Homemade lollipops and caramel are a simple and tasty treat, but it’s not that simple. I made caramel for the first time, and it turned out to be not as easy as it seems. You need skill, dexterity and speed. Everything is the same as in extreme driving, but the more difficult the task, the more interesting it is. Now forget everything I said and get ready. Don't be afraid of anything! Everything will work out!

We will need very few products, but we will get a decent amount of candy.

Place molasses, sugar and water in a saucepan with a thick bottom. Place on the fire and cook after boiling for 7 minutes. I used a food thermometer and cooked until the syrup reached 124 degrees. In this case, the syrup must be constantly stirred. The syrup should remain light and in no case darken.

When the syrup reaches 124 degrees, it doesn't look like syrup at all, but more like fluffy foam. Add citric acid and mix. There will be even more foam. Pour the syrup onto a silicone mat, placing a spatula under the edges so that there is a hollow in the middle and the syrup does not run away anywhere. Let's put gloves on our hands. The syrup is hot, you need to work carefully so as not to burn yourself. Add a drop of gel dye to half the syrup. The syrup will cool and set. Let's take some of the colored syrup (cooled a little), it no longer flows, and we will stretch and fold, thereby saturating the caramel with oxygen. The mass will acquire a pearlescent hue. Place the part of the caramel that you are not working with under an infrared lamp, I don’t have one, so I put the caramel in the oven on a silicone mat at a temperature of 60 degrees.

After stretching, roll out two sausages of different colors and weave them together with a flagellum. We act very quickly and carefully so as not to get burned. We twist the edge and make canes. Caramel can be cut well with scissors as long as it is plastic. I acted so quickly that the scissors left only a mark in the frame))

The finished sweets look like this. You can make hearts and whatever you want.

Whatever the child enjoys

The first mention of the famous candy dates back to the 17th century. Children all over the world owe the appearance of the candy cane to the choirmaster of Cologne Cathedral. According to legend, he could not get the boy choristers to remain silent during long services. Then he decided to distract the children with something and ordered sugar candies from a local confectioner. And so that the candy sticks would not look reprehensible during the service, the choirmaster asked to bend one end. So the candies took the shape of a shepherd’s crook to supposedly remind children of how the shepherds came to bow to the baby Jesus.

This beautiful story is a bit like a fairy tale, but perfect for telling to children at Christmas. According to another version, the candy cane was made in the shape of a hook to make it easier to hang on the tree. This explanation is quite logical, because candy actually often decorated holiday trees.

Religious symbols

Originally, candy canes were probably just white, like all sugar sticks. This is how they can be seen on old Christmas cards until the 19th century. Color stripes appeared on them later.

The candy cane was invented by the choirmaster of Cologne Cathedral

According to legend, four red stripes appeared on sweets during the English Revolution, when the Puritan authorities under the leadership of Cromwell forbade residents to celebrate Christmas. Then caramel sticks became an identification mark of opponents of the regime. Three thin red stripes on white candy symbolized the Trinity, and one wide stripe was applied in memory of the redeeming power of Christ.

The first candies in the USA

There is another legend in the USA. Locals believe that the candy cane was invented by an American candy manufacturer from Indiana. The candies were filled with symbols. The white color signified the purity of the immaculate conception of Christ, the hardness was reminiscent of the cornerstone that lies at the foundation of the Christian church.

The red stripes on the candy symbolize the blood of Christ.

The red stripes were applied in memory of the blood shed by Christ. The very curved shape of the caramel resembled the letter J, the first in the Latin spelling of the name of Jesus. Most likely, this is another beautiful fairy tale. In fact, the appearance of candy canes in the United States is associated with the name of the German migrant August Imgard. It was he who first decorated the Christmas tree in Ohio with paper garlands, gilded nuts and canes in 1847.

By the middle of the 19th century, striped candies became one of children's favorite treats and a real symbol of Christmas. Recipes for candy canes were published in cookbooks, and the sweets themselves were sold on every corner.

Industrial production

In the mid-50s of the 20th century, a machine for the industrial production of sugar canes was invented in the USA. An American, Gregory Keller, invented a special method of bending sticks. His relative Bob McCormack was in the Christmas candy business and regularly lost about 20% of his production due to canes breaking during bending.

Classic candy canes come in a mint flavor.

Thanks to the introduction of new methods, the number of candies produced has increased tenfold. Traditionally, candy canes are made with mint flavoring, but strawberry candies are also available. The red and white color of the delicacy is also complemented by bright green or yellow stripes. But the classic candy cane is still one of the main symbols of Christmas for many.

Good day everyone!

There are only 26 days left until the New Year, some have already begun active preparations for it, some are holding out until the last day. I am one of those who prefer to prepare for the holidays in advance. Some of the gifts have already been purchased; I decided to decorate sweet gifts for my nephews (I have three of them) in a special way. In this matter, naturally, the Internet helps me. It was on the Internet that I looked at New Year’s sweet gifts in an unusual design...

Once again walking through the Pyaterochka retail chain, I noticed the candy cane “Cane”. The price is no more than 20 rubles per piece. I needed six of them.

Each lollipop is individually wrapped and has a sticker with product information on the bottom. By the way, the composition of the lollipops is completely natural! You can see it in the photo below:

I liked the taste of the candies, pleasant, strawberry. The lollipops break off easily, and you can also chew them without much effort. My daughter’s baby teeth were not damaged in any way after the tasting))

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

And now Let's start the New Year's master class . Naturally, a wonderful sweet sleigh will be a wonderful addition to the main gift, for the manufacture of which we will need very little:

☑ Candy caramel. As you already understand, the caramel will serve as runners for our sleighs. One sled will require two candies.

☑ Sweets . Whatever you want: chocolates, marmalades, bars. Absolutely everything will come into play! I mainly collect budget sweets, each costing no more than 25 rubles.

☑ Scissors and tape. Well, everything is clear with scissors, tape is needed to secure the runners, and all subsequent sweets. You can use a glue gun, but keep in mind that the heat will melt the chocolate a little.

So, let's start the process. First I’ll explain, and then I’ll show you clearly) We take a large bar of chocolate, I have this cake, and attach lollipop runners to it. For reliability, I glued both the top and bottom.

Then we put everything we want on this cake, everything we like in random order and secure everything with tape. All three of my sleds turned out different.

I tied the finished sleigh with a thin satin ribbon. You can not decorate it at all, or you can decorate it with something else.

To complete the festive look of the sleigh, I decided to place it in a transparent bag, but I didn’t calculate its size, so I had to stand the sleigh instead of putting it down. I added a couple of chocolate eggs to the sleds and tied the bags with the rest of the satin ribbon.

As a result, I got these small, unusual sweet gifts for my nephews. I think my sweet sled will definitely attract their attention!

Candy canes are a favorite Christmas treat for all children and a stylish decoration for the Christmas tree. According to legend, the famous candy was invented by the choirmaster of the Cologne Cathedral to calm children making noise during services. Mint or cinnamon, multi-colored or with traditional red and white stripes - the story of the appearance of the world's most famous caramel on diletant.media.

Whatever the child enjoys

The first mention of the famous candy dates back to the 17th century. Children all over the world owe the appearance of the candy cane to the choirmaster of Cologne Cathedral. According to legend, he could not get the boy choristers to remain silent during long services. Then he decided to distract the children with something and ordered sugar candies from a local confectioner. And so that the candy sticks would not look reprehensible during the service, the choirmaster asked to bend one end. So the candies took the shape of a shepherd’s crook to supposedly remind children of how the shepherds came to bow to the baby Jesus.

This beautiful story is a bit like a fairy tale, but perfect for telling to children at Christmas. According to another version, the candy cane was made in the shape of a hook to make it easier to hang on the tree. This explanation is quite logical, because candy actually often decorated holiday trees.

Religious symbols

Originally, candy canes were probably just white, like all sugar sticks. This is how they can be seen on old Christmas cards until the 19th century. Color stripes appeared on them later. According to legend, four red stripes appeared on sweets during the English Revolution, when the Puritan authorities under the leadership of Cromwell forbade residents to celebrate Christmas. Then caramel sticks became an identification mark of opponents of the regime. Three thin red stripes on white candy symbolized the Trinity, and one wide stripe was applied in memory of the redeeming power of Christ.

The first candies in the USA

There is another legend in the USA. Locals believe that the candy cane was invented by an American candy manufacturer from Indiana. The candies were filled with symbols. The white color signified the purity of the immaculate conception of Christ, the hardness was reminiscent of the cornerstone that lies at the foundation of the Christian church. The red stripes were applied in memory of the blood shed by Christ. The very curved shape of the caramel resembled the letter J, the first in the Latin spelling of the name of Jesus. Most likely, this is another beautiful fairy tale. In fact, the appearance of candy canes in the United States is associated with the name of the German migrant August Imgard. It was he who first decorated the Christmas tree in Ohio with paper garlands, gilded nuts and canes in 1847.

By the middle of the 19th century, striped candies became one of children's favorite treats and a real symbol of Christmas. Recipes for candy canes were published in cookbooks, and the sweets themselves were sold on every corner.

Industrial production

In the mid-50s of the 20th century, a machine for the industrial production of sugar canes was invented in the USA. An American, Gregory Keller, invented a special method of bending sticks. His relative Bob McCormack was in the Christmas candy business and regularly lost about 20% of his production due to canes breaking during bending. Thanks to the introduction of new methods, the number of candies produced has increased tenfold. Traditionally, candy canes are made with mint flavoring, but strawberry candies are also available. The red and white color of the delicacy is also complemented by bright green or yellow stripes. But the classic candy cane is still one of the main symbols of Christmas for many.