With Halloween coming soon, that means only one thing really: candy.
Anyone who trick-or-treated as a child knows that there's always one or two houses that dish out some obscure candy. So, as we did last year, between now and October 31st, we'll take quick looks at obscure candies (and some popular ones as well), just so you know what exactly you're getting yourself into.
Today: Necco Wafers
What they're made of: Fairly straight forward: sugar, corn syrup, gelatin, gums, colorings, flavorings, and a desperate need for a glass of water.
Who owns it: New England Confectionery Company (Necco)
Background: It all starts with a lozenge-cutting machine, and who doesn't feel a thrill of excitement with lozenges?
In 1847, an English immigrant named Oliver Chase created said lozenge-cutting machine and created the wafers to be used in his invention. The confectionery was so popular, fifteen years later many Union soldiers carried them during the Civil War. Was that the secret to defeating the Confederacy? Clearly.
Chase's candy company eventually merged with two other local confectioneries at the turn of the century to create the New England Confectionery Company, and by 1912 the candy was officially branded as Necco Wafers. Fast forward thirty years, and the United States government ordered Necco to produce the wafers for the troops fighting in World War Two. Because nothing was a great pick-me-up to defeat the Nazis quite like a mouthful of chalk.
In 2009, the company changed the recipe slightly and made the candy with only all natural flavors and colorings. The backlash from the public over the change was so damaging--a 35% drop in sales, and reams of complaint letters--that by 2011 the company went back to artificial colors and flavors.
Artificial over natural. If that doesn't explain America in a nutshell, nothing will.
What it tastes like: A bottle of Tums, except with lower expectations.
Halloween Trick-or-Treat Grade: C-
Any kid who receives Necco Wafers on Halloween knows grandma and grandpa have some candy coming their way.
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