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Hard Candy Making

It's hard to tell when people began to make hard candies as we know them today.  Here is what we do know.  In the middle ages sugar was an imported luxury in Europe.  This made candy expensive and only enjoyed by the very rich.  In an effort to make the treat last, sugar was boiled and allowed to cool into blocks, it is rumored that they were made with sticks and fancy handles.

The industrial revolution brought hard candies such as horehound drops, lemon drops, peppermint and wintergreen candies; with new flavors being created almost daily.  Mass produced lollipops may have began around 1905.  The owner of a candy company created hard candy which was stirred with a stick when cooking.  He would take the used sticks home to his children who would lick the hardend candy off of the sticks.  He then began to market these sticks in 1908.

In 1908 the Racine Confectionary company automated lollipop production.  They were eventually able to produce 57,000 in one day.  Then came the more modern companies such as Spangler (Dum Dum’s) who can produce up to 3 million per day!

Leeners has all of the ingredients and supplies needed to make any flavor of candy you desire.  Homemade candy makes great gifts for holidays and birthdays alike.