Sweet Treats

Almost everyone, even those without a particularly sweet tooth, has a favorite sugary snack or some happy memory associated with confections or ice cream. It’s nostalgic; it’s a simple pleasure. And it’s been the inspiration for multiple innovations over the decades, all in the pursuit of sweet indulgence.

Pocket Money & Penny Candy

Humans have enjoyed variations on sugary, sweet candies for thousands of years, but it wasn’t until white cane sugar became easily accessible and the Industrial Revolution of the mid-1800s changed the face of production around the globe that candy became easily available. Inventions like the candy press meant that individual sweets could be mass produced, instead of being painstakingly hand rolled and shaped by workers. Quickly produced from easily available ingredients, these candies could be sold cheaply directly to children eager to spend their pocket money on a bag of penny candy.

Close to the turn of the century, five-and-dime store magnate Frank W. Woolworth decided he wanted to get in on the candy craze. By buying directly from a factory, he was able to drop the price of a quarter pound of mixed sweets from 25 cents to 5. His stores displayed brass trays full of brightly wrapped candies right at the front door, where children could see them through the window and shoppers would be reminded to bring some candy home to the family. This sales tactic was so effective that he expected candy sales alone to pay the rent on his stores.

People love candy so much that any innovation that made it more accessible to the masses was heralded as a triumph. When in 1912 Samuel Born invented a machine that automatically inserted sticks into lollipops, he was given the key to the city. Innovations in packaging kept up with production, creating a whole new side industry to candy making itself.

It wasn’t only hard candy and boiled sweets that benefited from the advent of mass production: after seeing chocolate-making equipment at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, American caramel maker Milton S. Hershey brought it home to Pennsylvania and began work on a cheap, easily produced milk chocolate bar. His recipe, which used sweetened condensed skim milk, took three years to develop…largely because Hershey had no experience with either dairy or chocolate making and simply reverse-engineered a workable milk chocolate recipe through trial and error. His method for slowly condensing fresh skim milk made for smooth chocolate, but it also introduced a slightly sour flavor to the candy. Mass-producing and selling his new milk chocolate bars for 5 cents apiece, the name ‘Hershey’ soon became synonymous with chocolate in the United States, to the point where other manufacturers sometimes add butyric acid—which adds that slight tang—to their own chocolate.

Making the Ice Cream Dream a Reality

Do you want some ice cream? Think about how easy it is to make that wish a reality. Chances are good you already have a pint or half gallon in your freezer. If not, you can pick some up at almost any store or go out to treat yourself to a cone or sundae. Ice cream is ubiquitous now, but it wasn’t until 1851, after the Industrial Revolution modernized factories and processes and decades after the invention of insulated ice houses and the hand-cranked ice cream maker, that anyone attempted large[1]scale production. And then, in 1913, something happened that brought ice cream home to the public: the invention of the residential refrigerator.

Large-scale ammonia or sulfur dioxide refrigeration, which used a vapor compression cycle for cooling, had been in use since the end of the previous century, but the potential for dangerous gas leaks made them too unsafe for home refrigerators. Just past the turn of the century, American inventor and charter member of the American Society of Refrigerating Engineers Fred W. Wolf developed a simple electric version of the icebox which could be kept in a home: the Domestic Electric Refrigerator, or DOMELRE.   

This factory manufactured, plug-and-play unit went on top of a family’s ice box and used an air-cooled condenser, copper tubing joined with flare type fittings, and a thermostat to keep the temperature low. It was also the first home appliance to use an ice cube tray, which was about the only thing in the DOMELRE that worked especially well. The price tag of $900 was also a little steep, since it was equivalent to the average annual wage. The company that bought and manufactured the model went bankrupt in 1922, but the home refrigeration trend had firmly taken hold: by the 1960’s, almost every American family had a home refrigerator.

But marvels of refrigeration engineering weren’t the only boost to ice cream’s popularity. The human tendency to exploit any loopholes changed ice cream from an occasional treat to a near-daily one. In this case, the pendulum swung in 1920, when Congress passed the Volstead Act. Perhaps you know it better by its more common name: Prohibition, when the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States was largely forbidden by law. There was, of course, the usual reaction to a highly prohibitive law—that is, people broke it—but those who tried to abide were left looking for a different indulgence to wash away their stresses and cares. Enter: ice cream.

There was, of course, the usual reaction to a highly prohibitive law—that is, people broke it—but those who tried to abide were left looking for a different indulgence to wash away their stresses and cares. Enter: ice cream.

Soon, soda fountains were the new saloons, soda jerks mixing variations of ice cream with different syrups and sodas (and, sometimes, ‘medicinal’ liquors, circumventing the law). As popularity boomed, the old hand-cranked method of making ice cream required modernization. In 1926, an American inventor named Clarence Vogt seized his opportunity and developed the first continuous process freezer, variations on which are still used today in ice cream production facilities that dwarf those of the early 20th century.

An Army Marches on its Sweet Tooth

Ice cream may have gotten a bump from Prohibition, but it was a much wider-reaching event that kicked off the global love affair with candy bars: World War II. Chocolate had been part of wartime rations for decades by the time the US entered the global conflict, and in 1937, the United States Army approached William Murrie of Hershey to commission a new chocolate ration bar. The request was for a bar weighing 4 ounces, high in food energy value, able to withstand high temperatures, and which tasted “a little better than a boiled potato.” This led to the creation of Field Ration D, a vitamin B1-fortified bar made of chocolate, oatmeal, and sugar…though not enough chocolate or sugar to make Field Ration D an appealing snack.

The recipe wasn’t the only challenge when it came to producing Field Ration D. Formed chocolates are usually made by pouring melted, tempered chocolate into molds and letting it set. Field Ration D, however, refused to flow at any temperature, and required Hershey’s to develop new molds into which the chocolate paste was pressed by hand. The initial order was for 90,000 bars. Fortunately for Hershey employees, the process was automated by the time the US engaged in the war.

Packaging the bars required similar adherence to Army requirements. To keep the bars from absorbing poison gas, Hershey packed them in heat sealed cellophane and individual cardboard cartons, which were then glued, dipped in wax and packed twelve cartons at a time into a master carton which was also glued before being packed into a wooden case with eleven other master cartons. After the success of Field Ration D, Hershey’s was commissioned to make another (better tasting) bar for tropical assignments, resulting in Hershey’s Tropical Bar. Decades later, American astronauts brought this same bar with them to the moon, proving once again that chocolate cravings can hit anywhere at any time.

If Field Ration D doesn’t sound that appealing, don’t worry. Soldiers had access to plenty of tastier candies, including M&Ms (which were originally manufactured exclusively for MRE, self-contained meals for soldiers), Life Savers, and Tootsie Rolls. A little sweetness in their rations provided much-needed energy, and a morale boost that extended far beyond individual soldiers.

During the blockade of West Berlin, western nations engaged in “Operation Vittles,” or the Berlin Airlift, where sup[1]plies were dropped by plane for the people of West Berlin. One of these pilots, Gail Halvorsen, shared his gum with children who approached him. Not having enough treats to go around, he promised to be back, telling the children he would drop candy from his plane for them. So they’d recognize his plane, he’d waggle his wings as he came over the drop zone. True to his word, Halvorsen came back, wiggling his wings as promised, and dropped candy tied to handkerchief parachutes from the belly of his bomber. Despite acting without permission, Operation “Little Vittles” was a public relations goldmine and soon became not just sanctioned but supported by multiple other pilots and by candy makers across the United States, who shipped treats overseas to be dropped for the children of Berlin.

 HFCS: The Bad Boy of Nutritive Sweeteners

Sucrose (granulated white sugar) is the leading sweetener around the world, but as they3 say: you either die a hero or you live long enough to become a villain. You might say that sugar and its unpopular but extremely effective cousin high-fructose corn syrup are going through their villain eras. The effects of a cheap and widely used ingredient coming under public scrutiny has been rippling through the food and beverage industry for years, with no sign of stopping anytime soon.

Despite the growing popularity of sugar-free, zero-calorie food and beverage products and sucrose alternatives such as aspartame, sucralose, saccharin, and neotame, global sugar consumption continues to rise. In 2022-23, the global community consumed 176 million metric tons of sugar, led by the United States, where the population consumes 126.4 grams of sugar per capita daily. Not all sugar is created equal, however, and there can be no discussion of global sugar consumption and its effects on the populace without bringing up the current black sheep of the sweetener family: high-fructose corn syrup.

Sucrose is inexpensive to produce and useful in many applications, but it has some shortcomings. It breaks down in acids, which affects the flavor and texture of the finished product, and it’s a granular ingredient that sometimes must be dissolved in water or another liquid before use. HFCS, on the other hand, is a liquid ingredient stable in acids and chemically similar to sucrose. It can be easily transported and stored in tanks, usually requiring only a little dilution to make it a viable ingredient. While HFCS has existed since 1957, its widespread use began in the 1980s as corn-based ingredients became cheaper than sugar. In recent years, it has also been considered a major cause of the obesity epidemic.

The basis for this belief comes from a scientific paper published by George Bray and others in 2004, linking the rising consumption of HFCS with the increase of obesity in the United States. The paper suggested that HFSC is sweeter than normal sucrose and that humans process fructose differently than sucrose, leading to an overweight population. Originally published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Bray’s theory was rapidly picked up by the media and splashed across newspapers and magazines. The source of the obesity epidemic was found!

But remember the middle of this section, where you learned that the differences between HFCS and sucrose are chemically insignificant? The human body processes HFCS and cane sugar similarly, and people are no more likely to overeat due to HFCS than they are if the recipe included cane sugar. HFCS is also not sweeter than sugar. That misconception arises from comparing crystallized fructose to crystallized sucrose, but HFCS remains in syrup form without crystallizing. Relative to sucrose syrups, HFCS and sucrose have the same level of sweetness. In multiple studies done since 2004, no definitive link between HFCS and obesity has been made.

But it’s hard to stop a story once it gains a life of its own, and companies continue to develop products sweetened with “real sugar” or sugar alternatives instead of HFCS, attempting to find the balance between indulgent and health-conscious that consumers crave.

Tasty Trends

Candy and ice cream are still, as they have been for hundreds and thousands of years, wildly popular. In North America, the ice cream market is expected to be worth over $22B US by the end of 2024, with the global market expected to reach $91B US in 2024, with a 5.7% volume growth over the next 3 years.

Consumers are going wild for intensely indulgent frozen treats with novel flavors and textures, but the old comforting classics are still just as popular as ever. 8 out of 10 North American consumers still say they enjoy traditional flavors like chocolate and vanilla; simpler flavors that remind them of a simpler time. In fact, chocolate currently reigns supreme, with 44% of global consumers preferring it to other flavors. Still, look for new and unique flavors and collaborations between brands (Van Leeuwen’s Hidden Valley Ranch flavor may be a sign that we’ve flown too close to the sun on this one) and flavors featuring multiple textures or interesting colors. Ice cream fans are also looking for mindfulness in their comfort food: 56% of global consumers say they actively seek out sustainably produced treats. Plant-based and reduced-sugar options continue climbing the charts, and over half of global consumers say they’re looking for clean ingredients.

Gaining popularity are claims of no added sugar to the product, which made up over half of new sugar-related food and beverage launches in 2022. Similar trends are affecting the confectionery market, which raked in a staggering US$1trn in the United States in 2023 and which is expected to keep growing at a rate of 5.88% annually through 2028. Sales have never been higher, but they now include health-conscious options for consumers trying to move. Confectionery trends aren’t just about the product; packaging is part of the consumer decision, too, and more brands are moving toward consumer-desired sustainable and eco-friendly packaging options. Production giant Unilever is offering non-exclusive reformulation patents for ice cream recipes that will stay stable in warmer temperatures as part of an emission-reducing goal. Raising their freezers six degrees to 12 degrees Celsius means a more energy efficient and cheaper freezer. Whatever trends might come and go, ice cream and candy are here to stay, adding sweetness to our lives one scoop or one piece at a time.