Most posts contain affiliate links. And as much as you’re an M&M devotee or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup fan — let’s admit it — no candy showcases Christmas at its best better than candy cane. History: First a religious conference then a Christmas ornament. The cookies were colored with brown sugar and the family spent weeks baking them in quantities for the guests. The candy cane was originally pure white and got its stripes in the early 20th century. Here you can find out more about this interesting candy, from its first appearances in 17th century England, to the modern revival in America to the worldwide popularity it has today. In 1640, a German choirmaster decided to change things up by curving the shape to look more like a shepherd’s staff, resulting in the candy cane shape we all know and love today. People have always eaten sweet food. The cane shape of the candy cane was to remind people of ‘J’ for Jesus, the shepherds who visited baby Jesus, and to represent the biblical view that Jesus is a shepherd of his followers. Read all about history of sweets. Left over whiskey? The classic peppermint flavor of the candy cane has been around for 600 years, but the original candy canes were just straight sticks, like a real walking cane. Kankanit is a writer by day and a baker by night. He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. Is there any party, picnic, or potluck that isn’t made infinitely better with a dish…, The United States has fully plunged into the coronavirus pandemic. There are a lot of explanations floating around out there about the candy cane. Candy canes are one of the most recognizable symbols (and foods) of the entire holiday season. He discovered a way for mixing melted cacao butter, cocoa powder and sugar to create a paste that could be pressed into a mold. There’s the one about how the white represents Jesus and the red his blood and the cane is really a J (you know, for Jesus). Referred to as Santa’s cane, the candy cane’s shape and colours actually have nothing to do with the jolly white-bearded man. Chicago confectioners the Bunte Brothers filed one of the earliest patents for candy cane making machines in the early 1920s. The history of candy dates back to the caveman who created the idea of candy by eating honey combs and honey. Candy canes weren’t commonly hung on trees until 1882, but the first candy canes predate these events by a few hundred years…, Folklore says that in Cologne, Germany in 1670, a choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral, wishing to keep the local children quiet during the Living Creche tradition of Christmas Eve, asked a candy maker to form some type of “sugar stick” for them…. Still other stories tell of an Indiana candy maker who purposefully made the background white to represent Jesus’ resurrection and the stripes red for the blood of Christ. Email me at cris (at) tenrandomfacts (dot) com and ask for a specific topic. While most people wouldn’t consider a Christmas complete with the red and white striped sticks, few people know much about their long history. Honey was the earliest sweet which was eaten since prehistorically times. There’s no evidence that that’s true either, of course. Pull out your traditional Thai, How to stay cool under Bangkok’s heat? Around the same time, Greeks used honey to make candied fruits and flowers. Candy Canes Were Once Only White Most, however, agree the white candy cane made its U.S. debut in 1847 in Wooster Ohio, according to Schildhaus, when August Imgard, a … Your email address will not be published. Here’s Today I Found Out again: Father Keller was the brother-in-law of the aforementioned Bob McCormack. Traditional candy canes are flavored with peppermint, but modern times have seen every flavor from green apple to pickles. Are these high-tech masks about to become the gadget of the year? They are the things that inspire her from morning 'til night. Author Meghan Rodgers Meghan is a full-time writer exploring the fun facts behind food. So, originally, the crook-shaped confection was more of a religious reference to the nativity of Jesus instead of just a jaw-aching sweet or a Christmas tree ornament. The first chocolate bar was made in 1847 by Joseph Fry in England. First modern candies were made in 16th century and sweet manufacturing developed rapidly into an industry during the early 19th century. Many people have given religious meaning to the shape and form of the candy cane. Due to its toothsomeness, the pulled sugar was all the rage throughout Europe and became highly associated with the season of being jolly and later on turned became the world’s candy of choice during Christmas time. The peppermint flavour of the typical candy cane is similar to hyssop which was used for offering and purification in the Bible’s Old Testament times. There are a lot of versions of this story out there. Buy too little and your morning cereal might…. Interesting Facts on National Candy Cane Day: Originally candy canes were hard, straight and white candy stick invented by a French priest in the 1400s. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received by which we are healed. National Candy Cane Day is celebrated every December 26 in the United States. Vote Now! McCormack was having trouble at the time because about 22% of the candy canes produced by Bob and his crew were ending up in the trash, because they broke during the bending process. None of this is true. The History of Candy Cane. These first sweet treats were an all white hard candy. Candy canes are one of the most recognizable symbols (and foods) of the entire holiday season, but few people know much about their long history. (Sorry for the mistakes, I'm not an English native, but if someone wants to help me I agree with XD) Candice Wulf was a little German girl born in the '40s, who suffered a lot of hunger and the destitution after the second World War. or In 1919 in Albany, Georgia, Robert McCormack began making candy canes for local children and by the middle of the century, his company (originally the Famous Candy Company, then the Mills-McCormack Candy Company, and later Bobs Candies) had become one of the world's leading candy cane producers. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Scientific American, Story Collider, TED-Ed and OnEarth.