Candy Land
Retro hard candy is going gourmet
Old-fashioned hard candy is in the midst of an epicurean makeover thanks mainly to the artisanal food movement. Indeed, the tired butterscotch and peppermint rocks found in that bowl at the local dry cleaner or the bottom of Grandma’s pocketbook are being supplanted by more sophisticated sweets. Here are a few sweet specimens of note:
Selfridges Candy: Mention Flying Saucers, Sherbet Fountains, Black Jacks, or Fruit Salad to any British child of the 1970s and they will wax nostalgic about Saturday morning trips to the corner sweets shop. Selfridges is recreating this revered UK tradition in artisanal form. Handmade in copper pans over open flames and served in retro glass bottles, the department store’s heritage candy selections include cola cubes and rosy apple sweets. If a London trip is not on one’s summer itinerary, Statesiders can find similar ways to get their sugar fixes at The Tudor House in Santa Monica and Carry on Tea and Sympathy in NYC.
Brooklyn Hard Candy: Brooklyn has become the cultural epicenter of NYC, to the point where some contend that the borough may be the new Paris. That debate aside, Brooklyn is inarguably a culinary wonderland. Creators of the latest handcrafted edible to entice foodies there, Le Cordon Bleu grads Danny Mowles and Nathan Panum are boiling up candy following the standard practice of cooking the sugar to a ‘hard crack’ and then adding citric acid and flavor. The duo takes pride in their candy’s unique shape (the product of a custom made cutting machine) and apothecary-chic packaging (recycled glass, cork and paper). Jolly Ranchers may be history if these gems go mainstream.
This Charming Candy: The tagline ‘everyone deserves a ten minute treat’ could not be more apt in describing the simple pleasure of eating a lollipop, perhaps the ultimate symbol of the slow food movement. Based in Seattle, small-batch lollipop line This Charming Candy makes suckers that are as visually striking as they are delectable. Flavors include ‘Spice Rack’ varieties (salted caramel, vanilla cardamom, nutmeg crème, tangerine clove) and a ‘Breakfast Tray’ selection (blueberry muffin, maple sugar, hazelnut coffee, sweetened grapefruit). Those whose lollipop eating style bears resemblance to Mr. Owl can subscribe to keep their candy jars full at all times.