A book newly acquired by the Thammasat University Libraries explains the importance of the candy industry, also known as confectionery. Sweet as Sin: the Unwrapped Story of how Candy became America’s Favorite Pleasure is by Susan Benjamin, a candy historian. Sweet as Sin notes that while people have always enjoyed sweet foods and snacks, centuries ago fruit was a preferred natural way of consuming sugar, rather than manufactured sweets. Ms. Benjamin owns Treats Candy stores, specializing in historical candy products. Her store in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, USA is America’s only store specializing in candy products reproduced from recipes from centuries ago up to the 1950s. The oldest recipe used dates back to the 1500s. The candy in the store is organized in chronological order. It has been called a museum that sells its confectionery displays. These include candied hickory tree bark, eaten by Native Americans of the Iroquois tribe. Also sold are buttermints from the 1800s. The historical context may help readers better understand the role of candies in human experience. For example, many people enjoy marshmallows, but may not know that marshmallow plants were harvested in ancient Egypt. In April Ms. Benjamin gave an interview to The Toronto Star Newspaper, in which she noted:

Native Americans used all parts of the corn and one good example is corn syrup, and that was used long before the Europeans came. The other corn product would be the corn cob. We sell corn-cob jelly in our shop. Native people would take various parts of the corn and use it as candy.

Cane sugar, an essential ingredient in candies of the 1800s, was produced in America by slaves imported from Africa. This important crop later led to the American Civil War, also known as the War Between the States, in the 1860s. Ms. Benjamin adds that chocolate bars given to American soldiers during World War II were usually eaten immediately, rather than being kept as a source of calories in case other foods were not available during battles. The problem was that the chocolate bars were too tasty and the US soldiers did not want to wait before enjoying them, Ms. Benjamin explains:

The chocolate bars, beyond the sugar, were important sources of food, especially when supplies were short. If the chocolate bar was eaten all at once, there was a shortage of food when men were stranded on the battlefield. The military went to the Hershey Co. and they asked if the company could make a bad-tasting candy bar because they didn’t want the soldiers to eat the chocolate all at once. The Hershey Co. invented what was called a D ration bar. The soldiers hated it and even when they were starving they complained about the D ration. But it worked as a food supplement.

Ms. Benjamin concludes that candy is an interesting subject of study from many different angles:

Candy stories are so rich and so deep — from a national, political and human rights level. The story of candy is very much about love. I know that sounds corny but this is how people have expressed love to each other all through time.

Thailand and sweets

According to Thailand’s Food Industry, a brochure published by The Board of Investment of Thailand, the Kingdom is drawing investors to its candy manufacturing sector. Mr. Herman G. Rowland Jr., Managing Director of Jelly Belly Candy Company (Thailand) Ltd. is quoted:

Jelly Belly’s primary reason for investing in Thailand is the availability of raw materials, including GMO-free  products. Additionally, Thailand has competitive  labor  costs and a central  geographic position in Southeast Asia.

In 2013, The Wall Street Journal discussed a trend of cheaper sugar prices overseas inspiring American candy manufacturers to move operations abroad:

Jelly Belly Candy Co. is finishing its second expansion of a factory in Thailand that was opened by the Fairfield, Calif., company in 2007. The sixth-generation family-owned firm sells about 20% of its jelly beans, made in flavors from buttered popcorn to very cherry, outside the U.S. Sugar makes up about half of the ingredients and cost of a typical jelly bean, said Bob Simpson, Jelly Belly’s president and chief operating officer. Thailand is the world’s fourth-largest sugar producer and gives Jelly Belly access to cheaper sugar, labor and other raw materials than the candy maker has in the U.S. “You can’t compete shipping finished U.S. goods” any more, Mr. Simpson said. In the U.S.A., Jelly Belly has had to raise prices “several times” in the past 10 years due to high sugar prices.

More taste treats

As all Thais know, sweet snacks are very important in the Kingdom. Even retailers of different kinds of products realize this. In October, The Nation reported that Mercedes Benz Thailand has developed its own branded Chocolate Bar at Siam Discovery. The cafe sells drinks and desserts made with top-quality cocoa from international sources. Among the brands of chocolate served are Valrhona, a French premium chocolate manufacturer based in the town of Tain-l’Hermitage in a wine-growing district near Lyon. Another French brand of chocolate available is Cacao Barry, founded in the 1800s, and there is also Ghirardelli, a United States division of the Swiss confectioner Lindt & Sprüngli, named after its founder, the Italian chocolatier Domenico Ghirardelli. Bars of chocolate are also for sale, including Goldkenn from Switzerland, and Dolfin and Godiva from Belgium. Omnom from Iceland uses chocolate products from Madagascar. Menakao is a firm in Madagascar that sources and produces its own product there. The company works directly with farmers and factory workers who are given free transportation, pensions, and economic security. Also sold at Chocolate Bar are products from the British company Montezuma’s, which sources its chocolate in the Dominican Republic. Other chocolates derive from Venezuela, South Africa, and Brazil. Presented as Thailand’s first chocolate café, the menu was planned by the noted chef Piriyarat Jirasinkitti of Bangkok’s  Amatissimo Caffe. Among special features are that toppings may be added to chocolate drinks, including croissant chips, marshmallows, and honeycomb. Among specially designed drinks is a mix of iced chocolate and soda, with orange peel added. Hot chocolate is served with sea salt and Mexican-style spice. There are also Hot Frozen smoothies with chocolate and liquid nitrogen. Among European-type desserts being served are fondue, waffles, and croissants. Currently Chocolate Bar is only planned to remain open through the end of January 2017.  Chef Piriyarat explains:

Thais know about single-origin coffee and I want to educate them about chocolate too. There’s a wide variety of chocolate drinks and dishes that look classic and simple but are also playful. I have a choice of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate or Dulce de Leche from Valrhona for the hot and cold drink, but customers can also blend their own drinks from the chocolate on the shelves.

Exotic sweets were also offered to Bangkok consumers last year at the High Tea Jubilee festival hosted by the Ratchaprasong Square Trade Association (RSTA). Among innovative presenters of afternoon tea is the InterContinental’s Balcony Lounge, where executive pastry chef Saiyud Huda presented traditional Moroccan-style treats. Chef Saiyud, originally from Indonesia, prepared cinnamon and date scones served with mixed orange and fig jam and smooth whipped cream and petit honey basbousa cakes made from Moroccan corn and coconut, topped with fresh cream, orange peel, and macarons filled with orange blossom and chocolate. At the Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel, executive pastry chef Warud Watcharapanyanoon offered pandanus coconut and durian scones with strawberry jam and cream, soft layered taro coconut chiffon cake and Belgian chocolate coconut mousse cake infused with jasmine. Chef Warud’s mango sticky rice sandwich cake was topped with coconut milk caviar and his Thong Muan candy was coated with white chocolate.

(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)