Sugar Rush

Hi Puzzlers,

Have you seen our newest candy puzzles, Sugar Rush and Night Time Cravings? Just looking at them starts my mouth watering! I do try to refrain from eating too much candy or sweets, but often, especially after looking at these puzzles, I need to have a sugar fix. Candy by definition is any “variety of confections made with sugar or syrup, which is often combined with chocolate, fruit, nuts, etc.”

Honey was the first sweetener. Cavemen would eat it straight from the combs. The Egyptians, Greeks and Romans would use honey to coat fruit, seeds, flowers and stems. I’m thinking granola bar! Yum! Many historians believe that the first candies were eaten as medical treatments for digestion problems and sore throats. The marshmallow plant (yes -- you read right!) was ground and mixed with honey as a sore throat remedy. The much-loved Jujubes (also a plant) have been used for centuries to aid in digestion, mood, poor appetite and more. We have been masking the bad taste of medicine with sweeteners since antiquity.

During the Middle Ages spices were added to sugar with the intention to use the “candy” to help prevent digestive troubles due to over-consumption and food not being very fresh or balanced. These candies were very expensive and only the elite groups could afford them. They would be packaged in tiny boxes and given to guests, who would savor them at night in their rooms.

After the British colonized Barbados in 1627 and Jamaica in 1655, they began to almost exclusively produce sugar on these islands. Due to the forced labor of the African slaves, sugar manufacturing prices were much lower. The reduction in sugar cost allowed every social group the chance to afford sugar and as time passed more sugar, and thus candies, was produced. And, as they say, the rest is history -- until we get to the wrappers and that will be the topic of our next blog.

Happy Puzzling!