Candy Timeline

The Originals

From Native American barks, to the first candy ever, to the sugars and sweets of the Bible. Healthy. Medicinal. Tasty. Symbolic.

Collections

Biblical Sampler Box: Botanicals of the Bible live among us today, valued for their flavors, curative powers, meaning. The fragrant herbs such as lavender and hibiscus, believed to be the Rose of Sharon, brewed as tea. Honey drawn from bees and fruits, ancient sweeteners. Grapes and almonds, flavorful with their promise of good beginnings. All rich with symbol. A time unbroken
Biblical Sugar Sampler: This collection contains a variety of sugars which are cited in the Bible – used for various purposes and in various ways, including – cane sugar, bee honey, sorghum drops, date sugar and many more. The story of the sugars, and their significance, are on the label with a quote from the Bible. A wonderful way to enjoy Biblical food history for you, your family and a gift for anyone else.
Botanical Bliss Tea Sampler: Botanicals have always been exuberant in their display of life and their gift to the living, used since antiquity as a curative tea. The Biblical rose and hibiscus brings calm and sweet dreams and chamomile endowed with healing properties. The much esteemed dandelion cleansed the blood. Chrysanthemums, prized by ancient royalty, were thought to possess the power of life, while Aztecs revered marigolds as the apex of magic and healing. Comes with ageless honey.
Comfort From The Heart Tea Sampler: When life was difficult, when stress prevailed, people through the ages have turned to botanical teas to bring comfort to their hearts. The Ancient Egyptians and Romans highly valued chamomile and lavender as restorative cure alls. Marshmallow root soothed the body while olive leaf brought peace. Half a world away, the Iroquois used the mild tasting white oak bark to treat loneliness from a broken heart. Aztecs prized marigolds for magical, religious, and medicinal purposes. Boil water and add a tablespoon or two to taste. Steep for three to five minutes. Enjoy with honey, sugar, milk, or whatever comforts you and offers a promise of lightness ahead.
Fruit & Sugar Box: Later, newcomers to North America brought cane sugar with its distinctive flavor and tangled past. Together, the fruit sugars of the Native Americans and the European brought cane sugar represent the blend of traditions and cultures that forged America. They’re delicious on cereal, in smoothies, on baked goods… a staff favorite is to enjoy them on french toast! This box contains three 4-oz. apothecary jars with a distinctive cork.
Healthy Eats Box: Want a healthy snack from a time before snacking was even a concept? Want to go back to the day when everything was healthy, medicinal, or symbolic? Then take our sliding box with eight first-in-history Take-A-Breaks, including Biblical and Native American selections. Healthy. Natural. Enduring

Individual Selections

1500s-1700s

Candied Peels and petals, chocolate sticks, sugar plums, & other sugary treats.

Many common fruits, nuts, and spices arrived in the 1500s to 1700s and brought with them new forms of confections…and all the symbolism that went with them.

Collections

1700s Sweet Shop in A Box: An 18th Century sweet shop in a box, with a variety of sweets of the time, such as cane and sorghum sugar, crystallized ginger, sugar plums, licorice root, stain glass and more.

1700s Time Capsules: Now the perfect chance for kids to experience history in an entirely new way, with a time capsule filled with 18th century sugars and sweets, such as candied peels, Turkish delight, sugar plums, and stain glass. Most important, they’ll find a letter from the Time Traveler written just for them, telling them about each selection.

Antique Garden Collection Box: Candy came from medicine and medicine from plants. This box includes candy that evolved from antique gardens, those grown with care in the 1700’s and 1800’s, as well as orchards and the wild. Some originated in North America, many came from regions far beyond and are considered American today. Selections include horehound drops, licorice root, tree resin, peppermint stick, strawberry filled candy and many more – providing a full taste of sugars and sweets in a timeless box.
Botanical Blends Box: Apothecaries of the 1700s were stocked with herbal brews, including a cough and cold remedy tea made from honey, horehound, and thyme. Our bestselling blend, a Colonial Headache Remedy Tea, combines lavender, rose flower, sage, and marjoram. First made in the 1500s, this brew was said to cure headaches.
Colonial Apothecary Box: Colonial era medicine in North America blended the apothecary practices of Europe with the herbal knowledge of the Native Americans. Eighteenth century North Americans treated common ailments with a variety of herb and spice-based teas. For coughs and colds, colonists used a mixture of horehound, thyme, and honey. For headaches, a tasty blend of marjoram, sage, rose, and lavender. For stress, they enjoyed a blend of jasmine and spearmint, either as a calming tea or dropped into bath water for a sweet, relaxing soak. Native Americans used chickweed for liver and eye complaints, ginger root for upset stomach, and cherry bark for coughs and sore throat – brought together in our earthy Native American Tea Blend. To prepare any of our teas, add a teaspoon or two to hot water and steep for 3-5 minutes. Add your favorite sweetener as desired.
Colonial Home Brew Kit: Cheers!! takes on all-new meaning with the Colonial Home Brew Kit, adapted from a handwritten entry in George Washington’s French and Indian War journal, “To make small beer.” The birthday celebrant will delight in making the so-called “small beer” – the process is quick, easy and ready in only 24-hours.
Colonial Grog Kit: Edward Vernon, a British admiral, created the first “grog” – rum diluted with water to allow the naval squadron to drink rum without getting drunk. What followed were as many variations of the drink as there were ships, containing sugars, a variety of fruits, and spices to improve the flavor. The drink later became a favorite of the Continental Navy.
Revolutionary War Sweet & Sugars: A collection of the sugars and sweets soldiers and sailors ate in the Revolutionary War – from the government, packages from home, sutlers tents and bum boats, and foraging. A tag on the box contains an historic illustration on one side and the story of each item on the back. Let us not forget that, while the Continental Army was hungry – at times starving – the British had it worse. And that is only one reason why the Revolutionaries won the war.
Sugar Sampler: Enjoy the distinct taste of North American sugars, used as a medicine, preservative, flavoring, and fermenting agent. There’s the 1700s style brown and white cane sugar, the primary reason for slavery, and alternatives abolitionists and others used: native maple sugar; sorghum grain; and raw beet sugar, today the most widely used sugar in the U.S.

1800s

The Industrial Revolution brought a tidal wave of change in sweets.

The 1800s saw the growth and demolition of enslavement with its close connection to sugar cane; the introduction of new sugars promoted by abolitionist; and the massive shifts in foods due to the Industrial Revolution, including the candy we know today.

Collections

1800s Confectionery Shop in a Box: The 1800s were a time of tremendous upheaval, change, and transformation, and sugars and sweets were part of them. This collection contains some of the most significant, from sorghum sugar, widely used throughout the nation, including as a cane sugar replacement for abolitionists, to Others, taffy, the Wilbur bud, and many more.
1800s Time Capsule: The 1800s were a dynamic time for foods of all sorts, and candy was no exception. In this time capsule, kids will experience these changes from the tasty and medicinal hard candies to the Circus Peanut, actually made for circuses in the late 1800s. Each one is described in a note from the Time Traveler. Fun, educational and tasty.
Civil War Commissary in A Box: Civil War soldiers received food – including sweets and sugars – from numerous places: the government, packages from home, groups and associations, and sutler’s – disreputable merchants who followed the troops, selling over-priced, often hard-to-find foods. The sutlers prompted the U.S. government to open commissaries.
Penny Candy Store in A Box: Penny Candy came to life in the mid-1800s and has been around ever since. This collection contains 15 favorite penny candies enjoyed for decades and generations, from traditional candy sticks to Pixy Stix. Candy Buttons? Licorice Laces? Yes. Packed with Fun, Flavor and Memories. That’s why we say….”Memories Never Tasted So Sweet.”
Taffy Treasures: Salt water taffy, molasses pulls, and Turkish Taffy: hand-made, machine-made, stick-to-you-teeth, or melt-in-your-mouth, the taffy in this bag, mainly from the late 1800s, says it all.

Individual Selections

20^th Century

The rise of candy we know today – from Candy Bars to Sponge Candy.

The 20th century launched an unprecedented age of candy made for kids, sent to soldiers at war, and reflecting everything from Prohibition to the Cold War. The colors were bright, the scent alluring, and the flavors out of this world.

Collections

1900s Collection Box: Known as “retro” candy, “old time candy” or “vintage” candy, the assortment of 20th century candy is as dynamic and surprising as the century itself. Think about it – the 20th century started with horse-drawn carriages and ended with rockets in space. The Industrial Revolution became just industry and air travel became an everyday event!
Armed Forces Collection Box: While the military was fighting in World War I and World War II, sugars and sweets were with them… but not for the reasons most people think. Enjoy this historic candy collection of soldiers rations spanning the two great wars of the 20th century. Candies sent by family, provided by the government, purchased from traders and foraged or found.
Bar in a Box: A delightful boozy walk-through taverns, saloons, and contemporary bars in a candy setting brought to you by award-winning researcher and True Treats’ founder Susan Benjamin. Enjoy authentic bourbon balls made with Woodford Reserve whiskey, plus mint julep balls, bourbon-infused caramels, a variety of alcohol-flavored cordials, perfect Margarita Rimming Sugar, rock candy cocktail stirrer, and a historic recipe book for the perfect drink.

Bubble Gum Capsule: Thirty pieces of bubble gum, from big gum balls to tiny Dubble Bubble. Fun and festive, from the 1920s-1940s.

Caramel Gift Box: What’s inside this box? Caramels through the ages: the caramel and caramel marshmallow aka “caramel biscuit” circa 1883, made when caramels and marshmallows were new; Coconut Longboys and Goetze’s Caramel Creams, among the growing family of turn-of-century penny candies; the iconic Sugar Daddy, circa 1925; 1940s caramel cubes, perfectly square and perfectly caramel; mid-1900s bourbon caramels and the baby of them all—bourbon caramels with salt.
Car Ride Kit: As for the roads – highways surfaced on the national landscape thanks to President Eisenhower, diners and rest stops sprouted up, including the first highway chain “Howard Johnson’s”, and fun food found a ready audience with kids in the back seat of the car. This indispensable kit is about traditional back seat fun, complete with finger games once popular in full-size and pint-size, and made-for-the-car board games and books with plenty of room for an old-fashioned diary, aka travel journal.
Exclusive Chocolate Box: The best kind of gift for the chocolate lover. A sample of chocolates from the very first eaten by the ancient Olmecs through the 1700s, 1800s into the 1960s. The selection includes bars, bourbon balls, nonpareils, chocolate covered caramels, Swiss chocolate…all with a tag giving the story of each. Each bite about culture, gardening, industry and like though the ages in the USA!

Fabulous Fandango: The youngest candies in our historic collection, these are fizzy, fiery, and fun, including Pop Rocks, Nik L’Nips and Fire Balls, to name a few. All high volume flavor, loaded with memories old and new.

Fabulous Jewelry Box: An exclusive and highly tasteful assortment of sugar gems and chocolate nuggets, a candy necklace, watch, bracelet and ring, accented by red candy lipstick. Always in good taste

Grandmother’s Purse Collection: The collection is made of memories, this bag contains the candy grandmas have dished out of their purses and grandpas out of their pockets. The selection based on comments from our customers and include Chic-O-Sticks, Lifesavers, NECCO wafers and plenty others.

Gummy Collection:The ultimate gummy collection for gummy lovers young and old! A flavorful mix of authentic 10th century Turkish delight and its descendants: gummy bears, gummy worms, jelly beans, Swedish Fish, gum drops, and more.
Hard Candy Sampler: An assortment of hard candies through time, from stain glass (1600s) to sour balls (a favorite of troops in WWII) to butterscotch enjoyed by grandparents everywhere. And don’t forget Cold War-era cinnamon candies, peppermint swirls, and a variety of others used to relieve sore throats, cover the smell of booze on the breath, and give as a gift of love.
Ice Cream Toppings Kit: People have enjoyed ice cream since the ancient Romans. But ice cream cones and sundaes fast became an American standard much later—starting in the late 1800s. Back then, sweets, fruits and nuts were sold together in stores, so it’s no surprise they appeared together in ice cream flavors and toppings. Favorites were chocolate, peanut butter, hard candies, pineapple, strawberries, peanuts and almonds. Others, such as sprinkles, started as nonpareils and sugar plums.
Lemonade Stand Kit: Lemonade stands started in the 1800s, run by kids, and frequently as a fund-raiser for charities. You can have your own 21st-century stand (at your kitchen counter!) with our lemonade stand kit. It contains historic lemon crystals, real raspberry powder, a variety of natural fruit-flavored sugars, plus summer sweets to remind you of days on the boardwalk – salt water taffy, fruit slices, and a candy surprise.

Licorice Lovers Box: Licorice may have started as a root used as a tooth brush, medicine, and flavoring for thousands of years. But enter the 1800s and up and a fascinating line of licorice sweets emerged. This box contains a variety to sample and enjoy such as licorice Allsorts (1880s), Good n’ Plenty (1893), Licorice Laces (1920s), and chalk licorice, licorice wheels, licorice pastels and pipes from the 1940s up.
Movie Candy Box: It all started in the late 1800s when vendors sold popcorn and peanuts outside moving picture establishments. During the Depression, theater owners got wise, opening concession stands to sell candy bars – which originated in 1912 and exploded after WWI, gum candies, and chocolate covered fruits and nuts.
Office Candy Set: Celebrate the Professional in your life. Whether called secretary, administrative assistant, or administrative professional that person was a powerhouse, ensure that office systems flowed smoothly and that everyone was able to work their best. And, of course, was the keeper of the candy – available to all as a respite, a pick-me-up and a chance to enjoy. These are some of the chocolates, chewy treats, and classics they provided – and still do today!
Pop-A-Lot:This collection would make flappers proud: a variety of 1920s lollipops, from the Dum Dum to the Sugar Daddy, with a few more-modern extras.

Princess Purses: Adorable plastic purses with a variety of candies no little lady can live without. Includes candy necklaces, candy lipstick, chocolate coins, and, of course, the Starlight Mints…and many more.
Toys and Treats Box: Paired with space age satellite wafers, fizzy Pop Rocks, colorful rock candy, and more retro favorites. Candies may vary based on availability. The young and young at heart are sure to love this fun filled collection of classic toys and candies!