Observed on February 15th, National Gumdrop Day recognizes a favorite candy of many; the gumdrop! There’s no question as to what to do. Eat gumdrops and eat as many as you want!
- The classic board game, Candy Land, invented in 1945, features both a Gumdrop Pass and a Gumdrop Mountain.
- Gumdrops were believed to be invented by Percy Trusdale in 1801, however, many still debate about the history of gumdrops and how they came to be.
- According to articles after his death in 1948, Truesdell took the once hard, poorly flavored glob of sugar and turned it into the smooth, chewy delight we enjoy today.
- In 1916, Truesdell founded and incorporated the P.S. Truesdell Candy Manufacturing Company. At his death, he became known as the Gumdrop King.
- The term “gumdrops” didn’t exist until 1859, when it appeared in the Illinois State Chronicle, as it reported on a candy shop, owned by George Julier.
- The most popular flavors are cherry, grape, orange, lemon, and spice flavors like clove, cinnamon, mint, and anise (licorice).
- Originally, gumdrops were flavored with spices: orange (clove), yellow (allspice), red (cinnamon), green (spearmint), purple (anise), white (wintergreen or peppermint), and black(licorice).
- The NASA Apollo Command modules were nicknamed “Gumdrops” because of its conical shape.
- Branch’s Candy holds the world record for largest gumdrop which weighted in a little larger than 10 lbs. If you had eaten it you would have consumed 15,127 calories.
- Candy accounts for only 6% of the added sugar in the American diet. Soft drinks and juice account for 46%.
- The use of the expression “goody gumdrops” as an alliterative exclamation of joy was first recorded in the 1959 novel Strike Out Where Not Applicable by British crime author Nicolas Freeling: “Buttered toast, and cherry cake, as well as Marmite. Goody, goody gumdrops.”
- Candy became widely available almost 140 years ago. Until then, people would make their own fudge or caramel at home.
Sources:
, yellow (allspice), red (cinnamon), green (spearmint), purple (anise), white (wintergreen or peppermint), and black(licorice).){kind=link}