HISTORY OF CANDY

Around 6000 B.C. an ancient artist in Spain drew a picture on a cave wall of a man scooping honey from a beehive. Back then people climbed trees and fought stinging bees to satisfy their sweet tooth. Candy has evolved.

The word “candy” comes from ancient Indian Sanskrit. Khanda means “a piece of sugar.” Years later, the Arabic version moved one step closer with qandi. Although it is believed that Indians were the first to use the sweet juice of sugarcane about 3000 years ago, there is some evidence that islanders in Papua New Guinea were aware of the sweetness of sugarcane nearly 3000 years before that! That would be about 4000 B.C.! What is known for sure is that by boiling sugarcane juice Indians were the first to make brown sugar.

Before sugar came west, Egyptians used honey to make marshmallows, believe it or not, as early as 2000 B.C. Later, slaves made “honeycakes” by mixing honey with dates, seeds and nuts in a mold. Hieroglyphics even show Egyptians keeping bees to harvest their honey. Around the same time, Greeks were using honey to make candied fruits, stems, and flowers. They also figured out how to make syrup out of figs and dates. But sugar was still mysterious and exotic. Upon their invasion of India in 327 B.C., Alexander the Great’s men didn’t fully understand seeing “honey being produced without the intervention of bees.” When the Romans came on the scene, they made all kinds of confectionary treats called dulcia, the Latin word for “sweet.” Roman candy shops thrived in their cities, selling dates stuffed with almonds and stewed in honey, but still no sugar.

Once the 1800s got underway, new types of candy materialized. Rock candy was a happy accident of a Scottish hard candy maker. A Dutch man invented the first hard chocolate candy in 1844. The chocolate bar was born. Not long after, the Swiss began producing their version of chocolate and would later become known for their high quality chocolate candy. Soon milk chocolate was invented and candies like peppermint and lemon drops became popular near the beginning of the 20th century. Candy factories began popping up everywhere and new flavors and textures of candy were being invented almost daily. Lollipops, salt water taffy, fudge, and much more hit the scene and the many sweet flavors of candy were here to stay.