A Brief History of Candy

Who really knows how it came about, but it would seem likely as is the usual way with humans that things were likely to be progressive. First things were large and then over time, gradually became smaller. Sugar was imported during the nineteenth century but as with all new things then as is now; new means expensive. Sugar was for the rich, lower classes made do with natural sweetness which if not honey could have been from sweet plants such as the old cottage garden perennial sweet cicely, traditionally grown near the kitchen door, where its fern-like leaves were handy for sweetening tart fruit.

Jellies and dried fruits were also used by rich folk to help satisfy the taste buds. They also liked an early form of very thin pancakes made from batter. Gingerbread, sugared almonds marzipan and subtleties which were something like an edible sculpture.

Macaroons were introduced in the eighteenth century. Barley sugar though is the more likely forerunner of what we know today as sweets. Ice cream was also being eaten by the gentry; ice pits were being dug and lined with bricks and straw in the grounds of country estates. The ice was stored in these pits to keep cold. There are many of these ice pits around to be seen today. A well preserved one is in the National Trust property of Scotney castle in Kent. Ice was taken from the lake in winter and kept in the ice pit to be used during the summer months.

The French invention of nougat initiated new and exciting ideas for the then future invention of confectionary. Nougat can be broken into smaller pieces. Perhaps in somebodies mind’s eye a vision may have seen a way to create smaller delicacies or what could be invented in the way of producing what would look more like the sweets we would recognise today. Turin in Italy saw the invention of caramel sometime before the 18th century. Caramel has a brownish colour and endowed with a pleasant sweet toasted flavour and is derived from sugar.

Sugar plums were fairly popular amongst the wealthy. These were made from the process of boiling sugar. There are distinct and predictable stages of crystallisation which sugar passes through. In fact, the early stages of boiling produce softer crystals which are how fondant comes to be produced.

The national exhibition of 1851 saw an interesting exhibit. This was a display of a new delicacy which would become known simply as boiled sweets. Recent discoveries in Germany saw a new and different method of extracting sugar from the sugar beet and this led on to a type of sugar which is still around today. Boiled sweets are made because the sugar is cooked for a longer period. The exhibition was open to peoples from across Europe which meant those who came were impressed with the new and tasty delicacies. People took away great ideas which led to manufacturing not only in France who were prolific producers, but also right across Europe.

In 1847 the love heart was invented after Oliver Chase found a way to cut out a lozenge shape from a sheet of wafer confection. Shortly afterward his brother Daniel invented a machine which had the capability of pressing letters and words onto the lozenges. With this new idea and machine capability he opened a factory which produced what he originally called ‘Sweethearts’.Daniels idea was to print witty sayings, associated with matrimony such as: “Married in Pink, he’ll take a drink, Married in White, you have chosen right and married in satin, love will not be lasting”.In the UK they would be called ‘Love hearts’ and would say things like ‘just say no! And ‘I surrender’. The company produces approximately 100,000 pounds of the hearts per day from late February through to mid-January of the following year. These are sold out in about six weeks.

A man named Charlie Thompson worked as a sales representative.  He was reputed to have slipped and scattered a tray of sweets. Hurriedly he put them as best as he could back in order, alas, he got most of them in the wrong place; however, the client was intrigued with the mixed up sweets. Quickly the company began to mass-produce the allsorts, and they became very popular. These sweets are made of liquorice, sugar, coconut, aniseed jelly, fruit flavourings, and gelatine. They were first produced in Sheffield by Bassett & Co Ltd.

Allsorts are produced by many companies now around the world today, and are most popular in Britain, continental Europe, and North America, South African confectionery giant Beacon produces substantial quantities of the product, where it is both sold locally and exported to such countries as Australia, Canada and Portugal.

Bertie Bassett is the company’s mascot; Bertie is made up by using the sweets to resemble a person. Bertie was created by a man named John McEwan and was introduced to the public in 1929. Bertie Bassett married Betty, another character made of sweets, in February 2009 as a publicity stunt.