Step-by-step recipe with photos and videos. The sweet story of the Christmas candy cane New Year's candy canes

Sweets have long served as an attribute of holidays, especially such as New Year and Christmas. The lion's share of children's sweet gifts are still made in honor of these favorite holidays.

An unusual candy in the form of a striped staff has remained one of the popular symbols of Christmas and New Year in many Catholic countries for several centuries.

Modern New Year and Christmas illustrations often depict Santa Claus with this colorful cane. They even decorate holiday interiors.

This delicacy is called differently: “candy cane”, “peppermint stick”, “cinnamon stick”, the first is the most common. But the shape of the icicle is unchanged - a white stick curved on top with red stripes.

Where was it invented?

The history of the striped candy began in the German city of Cologne. The choirmaster of the famous Cologne Cathedral, during mass services on Christmastide, noticed that most parishioners brought children to the service, who, out of boredom, began to play pranks and make noise. To motivate the children to behave diligently, the inventive minister asked a local pastry chef to make a simple delicacy that at the same time carries a wise religious meaning. He understood perfectly well that all children love sweets. Therefore, a sweet surprise can be a fun way to explain a religious idea to young visitors.

This is how the sugar staff appeared, which quickly gained enormous popularity, becoming a sweet children's gift during the holidays (December 24 - January 6). Later, the tradition of giving children curved sugar sticks spread throughout Europe. In addition, the custom arose of hanging them on the Christmas tree, because... Thanks to the convenient fold, the lollipops hung steadily and looked great. But the familiar red stripes were decorated with the delicacy only in the 19th century.

Just candy or a symbol?

Surprisingly, a striped children's gift carries many semantic meanings:

• The shape of the staff reminds us that Christ is the shepherd (shepherd) of human souls, who accepted death for his flock.
• If you turn the candy over, you get the Latin letter J, with which the name of the Savior (Jesus) begins.
• The white color symbolizes the sinlessness of Christ and the purity of the Virgin Mary.
• The hardness of the candy indicates strong faith and an unshakable desire to save people.
• A “classic” Candy Cane should have three thin stripes and one wide one. The long stripe is the One God, and the narrow stripes are the Holy Trinity. Sometimes the candy is decorated with a green ribbon, twig or leaf, because... green is a symbol of giving, since Jesus (and the candy) is a gift from God.

The largest lollipop included in the Guinness Book of Records was made in Geneva. The size of the giant was 17.5 meters.

And in 2011, on Christmas Eve in Moscow, a candy cane was presented that outdid its Swiss counterpart, which was more than 20 meters long. To treat the guests to a huge cane, I had to use a hammer.

In addition to Christmas, candy has become an integral symbol of the Catholic holiday St. Nicholas Day. It is celebrated on December 6th.

The first company that officially began producing Candy Cane in 1919 in the American town of Albany was called Bob's Candies.

The red-and-white delicacy was even dedicated to the New Year's edition of Prigles chips with white chocolate and peppermint flavors.

Famous Lego sculptor Nathan Sawaya assembled the largest lollipop, which consisted of 850,000 pieces.

Homemade lollipops and caramel are a simple and tasty treat, but it’s not that simple. I made caramel for the first time, and it turned out to be not as easy as it seems. You need skill, dexterity and speed. Everything is the same as in extreme driving, but the more difficult the task, the more interesting it is. Now forget everything I said and get ready. Don't be afraid of anything! Everything will work out!

We will need very few products, but we will get a decent amount of candy.

Place molasses, sugar and water in a saucepan with a thick bottom. Place on the fire and cook after boiling for 7 minutes. I used a food thermometer and cooked until the syrup reached 124 degrees. In this case, the syrup must be constantly stirred. The syrup should remain light and in no case darken.

When the syrup reaches 124 degrees, it doesn't look like syrup at all, but more like fluffy foam. Add citric acid and mix. There will be even more foam. Pour the syrup onto a silicone mat, placing a spatula under the edges so that there is a hollow in the middle and the syrup does not run away anywhere. Let's put gloves on our hands. The syrup is hot, you need to work carefully so as not to burn yourself. Add a drop of gel dye to half the syrup. The syrup will cool and set. Let's take some of the colored syrup (cooled a little), it no longer flows, and we will stretch and fold, thereby saturating the caramel with oxygen. The mass will acquire a pearlescent hue. Place the part of the caramel that you are not working with under an infrared lamp, I don’t have one, so I put the caramel in the oven on a silicone mat at a temperature of 60 degrees.

After stretching, roll out two sausages of different colors and weave them together with a flagellum. We act very quickly and carefully so as not to get burned. We twist the edge and make canes. Caramel can be cut well with scissors as long as it is plastic. I acted so quickly that the scissors left only a mark in the frame))

The finished sweets look like this. You can make hearts and whatever you want.

The candy cane is rightfully considered one of the most popular Christmas sweets. The sweet stick first saw the world back in the 16th century, and since then it has won the hearts of thousands of gourmets. Adults and children happily add candy to holiday decor, decorate tables with staffs and give them to loved ones. Despite its popularity, few people know the history of the appearance of caramel and do not even realize that their favorite candy used to bear little resemblance to the bright candy that modern confectioners offer to buy.

The History of the Christmas Candy Stick

The two-color, J-shaped candy previously bore little resemblance to its modern prototype. Confectioners made Christmas caramel from ordinary melted sugar, so the candy was fragile and quickly melted in your hands. There is a version that the first candy in the form of a cane was created by a German choirmaster so that the children of parishioners would have something to do during church singing lessons. A simple sugar candy has become an excellent alternative for little fidgets, attracting their attention for an hour and a half.

The first candy canes that appeared in Europe were made in white, without the addition of dyes, and there was no curved end on the stick itself. The candies quickly gained popularity, so culinary experts began working hard to perfect the recipe for Christmas sweets. Some of the first flavors to become available were:

• mint;
• cinnamon;
• chocolate;
• berries

When confectioners learned to make food coloring, Christmas caramel acquired the appearance familiar to modern gourmets - a red and white staff with a pronounced curved end. The delicacy, created several centuries ago, has become so popular that its recipe and decoration have remained virtually unchanged over the years.

Christmas candy in the shape of a staff is always at the peak of popularity

The popularity of the Christmas candy in the form of a staff reached its peak in the mid-20th century, when the candy began to actively decorate holiday trees. Over the years, the striped stick has become perhaps the most famous symbol of the approaching Christmas. Caramel:

• serves as a decoration for the Christmas tree;
• considered part of the decor of the festive table;
• ideally suited as a small gift for children and adults on the occasion of a celebration;
• has a pleasant light taste with mint or fruity notes.

Now in stores you can buy a Christmas caramel staff in any color variation and with different tastes. However, the classic combination of red and white, symbolizing purity and the blood of Jesus, remains the most popular among gourmets.

This is interesting! Giant caramel for the holiday

Due to the enormous popularity of Christmas caramel, Russian confectioners decided on an unusual experiment. For this occasion, on the eve of the 2011 holiday, the largest caramel staff in the history of its existence was created. Its length exceeded 20 meters, and its diameter was as much as 16 centimeters. To produce this culinary masterpiece, confectioners spent about a ton of sugar and more than 150 liters of sweet syrup. The sweetness was included in the Guinness Book of Records, after which it was divided and distributed to children.

According to statistics, about 2 billion Christmas caramels are produced every year in the world, and most of the candies in the form of a staff are sold directly on the eve of the bright holiday. Despite its centuries-old history, the popularity of this unusual candy among children and adults only continues to grow. You can try the candy in any cafeteria or just buy it in a store. By the way, the price of sweets is more than affordable.

Whatever the child enjoys

The first mention of the famous candy dates back to the 17th century. Children all over the world owe the appearance of the candy cane to the choirmaster of Cologne Cathedral. According to legend, he could not get the boy choristers to remain silent during long services. Then he decided to distract the children with something and ordered sugar candies from a local confectioner. And so that the candy sticks would not look reprehensible during the service, the choirmaster asked to bend one end. So the candies took the shape of a shepherd’s crook to supposedly remind children of how the shepherds came to bow to the baby Jesus.

This beautiful story is a bit like a fairy tale, but perfect for telling to children at Christmas. According to another version, the candy cane was made in the shape of a hook to make it easier to hang on the tree. This explanation is quite logical, because sweets were often decorated with holiday trees.

Religious symbols

Originally, candy canes were probably just white, like all sugar sticks. This is how they can be seen on old Christmas cards until the 19th century. Color stripes appeared on them later.

The candy cane was invented by the choirmaster of Cologne Cathedral

According to legend, four red stripes appeared on sweets during the English Revolution, when the Puritan authorities under the leadership of Cromwell forbade residents to celebrate Christmas. Then caramel sticks became an identification mark of opponents of the regime. Three thin red stripes on white candy symbolized the Trinity, and one wide stripe was applied in memory of the redeeming power of Christ.

The first candies in the USA

There is another legend in the USA. Locals believe that the candy cane was invented by an American candy manufacturer from Indiana. The candies were filled with symbols. The white color signified the purity of the immaculate conception of Christ, the hardness was reminiscent of the cornerstone that lies at the foundation of the Christian church.

The red stripes on the candy symbolize the blood of Christ.

The red stripes were applied in memory of the blood shed by Christ. The very curved shape of the caramel resembled the letter J, the first in the Latin spelling of the name of Jesus. Most likely, this is another beautiful fairy tale. In fact, the appearance of candy canes in the United States is associated with the name of the German migrant August Imgard. It was he who first decorated the Christmas tree in Ohio with paper garlands, gilded nuts and canes in 1847.

By the middle of the 19th century, striped candies became one of children's favorite treats and a real symbol of Christmas. Recipes for candy canes were published in cookbooks, and the sweets themselves were sold on every corner.

Industrial production

In the mid-50s of the 20th century, a machine for the industrial production of sugar canes was invented in the USA. An American, Gregory Keller, invented a special method of bending sticks. His relative Bob McCormack was in the Christmas candy business and regularly lost about 20% of his production due to canes breaking during bending.

Classic candy canes come in a mint flavor.

Thanks to the introduction of new methods, the number of candies produced has increased tenfold. Traditionally, candy canes are made with mint flavoring, but strawberry candies are also available. The red and white color of the delicacy is also complemented by bright green or yellow stripes. But the classic candy cane is still one of the main symbols of Christmas for many.

Candy canes are a favorite Christmas treat for all children and a stylish decoration for the Christmas tree. According to legend, the famous candy was invented by the choirmaster of the Cologne Cathedral to calm children making noise during services. Mint or cinnamon, multi-colored or with traditional red and white stripes - the story of the appearance of the world's most famous caramel on diletant.media.

Whatever the child enjoys

The first mention of the famous candy dates back to the 17th century. Children all over the world owe the appearance of the candy cane to the choirmaster of Cologne Cathedral. According to legend, he could not get the boy choristers to remain silent during long services. Then he decided to distract the children with something and ordered sugar candies from a local confectioner. And so that the candy sticks would not look reprehensible during the service, the choirmaster asked to bend one end. So the candies took the shape of a shepherd’s crook to supposedly remind children of how the shepherds came to bow to the baby Jesus.

This beautiful story is a bit like a fairy tale, but perfect for telling to children at Christmas. According to another version, the candy cane was made in the shape of a hook to make it easier to hang on the tree. This explanation is quite logical, because sweets were often decorated with holiday trees.

Religious symbols

Originally, candy canes were probably just white, like all sugar sticks. This is how they can be seen on old Christmas cards until the 19th century. Color stripes appeared on them later. According to legend, four red stripes appeared on sweets during the English Revolution, when the Puritan authorities under the leadership of Cromwell forbade residents to celebrate Christmas. Then caramel sticks became an identification mark of opponents of the regime. Three thin red stripes on white candy symbolized the Trinity, and one wide stripe was applied in memory of the redeeming power of Christ.

The first candies in the USA

There is another legend in the USA. Locals believe that the candy cane was invented by an American candy manufacturer from Indiana. The candies were filled with symbols. The white color signified the purity of the immaculate conception of Christ, the hardness was reminiscent of the cornerstone that lies at the foundation of the Christian church. The red stripes were applied in memory of the blood shed by Christ. The very curved shape of the caramel resembled the letter J, the first in the Latin spelling of the name of Jesus. Most likely, this is another beautiful fairy tale. In fact, the appearance of candy canes in the United States is associated with the name of the German migrant August Imgard. It was he who first decorated the Christmas tree in Ohio with paper garlands, gilded nuts and canes in 1847.

By the middle of the 19th century, striped candies became one of children's favorite treats and a real symbol of Christmas. Recipes for candy canes were published in cookbooks, and the sweets themselves were sold on every corner.

Industrial production

In the mid-50s of the 20th century, a machine for the industrial production of sugar canes was invented in the USA. An American, Gregory Keller, invented a special method of bending sticks. His relative Bob McCormack was in the Christmas candy business and regularly lost about 20% of his production due to canes breaking during bending. Thanks to the introduction of new methods, the number of candies produced has increased tenfold. Traditionally, candy canes are made with mint flavoring, but strawberry candies are also available. The red and white color of the delicacy is also complemented by bright green or yellow stripes. But the classic candy cane is still one of the main symbols of Christmas for many.