Candy Canes=YES!

Have you ever had the amazing taste of candy canes overwhelming your taste buds and the smell of peppermint feels like it’s covering your nostrils? No? Well, I’m about to take you into the wonderful world of a holiday classic treat!

Candy canes were originally made and created in 1670 in Germany at the Cologne Cathedral for the purpose of calming fidgety choir boys. The choirmaster created these sugar sticks(without the red stripe) to occupy his singers. To keep up with the tradition he then bent one end of the stick to make them similar to a shepherd’s cane. This has been a common theory among the history of candy canes but in 1847 August Imgard, a German-Swedish immigrant occupied in Wooster, Ohio put candy canes on a blue spruce tree, resulting in a turn of culture for the delicious candy canes giving them their signature peppermint taste and red and white stripes.

Additionally, the National Confectioners Association has presented data showing that candy canes are at the top of non-chocolate-related confections in the month of December. About 1.76 billion candy canes are made and about 90% are sold between the November and December holidays. A fun fact is that the biggest candy cane made was 51 feet long! But candy canes don’t always have to taste like peppermint, there are flavors like candies, gravy, rotisserie chicken, and even pickle, how crazy!

Personally, I recommend enjoying your candy canes with hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and sprinkles. During my elementary school days, teachers would give us small cups of hot chocolate with a mini candy cane hanging inside, and my eight-year-old self was happy! Now as I have gotten older and expanded my experience in the food tasting department, I have discovered that crushing up candy canes allows you to put the peppermint topping on anything…well maybe not everything. Additionally, candy canes do not always have to be eaten; they can be used as nice decorations or as a treat for others. I encourage you to celebrate the holidays and maybe if that’s not your thing, you can still try delicious candy canes from the classic taste to the weird and almost gross flavors. I would love to know how the weird ones taste but I’m too ‘chicken’, just like the candy cane flavor!

Take the time this week to learn about candy canes and share the knowledge with others!

Lilly Villa
GSC President