John Dorsey, age 10, of San Diego, Calif., for his question:
WHO INVENTED CANDY?
Probably the most popular candy of all those available today is chocolate fudge. Not only are a lot of commercial fudge candybars sold in stores, but the confection is also a favorite to make at home. The chief ingredients of the popular candy include unsweetened chocolate, sugar, milk, and a little bit of butter, corn syrup, salt and vanilla.
We don't know who invented candy, but we know it has been around for a long time. Ancient man discovered it many thousands of years ago.
Records show that the Egyptians made confectionery sweetmeats about 2,000 B.C.
The candymaker came into his own about 1470 in Venice, Italy, when refined sugar was first imported from the Orient. The use of this sugar, as a matter of fact, marked the beginning of the modern candy industry.
Sugar from maple tree sap was used during American colonial times to make candy.
In 1850, a revolving steam pan was invented. This piece of equipment actually made it possible to make large amounts of candy at low cost. Prior to this invention, candy was a very expensive item to produce.
Today more than $1.5 billion worth of candy is sold in the United States each year at the wholesale level. That's billion, not million. And that's a lot of candy! More candy is produced in the United States than in any other country, as you can imagine.
More than 2,000 different kinds of candy are available today. About 3.5 billion pounds of the sweet stuff is manufactured in the United States each year, which means about 18 pounds of candy is eaten by each person every year.
Nutrition experts say that candy supplies quick energy that can be used to provide a boost for mental and physical efforts. On his trip to the South Pole, Richard E. Byrd took along enough candy to supply each man in his party with about 100 pounds.
Most candy today is made from a mixture of melted sugar and water, called simple syrup. The United States Food and Drug Law requires that all candy be made with pure ingredients and nonpoisonous flavorings and colorings.
There are three basic types of candy. One includes those made entirely of simple syrup and flavorings. Hard and stick candies are in this group. A second type adds five percent of the bulk of simple syrup with other ingredients, such as marshmallows and nougats.
A third type of candies contains large amounts of other ingredients such as caramels, fudges, starch jellies and chocolates.