The holidays are here! As I discussed in a recent blog post, the holidays bring a lot of great festive treats with them. This shouldn't be too surprising as 89 percent of 1,000 adults surveyed say candy plays some role in their winter holiday celebrations. One of the most iconic winter candies is the candy cane, one of my all-time favorite candies. So where did the idea for this holiday mainstay come from?
Legend has it that the candy cane was fist thought up in 1670 by a choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany as a treat for his young singers, which he shaped like a shepherds crook in honor of the Living Creche ceremony. In 1847, a German-Swedish immigrant in Ohio named August Imgard decorated a tree with candy canes. In the 1920s, a man by the name of Bob McCormack began making candy canes by hand as special Christmas treats for his friends in Georgia. By the 1950s, the production of candy canes became automated thanks to a candy cane making machines, allowing for mass production of the cane shaped treats.
Today candy canes are as popular as ever. It is estimated that more than 1.8 billion candy canes will be made for the winter holiday season. Candy canes can be found in traditional mint flavors as well as sour, fruit, tropical fruit, and even bacon flavors. A bacon candy cane sounds like the perfect stocking stuffer to me! I have yet to try a bacon candy cane, but it is my goal to have one before the holiday season is through. Even in a society that rightfully emphasizes the benefits of healthy eating habits, candy canes have remained popular. This is most likely because the typical candy cane only contains 55 calories with no fat or cholesterol.
If you're sick of having to buy your candy canes at the store, check out this Candy Cane Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon peppermint flavoring (or bacon flavoring if you want to try something new!)
- 1/2 cup water
- 3/4 cup Lt. corn syrup
- 3/4 teaspoon red vegetable coloring
- 1/4 teaspoons cream of tartar
Directions:
Combine and heat the sugar, water, syrup, and cream of tartar until the sugar is dissolved and very fine. Divide into two saucepans, boil, but don't stir until each lot is 280 degrees F. Add 1/2 tsp peppermint to each lot and add the coloring to one. Place on an enamel or marble table to cool after oiling the table. Like taffy, stretch and pull and form the sugar into ropes of red and white. Once they are formed twist them around again and again until a cane is formed. Place the canes on an oiled surface and allow them to harden.
Have you tried the bacon flavored candy cane yet? Do you have a holiday candy that you love even more than the candy cane? Let us know by tweeting at @CandyUSA!
Candy Canes by WELS.net
