Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Get Stuffed

Sweets and treats

A Halloween primer on candy

Next week is Halloween, a most anticipated holiday for young witches and goblins. Who can deny the hedonistic pleasure of sitting in a pile of candy freshly reaped from the doorsteps of generous strangers? When my husband was an enterprising, trick-or-treating 11 year old, he and a group of friends reconnoitered their neighbourhood in one costume, only to return in different dress to strategically chosen houses a second time in order to maximize their take. Talk about tricks!

Trick or treating dates back to the parades in England on All Soul’s Day, a day to honour the dead, where the poor begged for food from the wealthier citizens. The wealthy would give out "soul cakes" to anyone who would promise to pray for their dead relatives. The practice was eventually taken up by children who would roam their neighbourhood to be given money, food and ale. Later, in North America, between 1920 and 1950, the holiday had evolved to a community-centred, secular holiday celebrating the harvest. It also began to be plagued by vandalism. In theory, if neighbours wanted to avoid destruction to their property they provided treats, or candies, as a small token of bribery.

In previous columns I have outlined my parent’s prohibition of sweets as I was growing up. In grade school Halloween was the only exception to this rule and we were allowed to gorge ourselves on candy for the one night a year. I thought I had discovered a second ticket into candy nirvana, when at the age of eight, my class was invited for a tour of the Hershey’s chocolate factory in Smith’s Falls, Ontario. It is hard, even now, to recall my miserable discovery that candy came out of stainless steel vats and conveyor belts rather than anything like the fantastically coloured, entirely edible factory belonging to Willie Wonka in the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Candy, also called confectionary or sweets, is big business. Of the hundreds of different candies that are launched each year, only a few remain in circulation, creating a cut throat, competitive atmosphere for innovation. Time-honoured, favourite and successful confectionary recipes are exceptionally guarded secrets within the industry. Companies force employees to sign confidentiality agreements and even then the whole process may only be memorized by a select number of executives. It is not unknown for an industry insider to pose as a machine mechanic to get inside a competitor’s factory. Spies are everywhere. The method of manufacture has to be kept secret as this is what determines the end product.

All confectionary is derived from similar building blocks – that is sugar and water, boiled together to form a syrup. The amount of water concentration, the length of time they are boiled together as well as other ingredients – flavour, nuts, chocolate etc., that are added to the syrup, determines the type of sweet that is made.

Humans have an innate preference for sweet tastes. Unbelievably, Professor Jacob Steiner, a scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, received permission to administer different liquid solutions of varying concentrations to 175 infants less than one week old to determine if there are distinct taste preferences at birth. The solutions were salty, bitter, sour and sweet, and plain water was used as a control. The facial expressions of the infants were used as the measure of approval or disapproval for a given solution. Dr. Steiner found that babies spat out the bitter solution, pursed their lips and blinked their eyes with the sour solution and showed a marked facial relaxation with the sweet solution, followed by a smile and increased licking and sucking movements. Adults tested with the same stimuli showed the same facial expressions. He also tested several different animals – even shrimp! He concluded that animals, including humans, that have a preference for sweet foods have an evolutionary advantage because they seek out the higher caloric food sources.

This inborn preference has followed humankind through history. There are cave paintings near Valencia, dating back to 8000 BC showing a man harvesting honey from a beehive while clinging to a vine. For a very long time honey was the natural sweetener for many ancient cultures. It was often mixed with barley meal or rice flour and ghee to make a small circular cake.

The birthplace of sweets is India. The earliest record of sugar manufacture and confection is written in Sanskrit. The word sugar is derived from the Sanskrit word meaning gravelly, sarkara . Candy making follows the path of sugar cane production from this early point forward. The Islamic-Arab Empire can be credited with the boiling of sugar to make caramel; however it was used as a depilatory (hair remover) for harem ladies rather than consumed as a candy.

Using sugar to coat various seeds, fruits or roots helped to preserve them and prevent the growth of micro-organisms, making them an essential commodity on long treks.

Candy had its beginnings as disguising the bitter flavour of medicinal ingredients but very quickly developed into the industry that it is today. In a Victorian confectionary a variety of candies such as lemon drops, gummy jujubes, pulled candy flavoured with peppermint and gingerbread buttons graced the counter.

A modern day candy store is not so different. The Great Glass Elevator Candy Shop, owned and operated by Kennedy Ryan, in Whistler’s Marketplace, is a testament to the wildly creative candy industry. The walls of her store are layered with sweets of every kind, from chocolate to gummy bears to licorice. I was interested to learn that her customers hail from all age groups, not just those under five feet tall. I asked her if she noticed distinctly different taste preferences between men and women or young and old. Interestingly, if women like sweets in general, they will select a variety of different candy while men are more specific, usually choosing a favourite candy over trying a new one. As far as taste goes, younger "sugarphiles" prefer strange, unnatural flavours with a distinct preference for extremely sour tastes, while adults satisfy a more sophisticated palate with true flavours and simple, old fashioned tastes like good quality chocolate or toffee. Kids also indulge the fun that can be had with candy by choosing items that look and even taste disgusting, a gummy pet rat or Harry Potter jelly beans that come in a variety of unlikely flavours for example.

Ms. Ryan stocks imported candy from different countries: licorice from Germany, Holland and England, chocolate from the U.K., as well as some candy from Japan. Her licorice collection includes the salty variety common to the Netherlands.

Incidentally, the way in which ‘sweet’ is interpreted is nurtured in different cultures. I love sweet black licorice but I have spat out the salted kind with a fast gag reflex. In China, sweetness is sharpened by extreme sourness; candy takes the form of sour fruit pickles. Arabic cultures prefer an uninhibited pure, almost cloying sweetness tempered by their strong, bitter coffee. A rich, milky taste unifies many Indian sweets, barfi, for example. In Australia, coconut is a favourite flavour; in Eastern Europe candy is based more on fruit flavours. Dulce de leche, rich milk caramel, is endemic to South America. African cultures, in contrast, prefer bitter tastes and what is described as a musty, sour flavour.

At this time of year, Great Glass Elevator Candy Shop sells a lot of orange and black candy to correspond with the holiday. Caramels, candy corn and autumn mix are also popular. Throughout the rest of the year though there are favourites. Candy necklaces, chocolate covered coffee beans, clod hoppers and giant jawbreakers are among the top sellers. My favourite, which Kennedy fortunately stocks (although they seem to disappear quickly from the shelf), are Fry’s Turkish Delight bars.

Candy is an indulgence that we all share, and as Kennedy Ryan says, "Candy’s fun, you can do anything with it, make it into all shapes, sizes and colours."