Sweet Redeem

Red and white and shaped like a hook, candy canes are the quintessential Christmas treat. Legend has it that a choirmaster in Germany created the candy when he handed out sugar sticks bent into shepherd hooks to children attending the ceremonies in 1670.

Everyone knows and loves this candy that’s as soft as a cloud. Surprisingly, cotton candy was invented by a dentist and a confectioner who created a machine that spun heated sugar through a screen, creating a floss-like texture.

A sweet maker from Boston named William Schrafft came up with the idea to mold jelly into small round shapes, or beans. The candy took off in the 1930s when it became a popular Easter treat.

Marshmallows are a delicious, chewy, airy confection. They contain sugar, corn syrup, and gelatin, along with some air suspended in the mixture that gives them their pillowy texture.

Rock Candy has been around for centuries. In fact, the Persian poet Jalal-ad-Din Rumi who lived in Turkey in the middle 1200s mentions it in his poetry. It’s made with a mixture of dissolved sugar and water.