I am currently on the road and will be outside the United States for Christmas. The other day I was at the grocery store picking up some essentials when all of a sudden I stopped; right in front of me was a newly stocked shelf of perfect green and red peppermint candy canes. I was so excited I could have spun around, but to avoid the embarrassment, I hurried to the shelf and picked up the box to take a look at the price. It was an equivalent to $2.20. Okay, that’s a bit more than US prices, but let’s face it, Christmas is around the corner, I am away from my family, and a good candy cane can really bring me that good old holiday cheer. I bought a box and enjoyed one of the peppermint canes immediately after walking out of the store.
It’s strange for me because I do not normally get excited about something that is almost completely sugar. Candy canes, I suppose, are the exception. Then again looking back, I believe I have always been a bit of a candy cane addict. In fact, I can remember sneaking a cane off the tree when my mom wasn’t looking; to cover my tracks I would move the other nearby candy canes around so as to let my candy cane thievery go unnoticed.
After my shopping trip extravaganza, I got to thinking about these creative pieces of candy and began to wonder where they came from. The infamous candy cane goes back over 3 centuries when it began with candy craftsmen making straight white sugar sticks for children. The trademark ‘hook’ is said to have been added in 1670 by a choirmaster working at Cologne Cathedral in Germany. According to stories, he bent the sugar sticks to represent the staff of a shepherd which was then handed out to children during mass. It wasn’t until the mid 1800’s that candy canes were brought to America by a German immigrant. During the early 1900’s stripes and peppermint flavor were added to the white canes and by 1920 Lt. Bob McCormack began producing and distributing candy canes under Bobs Candies. I would have never guessed that the candy cane dated back hundreds of years!
More importantly, recent studies conducted by the British Medical Journal and led by McMaster University researcher Alex Ford, has found evidence suggesting that peppermint oil, which is found in candy canes, may help irritable bowel syndrome and kill harmful bacteria. As peppermint oil is hard to ingest on its own, a candy cane is a great alternative for not only children, but adults too!
Well there you have it! Candy canes do not only have an impressive history and taste so good they could make a person want to spin around when spotting one, but they offer potential health benefits to anyone wanting to enjoy this delectable treat.