[Sca-cooks] OOP mystery ingredient question

[Mary + Doug Piero Carey]

Hello the list!

My library has rec’d a food question and it is a lulu. What is wax 
candy? Yes, we found all the stuff about American Candy Company’s wax 
lips & vampire fangs. Also the little wax soda bottles or tubes with 
sweet liquids inside. We don’t see how these can be what my patron is 
looking for.

The recipe in question (a banana cake) is from the Brimfield Township 
Bicentennial Cookbook (1976) and calls for 1.5 cups raisins and 1 cup 
wax candy to be dredged in flour so that they don’t sink to the bottom 
of the batter. This argues that it must be something smallish. The 
recipe warns “Don’t use the black ones”.

None of the local confectionery supply houses or candy makers have come 
up with a clue.

We have found a reference in a 1920s newspaper article about maple syrup 
making which quotes a man calling “the sugar’s waxin’!” when the sap 
reaches the point in the boiling when the children pour in it into the 
snow & then wind it around wooden paddles to make a candy. This is also 
the point at which it is poured into molds for “maple sugar”. This also 
doesn’t seem like it could be what she’s looking for. (Though I suppose 
maple & banana could work, flavor-wise.)

Does anyone have an idea what ingredient this recipe is calling for?

We’ll be grateful for any input!

Thanks!

Mary Piero Carey aka Maria of Alderford