The origin of candy
The history of candy dates back three thousand years. The character "饴" appeared in ancient Chinese texts during the Han Dynasty, and rock candy may have been an early form of hard candy.
2024-11-21
The history of candy can be traced back to three thousand years ago. The character "饴" appeared in ancient Chinese texts during the Han Dynasty, and maltose may have been an early form of hard candy.
Over a thousand years ago, the ancient Egyptians made sweets using honey, dates, and figs; during the Tang Dynasty, sugarcane was introduced from India for cultivation in China; from the late 16th century to the mid-18th century, the French extracted crystallized sugar from sugar beets; in the 16th century, Europeans discovered cocoa, but it wasn't until the 19th century that cocoa was made into chocolate; it was only in the late 19th century that candy production techniques gradually took shape.
Early candies were primarily based on granulated sugar and liquid syrup. After boiling and adding some food additives, they underwent processes such as blending, cooling, and molding to create sweet solid foods with different textures and shapes, various colors, aromas, flavors, different packaging options that are durable and easy to carry. The structure of candy is amorphous or microcrystalline solid. The quality requirements for candy include five aspects: low hygroscopicity, strong anti-crystallization ability, low sweetness level, high fineness, and good shape retention.