[Sca-cooks] candy canes

[Harris Mark.S-rsve60]

Christianna Claus commented:
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Did you realize that a candy cane only has peppermint flavoring in the white
core?  
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No, I hadn't realized this. Perhaps because smell is so much of taste and when you simply suck on the outside you are still getting a good wiff of the pepperment oil from the inside. Or perhaps this is not true of all brands or the peppermint oils do migrate from the core to the outside by the time most are eaten?

So, how old is the peppermint cane? Is it period or just traditional? Perhaps more of a Victorian thing? And where does the shape come from? Is it, like the pretzel shape, to allow it to be hung for merchanting?

Hmmm. I wonder if the original candy cane *was* two strips of red and white candy laid next to each other, perhaps either or both with peppermint oil flavoring, and then twisted together and this core surrounded by the colored striping is just a modern way to make an item similar to the traditional one, but cheaper to produce in quantity.

Stefan