Candy Canes

Unofficially, candy canes originated in 1670 when the choirmaster of the Cathedral in Cologne Germany handed out sugar sticks bent in the shape of a shepherd’s staff to keep young choir members quite during long Christmas Eve services. Associating candy canes with the staffs of the shepherd who visited the baby Jesus gave them an educational connection and so helped in their spread as a holiday custom across Europe and to the new world. Around 1850, August Imgard of Wooster, Ohio supposedly hung candy canes on the family Christmas Tree to serve both as decorations and treats. The familiar red stripes and peppermint flavor became common around 1900, though there are recipe references in the mid-1800 to flavoring the cane. The earliest candy cane making machines were patented two decades later, but breakage was very high. It was not until the mid-1950s that a machine was developed that fully and successfully automated the making process.