The History of Candy

 

Candy is a delicious treat that everyone from children to seniors enjoy very much. Candy comes in many varieties; it can be fruity, chocolaty, gooey, creamy, hard, sticky, and soft, but the main similarity to all types of candy is sugar. This is probably why candy can also be referred to as sweets. Everyone loves candy, but many people have no idea how it originated. This article will explain to you the birth of candy, and how it has changed throughout time.

The word candy itself originated centuries ago in Persia; around the year "500 A.D., they were able to make sugar in a solid form," and they called white sugar "kandi-sefid" (Leokum, 1986, p.182). Over time the word got shortened to candy, but it has been famous for a very long time.

Many people of many different cultures have all had a form of candy, but they did not all have sugar so they used other things for sweeteners. Some cultures did not know how to refine sugar so they had to use other forms of sweeteners for the candy making methods. The Egyptians used "honey" as a sweetener, and they even left "written and picture records of candy and candy making" (Leokum, 1986, p.182). In the Far East they also did not use sugar for there candy. They used dates as the sweet part of their candies, and even today they still use "almonds, honey, and figs" in their candies (Leokum, 1986, p.182). No matter what the sweetener was candy was still evident in these cultures.

For a long time in Europe candy was not made at all. In the "seventeenth century a great deal of sugar" was shipped to Europe from America , and the Europeans started their own candy making culture (Leokum, 1986, p.182). In America there was candy made from the beginning. The early settlers would make candy out of maple syrup. It would be boiled down and drizzled over snow or ice so that it would harden. Taffy pulls because ways of socializing during the beginning of this country, and rock candy was a simple and special homemade treat (Leokum, 1986).

As time went on candy shops started to sell more and more varieties of candies, and candy became even more of a household treat. In about 1850 "small lozenges, many of them heart shaped, had romantic messages printed on them" and were sold in candy shops along with "peppermint lozenges and chocolate drops" (Leokum, 1986, 183).

Candy has come along way, and I got to admit I am glad it was created!

Reference:

Leokum, A. (1986). The Big book of tell me why. New York, NY: Grosset and Dunlap.