Brach’s Candy

Founded by, German emigrant Emil J. Brach in 1904, Brach’s Candy quickly expanded from the initial small storefront shop on the corner of North Avenue and Towne Street in Chicago, IL, to become one of America's largest candy companies in a relatively brief period of time. Emil Brach was not alone in this endeavor, but was joined by his two sons, Edwin and Frank.

The Brach family has a definite recipe for success. The key to this success was to produce the highest quality candy, using the most up-to-date manufacturing and distribution processes available, and finally offer the customers a wide variety of products at a fair price. They built the business making and selling great-tasting, high-quality candies at a fair price.

The Brachs soon outgrew their first store and moved to Des Plaines Street on the west side of Chicago in May of 1906. Peanut and hard candies were added to the line of caramels that were already making a name for the fledgling candy company.

By 1909 the company's growth required a second move, this time to a new location at the corner of LaSalle and Illinois Avenue. The production line expanded to include coconut nougats and other hard candies. Throughout all of this growth, the rate of candy produced per pound rose phenomenally as the Brachs kept expansion of both facilities and employee numbers growing as well.

In 1913, the factory and offices moved to an even larger facility on East Illinois Street. Here Brach's added chocolate dipping and icing and cream dipping, and installed a marshmallow line and a department for panned candies. Quality was always foremost concern for the Brachs. The company backed its candy with a thirty-day money-back guarantee, and they were also the first candy company to have a state-of-the-art laboratory to inspect ingredients. In 1915 and 1916 they expanded this facility. Finally in 1923 Emil moved all operations to a new facility at the intersection of Kilpatrick, Ferdinand, and the Beltline Rail Road tracks.

They sold not only to department stores, but also to thousands of small corner stores and general merchandisers. Brach's was the first company to introduce barrels as a new and unique way to get additional display area in the stores. Next they introduced boxes with glass covers to keep the candy fresh. Impressive display cases involving candy stations, where the products could be mixed and weighed in the store, soon followed.

Today, Brach's remains a leader in the manufacture of staple (everyday) candy and seasonal candy; and the fastest-growing fruit snacks company in the U.S. Though no longer owned by the Brach’s family, the company still strives to maintain the quality and the reputation that made the brand a household name. This does not appear likely to change any time soon.

Jolly Ranchers

The Jolly Rancher is a brand of candy that includes hard candy, fruit chews, and lollipops. It was originally produced by the Jolly Rancher Candy Company, a Colorado based company which was founded in 1949 by husband and wife Bill and Dorothy Harmsen.

The name Jolly Rancher was derived from idea of western hospitality. When the candy was first introduced, the candy company actually made various products including ice cream and chocolate. Once the Jolly Rancher candy’s popularity was apparent by the growing sales, the company then ceased making ice cream and then concentrated on hard candy.

In 1966, the Harmsens sold the Jolly Rancher Candy to Beatrice Foods but the couple continued to be involved in the day to day operations of the company. Seventeen years later, in 1983, the Finland-based company, Huhtamaki Oy, purchased the candy company and the right to Jolly Rancher Candy from the ailing Beatrice Foods who would later be bought out by Kohlbert Kravis Roberts & Co. in 1986 then later broken up by ConAgra Foods Inc. in 1990.

Huhtamaki Oy eventually sold Jolly Rancher to Hershey Foods Corporation in 1996 where it has been ever since. All production a the orignal Colorado location ceased after the acquisition by Hershey Foods.

While Jolly Rancher has introduced other kinds of candy in recent years, for many people their name is synonymous with the rectangular hard candies that made them famous.

The original assortment of flavors still marketed today includes grape, cherry, lemon, watermelon, and sour apple. They also sell two other assortments: "Tropical Blends", comprised of strawberry-banana, raspberry-pineapple, banana-pineapple, mandarin-tangerine, and lemon lime; and "Passion fruits", which includes fruit punch, strawberry, raspberry, peach, and orange. An intense cinnamon flavor called Fire is also available.

Beyond the Jolly Rancher candy and its variation is the other candies that wear the Jolly Rancher brand name. These include: Hard Candy, Sugar Free Hard Candy (1997) Jelly Beans (1997) Lollipops (1999) Fruit Chew Lollipops (2001) Fruit Chews Candy (2001) Screaming Sours Candy (2004) Bold Fruit Smoothie Jelly Beans (2005) Lollipops with Chile.

In addition to the traditional flavors introduced by the Harmsens, Hershey’s has added Fruit 'n' Sour flavors, Smoothie flavors, and holiday-themed candies.

Peanut Candy

For more than 100 years, the peanut has enjoyed a prevalent place in the United States for its great taste and versatility. One of the more delicious uses of the peanut is for making candy. In fact, more than 20% of the total peanuts used are set aside strictly for processing in candy of one form or another. Other than strictly sugar-based hard and soft candy, you will be find peanuts, in one form or another, whether it is whole nuts or merely trace amounts on the ingredient label.

Some the earliest, and most classic, forms of peanut candy include peanut brittle, peanut squares, butter toffee peanuts, and the incomparable chocolate covered peanuts. Beyond these simple favorites, peanuts clusters, with their blend of chocolates and nuts (sometimes caramel) make a lasting impression. M&M’s peanut candy is simple a whole peanut covered in a thin candy shell.

Most of these kinds of peanut candy incorporate the entire nut into their recipe, though, at times, they were chopped up before being added to the candy mix.

Around the time of World War II, a new form of candy became extremely popular and has remained so until the present. The candy bar is at the top of the list for most Americans’ favorite candy. Peanuts have had their own place in the candy bar realm with brands like PayDay, Snickers, and Planters. In lean times, and during WWII when much of candy production was halted or at least curtailed, most peanut candies remained at full production due to the abundance of raw materials.

When it comes to peanut candy, it should be noted that a large percentage of the peanuts used are actually in the form of peanut butter. Many snacks and candies are used with peanut butter. A quick list of examples may include peanut butter fudge and the Reece’s brand candy line (ex. Peanut butter cups, Reece’s Pieces), the Peanut Butter Bar, and the Take 5 Bar.

Some peanut companies have selections of peanut candies among their other products which candy be purchased online and which are more exclusive than other commercial candy brands.

Peanut candy, along with chocolate, has remained the most desirable candy available.

Rock Candy

What exactly is rock candy?

Rock candy is the product of the further refining by crystallization of pure cane sugar. In fact, this process creates the purest form of sugar available because all impurities are excluded as the large crystals form. The crystal growth is based on the particular characteristics of sugar (sucrose) chemistry and cannot be done with the various sugar free substitutes seen in the market.

References to rock candy have appeared in literature at various points in history. There are several references to it in the poems of the Persian poet Jalal-ad-Din Rumi who lived in Turkey in the middle 1200's. One early English reference in 1584 seems to sum up the virtues of rock candy where it is quoted "White sugar is not so good for phlegume, as that which is called Sugar Candie." Shakespeare in Henry IV (1596) referred to its therapeutic value as a throat soother for long winded talkers.

The earliest known date that white sugar was refined was about 200 C.E. so it is probable that the further refining into what was later known as sugre candie was at about that time. In fact, in Western culture, sugar was used only for its medicinal and preservative properties into the middle of the eighteenth century. It was at this point that people discovered one of its sweeter qualities—it made a tasty treat that everyone could enjoy.

At time the lines of what constituted rock candy have blurred as manufacturers have taken different directions as far as the shape and quality of the product is concerned. Rock candy’s traditional crystalline form was replaced by molded and shaped candies. Thus, these were called hard candy instead of rock candy. For those who limit the usage of the term rock candy, these molded candies are not the same at all. It is hard to say which is right as the term has become so fluid over the years, with each candymaker defining it to fit their current needs.

Today, Rock Candy is primarily used in two ways: as a delicious confection enjoyed by children and adults alike, and as an elegant sweetening alternative to ordinary table sugar for coffee and tea in fancy hotels and restaurants.

Sugar Free Candy

For many people with a sweet tooth, not indulging in candy or other type of sweet can be difficult. This becomes much clearer when you simply can’t eat candy. Many people, whether suffering from diabetes or just trying to watch what they eat for their health, want an option.

Sugar free candy has been that option for nearly 50 years, providing an alternative to eating sugar-based candies. To meet the widely varying tastes of candy-lovers, candy companies have been developing different types of sugarless treats in record numbers. Recently, trends in health-consciousness have further inflated this need for sugar alternatives in all areas of eating—not just candy.

The main ingredient in all of this is the type of element that is used to sweeten these confections. In the beginning, saccharin was used. Lately, sweeteners like maltitol, sorbitol, and lactitol have been introduced by some candy manufacturers like Go Lightly. Taste has always been the biggest issue, and often, depending on the sweetener used, the greatest obstacle to overcome. But there have definitely been improvements over the years.

Where at first, the options of the type of candy available were limited, now you can find just about any type you want. Chocolate, hard candy, fudge, chewing gum: these are a few examples. Major candy manufacturers and small-regional businesses have both been busy building up their selections of sugar free candy to capitalize on this demand for these products.

Online consumers have the most opportunity to find a nearly endless gallery of candy choices on any one of the numerous sites that have appeared on the internet in just the last 5 to 10 years. It is obvious that as the number of Americans who are reaching retirement age increases and the number of health related reasons for restricting sugar intake multiplies, that many more people will be looking for sugar free candy alternatives.