Who Invented Crunchy Candies?

Crunchy candy belongs to the endlessly yummy family of candies such as the chocolate straws we enjoy at Christmas but are available (and enjoyed!) all year round; Peach Blossoms; Golden Crunches; and the 1940s newcomer, Chick-O-Sticks. The Canadian company, Ganong Brothers, claims that they were the first to make a version of these treats, which they called “Chicken Bones,” in 1885. Legend has it founder Edmund Ganong, experimented with different textures and flavors to come up with a hard cinnamon-flavored shell and a bittersweet chocolate center. But was he the first? Actually, no.

To begin with, numerous versions of “Chicken Bones” were advertised in newspapers throughout North America – including the U.S. – in the early 1900s. Another, called Peach Blossoms, was made by a company later known as The New England Confectionery Company AKA NECCO in the late 1800s. NECCO would go on to manufacture Peach Blossoms throughout their history, as well as Sweetheart candy and the venerable NECCO Wafers, first made in 1847 by Boston pharmacist and NECCO founder Oliver Chase.

Other iterations were abundant around that time. The Chocolate Filled Straws, of course, which one newspaper in 1900 described as a “delicacy” and another newspaper, in 1927, said had a luxuriously “Bright satin finish.” Then there was the so-called sponge candy, more or less an inverted straw which a chocolate coating on the outside and the crunchy interior within. Of course iterations of sponge candy – aka Sea Foam – abounded, including those without the chocolate coating. As was the case with most old-fashioned candies, they were made at home.

Venerable food writer, Marion Harland, provided a recipe which she said was “long and anxiously” looked for by readers in 1910.

If you’re anxiously looking for crunchy candies, you can find them at True Treats. Want to make them yourself? Check our truly old-time recipes.