How Candy Was Made in the 18th Century America
18th century Americana historian Jon Townsend of Townsends took a look back at how candy was made in colonial times, noting that sweet treats were often used to mask the taste of medicine. The availability of ingredients were often limited to season and due to a lack of reliable refrigeration, a lot of candy around that time was preserved with honey or sugar.
What was candy like in colonial America? Candy today is popular during the holidays. We have different kinds of candy that we use for different holidays. It’s a very seasonal thing. Candy was seasonal in the 18th century as well, but not for the same kinds of reason.
As in previous posts, Townsend prepared several recipes from the 18th century. This included candied citrus peels, chocolate puffs, barley sugar, and raspberry clear cakes. Some of these same things are available in modern times just classified differently.
Candy has a fascinating history hundreds of years old and we can engage an experiment with it ourselves. We can make these wonderful candies some of them are so simple so tasty and we can also try out and really eat almost exactly the same things they thought were candy in the time period.
