Candy: A Sweet and Short Story

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Candy, or sweets, is a child’s favorite delicacy. From lollipops to chocolate—yes, chocolate falls under the ‘candy/sweets’ umbrella—they come in different shapes, flavors, and textures. Candy is enjoyed by many around the world, not just children. Whether it be a craving for a birthday or any special occasion, like Valentine’s Day, candy delights the palate of those who eat it. Let’s explore the history of the word, preferably while eating a piece of your favorite candy.

First, let’s go back to candy’s fundamental ingredient: sugar. Sugar is made by making sugar granules from the sweet extracted juice of the sugar cane. The process is believed to have started in India around 500 BCE, and it is believed that Indian confectioners began making sweet morsels, calling them khaṇḍa, or piece of sugar, which comes from the verb khaṇḍ, meaning to divide or cut into pieces in Sanskrit. Some etymologists believe that the Sanskrit word goes back to a Dravidian (a group of related languages spoken in Southern India) source meaning to harden or condense.

Continue reading to find out more about the origin of Candy….

Image for Article: Candy: A Sweet and Short Story

The Persians discovered the Indian “reeds that produce honey without bees” and adopted the techniques of not only extracting sugar cane juice from sugarcane, but also the crystallization of sugar and the making of sugary goods. They, in turn, adopted the Sanskrit term ‘khaṇḍa’ and called their sugar confections qand, which in modern Persian now means sugarloaf and ābnabāt means candy, but literally means “water-plant,” were cooked in water to make a variety of sweets. This is like Mandarin speakers, who say “candy”—táng guǒ, literally ‘sweet fruit.’ When the Arabs came to Persia in the 7th century, they delightfully embraced Persian sweets and introduced their candy-making techniques to other lands they conquered. During the Middle Ages in Sicily and in Spain, the Arabs there introduced this new concept to their Christian neighbors. Sukkar qandī or ‘candied sugar,’ was what Arabic speakers called hard sweets made of boiled cane sugar. The Normans, after conquering Sicily from the Arabs, travelled back and forth to their ancestral home in Normandy where they introduced çucre candi to France in the 13th century. The Normans, of course, took the art and joy of sucre candi to Norman England, where it was known as sugre candi. Over time, sugar candy became part of the English language. In modern French, candies are called ‘bonbons,’ alluding to the fact that they are “good good.”

Whether it’s ‘plant water,’ ‘good good,’ or ‘sweet fruit’ this Valentine’s Day season, when you gorge on all that sweet candy that your valentine has given you (or that you have given yourself), have some thought on the origin of the word ‘candy’ and enjoy all those delicious confections with gusto.

Sources: https://www.etymonline.com/word/candy#etymonline_v_660.
“Agribusiness Handbook: Sugar beet white sugar” (PDF). Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations. 2009.; Sweets: A History of Candy, Tim Richardson, 2002.
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/01/19/463583428/from-candy-to-juleps-persians-left-imprint-on-many-edible-delights

Velázquez Press
Author: Velázquez Press

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