Buttermints

A natural question about buttermint is “Who invented buttermints?” The answer comes down to this: no one. No one invented them. They just emerged out of a history of delightfully soft, creamy sweets such as the pulled cream from the mid-1800s sold as a penny canny. And the melt-away mints whose name says it all. Better to ask who branded them? Or, even better, marketed them so we still enjoy them today.

The likeliest contender is Richardson’s who started making butter mints in 1893. They may have made them, but didn’t advertise a lot: that didn’t happen until the 1920s when other companies were advertising them, as well. And the reason? Buttermints were perfect for tea parties, bridge games, and other events where women gathered for (an often very) light lunch. Food was not the point, but conversation was. So why stuff your face with a piece of cake when you can delicately enjoy a mint between snippets of conversation.

Later, after Prohibition ended, cocktail parties returned to offer an altogether different social experience. By buttermints, with their light buttery flavor and texture remined. So smooth, so – yes! – buttery, without that problematic tendency to melt.

Want more about creamy candies? See what Susan has to say.