Old Fashioned Candy

Candy, specifically sugar candy, is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added. Candy can be from sweet to sour. Candies come in numerous colors and varieties and have a long history in popular culture.

The word "candy" comes from the Sanskrit "çahn-da", meaning "piece (of sugar)," which again perhaps from Dravidian (cf. Tamil kantu "candy," kattu "to harden, condense").""candy", OED http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=candy In North America, candy is a broad category that includes candy bars, chocolates, licorice, sour candies, salty candies, tart candies, hard candies, taffies, gumdrops, marshmallows, and more. Vegetables, fruit or nuts glazed and coated with sugar are called candied.

Outside North America, the generic name for candy is sweets or confectionery (UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and other Commonwealth countries). In Australia and New Zealand, sweets are, in normal usage, further categorized as either chocolate or lollies (for all other non-chocolate candies).

In North America, the UK, and Australia, the word lollipop refers specifically to sugar candy on a stick. While not used in the generic sense of North America, the term candy is used in the UK for specific types of foods such as candy floss (cotton candy in North America and fairy floss in Australia), and certain other sugar based products.

Category: File - :Pixy_Stix.jpg|thumb|right|Pixy Stix

Pixy Stix is a powdered candy packaged in a wrapper that resembles a drinking straw.

Pixy Stix used to be made by Sunline which started in 1952 in St. Louis, Missouri. Originally it was a drink mix in the late 30s, sold as Frutola, but J. Fish Smith found that kids were eating the sweet & sour powder right from the package. He shifted the name to Fruzola and added a spoon. Later it was repackaged with a dipping candy stick as Lik-m-Aid and also sold in little straws called Pixy Stix. It wasn't until parents complained about the grainy, sticky powder that Sunline came up with a compressed tablet form, the SweeTart in 1963.http://www.typetive.com/candyblog/item/giant_pixy_stix/

Sunline was sold to Rowntree Mackintosh of the UK, which was then bought by Nestle. Nestle maintained the Sunline brand for a while and only recently has rolled the SweeTarts, Pixy Stix and Lik-m-Aid into the Wonka brand, which already had a strong line of sugar candy, such as Tart ?n Tiny, Nerds and Runts.

The candy is usually poured from the wrapper into the mouth. The ingredients in Pixy Stix are as follows: Dextrose, Citric Acid, less than 2% artificial and natural flavors. Pixy Stix is a registered trademark of Societe des Produits Nestle S.A. Vevey, Switzerland.

Popcorn or popping corn is a type of corn which explodes from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn popping was originally discovered by Native Americans, but became popular as a snack food during the United States Great Depression, especially in movie theaters.

Corn is able to pop because, unlike other grains, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy filling. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive "pop" results. Some strains of corn are now cultivated specifically as popping corns.

There are many techniques for popping corn. Commercial large-scale popcorn machines were invented by Charles Cretors in the late 19th Century. Many types of small-scale home methods for popping corn also exist, with the most popular being prepackaged microwavable popcorn.

As a snack food, popcorn has both advocates and detractors. Some consider it to be a health food, while others caution against it for a variety of reasons. Popcorn can also have non-food applications, ranging from holiday decorations to packaging materials.

Candy cigarettes (sometimes called sugar fags in the United Kingdom) is a candy introduced in the early 19th century made out of chalky sugar, bubblegum or chocolate, wrapped in paper as to resemble cigarettes. Their place on the market has long been controversial because many critics believe the candy desensitizes children, leading them to become smokers later in life. Because of this, the selling of candy cigarettes has been banned in several countries such as Finland, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

In the United States a ban was considered in 1970 and again in 1991, but was not passed into federal law. The U.S. state of North Dakota enacted a ban on candy cigarettes from 1953 until 1967.Lloyd, Robin. "Study Links Candy Cigarettes to Smoking", LiveScience, June 18, 2007, accessed August 31, 2008. In Canada federal law prohibits candy cigarette branding that resembles real cigarette brandingCanada Tobacco Control Act 1997, Part IV, Section 27 and the territory of Nunavut has banned all products that resemble cigarettes.Nunavut Tobacco Control Act 2003, Section 4

Category: Image - :Candy cigarettes.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Assortment of candy cigarettes

Candy cigarettes continue to be manufactured and consumed in many parts of the world. However, many manufacturers now describe their products as candy sticks, bubble gum, or candy.World Candies at Cardhouse.com. Accessed 9 December 2008.

Taffy is a type of chewy candy. Taffy is made by stretching or pulling a sticky mass of boiled sugar, butter or vegetable oil, flavorings, and coloring until fluffy. When this process is complete, the taffy is rolled, cut into small pastel-coloured pieces and wrapped in wax paper to keep it soft. It usually has a fruity flavor, but other flavors are common as well, including molasses and the classic unflavored taffy.

Salt water taffy was a noted invention of Atlantic City, New Jersey, and became a common souvenir of many coastal resort towns. Modern commercial taffy is made primarily from corn syrup, glycerin and butter. However, the Laffy Taffy and Airheads brands do not contain any animal-based products. The "pulling" process, which makes the candy lighter and chewier, consists of stretching out the mixture, folding it over and stretching it out again.

In the United Kingdom, taffy has no real identity in its own right, but can be found in the form of popular names such as Chewits or Starbursts.

Caramel candies are sometimes referred to as taffy (taffy apples), but are very different from common salt water taffy.