combine milk chocolate, caramel, marshmallow and peanuts.
1920s
1920 Fannie May Candies opens its first candy shop in Chicago, producing a variety of chocolate enrobed buttercreams and caramels.
1920's Bob McCormack, from Atlanta, was the first to use candy canes as special treats for Christmas for his friends and family. His company, Bob's Candies was the first company to mass-produce and distribute candy canes worldwide, and has been in business for over ninty years. Farley's & Sathers bought Bobs from the McCormack family in 2005.
1920 The Baby Ruth candy bar is first sold, named for President Grover Cleveland's daughter - not the famous baseball player.
1921 Chuckles - colorful, sugared jelly candies are first made.
1922 Goldenberg's Peanut Chews are first made in Philadelphia and soon became popular along the East Coast.
1922 Hans Riegel invents a chewy candy called the "dancing bear". Later this confection became known as gummi bears.
1923 Mounds, the double candy bar, offers a coconut filling enrobed in chocolate.
1923 M&M/Mars Milk Way Bar is the first of many candies to be introduced by the Mars family, created to taste like a malted milk that would be available anywhere, any time.
1925 Bit-O-Honey debuts, the honey-flavored taffy bar made with bits of almond.
1926 Milk Duds are introduced as bite-size caramel morsels covered in chocolate.
1928 Crunchy Heath Bars appear, offering chocolate covered toffee.
1928 Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, named for the man who created them, are a peanut butter-chocolate combination among the most popular candy bars today.
1930s
1930 M&M/Mars introduces the Snickers Bar, named for a favorite horse owned by the Mars family. It is the number-one selling candy bar in the U.S. today.
1930's Ferrara Pan Candy Company introduces Boston Baked Beans. Ferrara has the ability to make 38,600 pounds of Boston Baked Beans per day.
1931 Tootsie Roll Pops are introduced and soon widely advertised as the lollipop that offers two candies in one - flavored hard candy on the outside and chewy Tootsie Roll center inside.
1931 Valomilk, the creamy marshmallow center candy bar, was created by accident when a candymaker at Sifers Candy Company forgot about a batch of cooking marshmallow and it remained runny when cooled. Combined with chocolate, it made a wonderful, gooey treat.
1932 MARS® Almond Bar introduced by M&M/MARS
1932 Katherine Beecher Butter Mints are melt-in-your mouth butter mints perfected by Katherine Beecher in her Manchester, PA candy company where they are still made today, according to the original recipe.
1932 Red Hots are made by Ferrara Pan Candy Company. These fiery little candy pellets are flavored with cinnamon.
1932 M&M/Mars debuts the 3 Musketeers Bar, originally made as a three-flavor bar featuring chocolate, vanilla and strawberry nougat. In 1945, it was changed to all chocolate nougat.
1936 The 5th Avenue Bar was originated by the man perhaps best known for his cough drops - William H. Luden. It was made from layers of peanut butter crunch coated in milk chocolate.
1938 Bartons is founded and is the maker of "Almond Kisses", two almonds surrounded by caramel. They are now owned by Cherrydale Farms/Haddinton Farms.
1939 Hershey's Miniatures chocolate bars debut.
1940s
1941 "M&M's" Plain Chocolate Candies are introduced in response to slack chocolate sales in summer. Fifty-nine years later, M&M/Mars changed the name of this popular candy item to "M&M's" Milk Chocolate Candies.
1942-1945 Women working on the Whitman's Sampler production line secretly slipped notes to soldiers in those boxes destined for military shipment. The notes resulted in several long-term friendships and even a few marriages.
1949 Junior Mints offer soft mint centers drenched in dark chocolate.
1949 Smarties small pastel candy disks are introduced, followed by the Smarties Necklace nine years later.
1949 El Bubble Bubble Gum Cigars are the first five-cent bubble gum. In the mid-1980s, the same company began to make pink and blue bubble gum cigars to celebrate births.
1950s
1950 Bobs Candy Canes, sold under the Cris Cringle brand, are introduced nationwide. Legend has it that candy canes were originally created by a German choirmaster.
1954 Marshmallow Peeps are introduced by Just Born, Inc. in the shape of Easter chicks. Today, Peeps come in a variety of seasonal shapes and more than 2 million Peeps are made each day.
1954 Atomic Fireballs are introduced by Ferrara Pan Candy Company.
1960s
1960 M&M/Mars Starburst Fruit Chews are introduced and later fortified with 50 percent of the daily value for Vitamin C.
1960 Blammo becomes the first sugar free, soft bubble gum introduced by Amurol Confections.
1962 Lemonheads are created by Ferrara Pan Candy Company, later inspiring the introduction of Grapeheads, Appleheads, Orangeheads and others.
1963 SweeTarts, the candy pellets with the original sweet and tart flavor combination, are introduced.
1970s
1970 Snickers Munch Bar introduced by M&M/MARS
1976 Introduced by Herman Goelitz Candy Company, Jelly Belly Jelly Beans offer consumers fun and unique flavors in a tiny jelly bean.
1978 Hershey's Reese's Pieces bite-size candies are introduced and four years later made popular by the blockbuster movie E.T.
1979 TWIX Caramel Cookie Bars introduced in the U.S. by M&M/MARS
1980s
1980 Goelitz introduces the first American-made gummy bears and gummy worms. Formerly, these candies were imported from Europe.
1981 A European favorite since 1974, SKITTLES Bite Size Candies are introduced in the U.S. by M&M/MARS
Popular Types of Candy
Chocolate
In 1996, Americans ate 3.1 billion pounds of chocolate. That's almost 12 pounds of chocolate per person.
The Chocolate Manufacturers of America use 3.5 million pounds of milk a day to make chocolate.
One ounce of milk chocolate yields the same amount of caffeine found in a cup of decaffeinated coffee: 6 mg.
Candy Corn
In 1996, Americans ate 20 million pounds of candy corn.
Candy corn has been produced since the late 1800s.
A sugar mixture, called slurry,is colored with white, yellow and orange food coloring, then poured into starch molds by color -- white first, then orange followed by yellow.
Jelly Beans
A candy corn relative, jelly beans take seven to 10 days of processing per bean.
Turkish Delight, a Mideastern confection made popular by C.S. Lewis in the book "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," is thought to be the ancestor of the jelly bean.
Three-and-a-half tons of Jelly Belly jelly beans were shipped to the White House for President Reagan's inaugural celebration. Blueberry, one of the company's most popular flavors, was invented for Reagan so he could have red, white and blue beans.
Gummi Candy
Entertaining and alarming, these strangely-textured confections come in an imaginative range of flavors and shapes. Common ingredients include food starch and acid hydrolyzed. Gelatin ensures the candy’s firm structure, and makes the unconventional shapes possible. What other substance would lend itself better to form gummi teeth, eggs, whales or hamburgers?
Peppermint
How many times have we relied on these to save us from nasty, after-dinner breath? These candies are descendants of the peppermints that began a candy industry in America, starting with peppermint penny candy sold in general stores.
Brite Crawlers
These sour annelids are the Trolli Company’s most popular sellers. Gelatin ensures flexibility, as these candies have been stretched a record six inches by a duo in Boca Raton, Fla.
White Gummi Bears
Actually chocolate flavored gummi bears covered with real white chocolate, these little creatures challenge the most discriminating gummi fan and the gummi bear beginner alike.
Candy Blocks
These are a fine mix between Sweetarts and those favorite childhood construction pieces that hurt when stepped upon. These candies even fit snugly together, making the task of candy consumption a bit more challenging than before.
Marshmallows
Only royalty could taste this spongy confection discovered by ancient Egyptians. Today, the mallow plant doesn’t even make it onto the ingredients list, instead corn starch, sugar, corn syrup and gelatin are found. The toasted coconut covering these is just one of the marshmallow industry’s many options.
Candy Cigarettes
How would we have pulled off ‘50s Night in junior high if we didn’t have these to roll in our t-shirt sleeves? These chocolate sticks satisfy a different urge.
Warheads
These candies make one foam at the mouth for many reasons. The simple chemical reaction that occurs above your tongue is just enough to keep you hooked and puckered.
Ice Cubes
One inch by one inch square, these chocolate confections are charming on the outside. The bland treat inside however, may leave a chocolate lover broken-hearted.
B-B-Bats
Molasses, peanut butter, cocoa and vegetable oil are the staple ingredients for these taffy-like suckers. B-B-Bats come in banana, strawberry and chocolate flavors.
Soda Pop Bottles
Do you eat the wax? Where did all the sweet liquid inside go? These are just a few questions that results from these puzzling contraptions. They may quench an unsinkable thirst, only plan on biting more wax than you can chew.
Candy Rocks
Kids today are attracted to candy that will color their tongues, shock their senses and, well, disgust their parents. These candy rocks don’t taste like dirt, and they are much chewier than their geological counterpart.
Double Dare Insanity Powder Your guess is as good as ours. A popular seller, these vials of mysterious powder are said to invoke a mean pucker by even the most qualified sour puss. Just don’t sneeze or inhale.
Japanese Plum Candy
You can find these sweet confections in specialty shops, most likely outside of Kirksville. Pretty packaging may make candy popping tempting, but take it easy. These hard candies are a mouthful.
Wax Lips
These give kissing new meaning. Keep a fast eye on whose lips these smackers touch. After all, it’s your candy they’re all slobbering over. You can guess what these taste like, but honestly, are you ever going to eat wax lips?
Botan Rice Candy
These have a chewy texture with a sweet taste that’s hard to describe. One neat part about Botan Rice Candies is the clear, cellophane-like inner wrap of rice paper that turns slimy and disappears in your mouth. Couple that with the neat sticker that comes in each box of five, and you’ve got a satisfying treat that pleases the eye and the tongue.
Chupa Chups
Salvador Dali designed the logo for these lollipops, known throughout the world. The most popular Chupa Chups are the chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream flavored pops. Buy them in bulk and they come in a cow-painted milk tin.
http://listverse.com/2008/04/13/top-10-most-disgusting-candies-ever/
References;
http://www.candyusa.org/
http://candyprofessor.com/
http://www.sugarpressure.com/