Lollipops- Every Child’s Favorite
When I visited my mom in Melbourne, I packed many candles along with me for my three-year-old but not lollipops. I thought he would stick those on my car seats and make a mess, but as I reached mom’s home, I searched for a lolly shop near me. My son was running a fever, and he would never take his medicine unless it was dipped in a lollipop to be sucked. That’s when I thought how underestimated these candy options are.
Let us read some information about these hard candies.
History
Some call them suckers, some lollipops, but these are hard candies on a stick. You would be amazed to know that these candies have been around from ancient times. Charles Dickens has referred to candies attached to sticks in his novels of the nineteenth century.
These hard candies were put on the end of the pencils and sucked on. These were quite popular at a time when American Civil War was prevailing. The recipe for various kinds of lollipops is also found in old recipe books. This hints that they were made at home frequently as hard candies.
The first company-made Lollipops were Dum Dum lollipops manufactured by the Akron Company during the early 1900s.
Now, lollipops are widely popular and come in every shape and size.
How Are Lollipops Made?
In olden times lollipops were made of melted sugar, dropped onto wax paper, and stick inserted into it.
The whole lollipop-making process has become quite sophisticated, but basic raw materials are still the same. Today, lollipops are made from corn syrup and sugar. Many candy companies produce these candies in large batches.
- Initially, dry sugar is dissolved in water at a high temperature.
- Then in a pre cooker, corn syrup is added to the sugar mixture and heated to around 228F.
- Then this cooked corn syrup is sent to a final cooker and again cooked in a vacuum. This process is carried out to remove all the moisture from the candy.
- The color, flavors, and citric acid are added to the mixture.
- Now the candy is ready to be transformed into a lollipop. The mixture is sent to a giant machine where it is cooled, divided, and sticks added to each one.
- Then a packing machine wraps plastic on the candy heads, and batches are sent to get packed and reach the market.
Conclusion
Lollipops are simple candies but are a source of great joy for little kids and, well, for some adults too. Isn’t it amazing that our ancestors from the 19th century were sucking the same kind of candies as we do now? Every confectionery store has this hardened candy on a stick to attract kids. As for me, these lollipops are my savior when it comes to feeding my kids any medicinal syrup.