Almost everyone alive grew up familiar with the hard red-and-white candy with the curved end known as a candy cane, but few people realize just how long this popular treat has been in existence. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. CANDY CAN Bubblegum, CANDY CAN Marshmallow, CANDY CAN Cotton Candy, CANDY CAN Birthday Cake, CANDY CAN Sour Apple, CANDY CAN Rocket Ice Lolly. As for the candy cane's peppermint flavor, it represented the use of hyssop, an herb referred to in the Old Testament. Whilst every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the product information provided, products and their ingredients may change.

However, as long as you use the right equipment and exercise caution, you should not have trouble with this foolproof recipe; in fact, it should be fun. It has been claimed that the cane was shaped like a "J" for "Jesus" and that the red-and-white stripes represented Christ's blood and purity. If you don’t wrap your candy cane sweets straightaway, the moisture from the air will start to make them sticky. First Exhibition and Fair of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, at Faneuil and Quincy Halls, in the City of Boston, September 18, 1837. The choirmaster at the Cologne Cathedral in Germany first bent the sugar-sticks into the shape of canes to represent a shepherd's staff.

Now pour the mixture on to a marble slab (or other non-stick, heat resistant surface), which has been covered with oil, to prevent the mixture sticking. The thermometer will tell you when to take the sugar syrup off the stove; if yours is faulty or incorrectly calibrated, then you may undercook or overcook the syrup. The three red stripes were also said to symbolize the Holy Trinity and the hardness of the candy represented the Church's foundation on solid rock.

We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Around 1670, a choirmaster of a cathedral in Cologne, Germany, handed out sugar sticks to his young singers. From Germany, candy canes spread to other parts of Europe, where they were handed out during plays reenacting the Nativity. Now comes the fidley bit – pull both sugar syrup mixtures to a rope of a same length and start gently rolling and twisting at the same time. Make sure that they are no sugar crystals on the side of the pan, by brushing them down with pastry brush dipped into hot water.

Depending on the type of your peppermint flavour you might need to add 1-2 teaspoons of the extract. Because molten sugar requires careful attention, make sure to read the whole recipe thoroughly and set up your work station before you embark on this project. At the time, the canes were still white, but sometimes the candy-makers would add sugar-roses to further decorate the canes. A recipe for straight peppermint candy sticks, white with colored stripes, was published in The Complete Confectioner, Pastry-Cook, and Baker, in 1844.