20 MARCH 22, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
EASTER
Candy of the season
BY CRAIG W. ARMSTRONG Easter means many different
things to many diff erent people.
But, let’s be honest. The candy is
pretty important. The treats that fi ll
our Easter baskets are many and they
are all delicious, but three top the list
as Easter basket classics.
Let’s begin with the treat you either
love or hate…Peeps. Put simply, Peeps
are marshmallows rolled in sugar.
There is no middle ground with Peeps.
You say the word, and people either
squeal with delight or recoil in disgust.
Either way, they are an Easter staple.
Peeps were given birth by a man
named Sam Born, who founded the
Just Born Candy Company in 1953. The
company acquired the Rodda Candy
Company, which included a marshmallow
chick line. Sam’s brother-in-law
Bob helped to mass-produce the treats,
and Peeps began their marshmallow
monopoly.
Peeps were named for the original
chick shape, but have since branched
out—way out. Today, you can get Peeps
for almost any holiday. Christmas
results in tree- and snowman-shaped
Peeps. Halloween results in pumpkin-
and bat-shaped Peeps. Plus, the fl avors
and colors have expanded over the
years. In 1995, lavender was added to
the existing color line of yellow, pink
and white. You can even get chocolate
flavored Peeps. As mentioned
above, there are Peep haters and Peep
lovers, but a subgroup does exist.
They are the Peep lovers who are split
between eating the candy fresh out of
the package or letting it sit out and get
a little crunchy.
The next sweet Easter treat is arguably
the most traditional, jelly beans.
The origin of jelly beans is somewhat
blurry, but it is believed they were
born of a combination of Turkish
Delight and Jordan Almonds. Turkish
Delight is a jelly candy coated in
powdered sugar. Jordan Almonds are
almonds covered in a hard candy shell.
The two concepts were merged and
jelly beans were born.
Jelly beans hit their stride in the
United States in the early 20th century,
but it wasn’t until the 1930s that they became
associated with Easter. The bean
stayed pretty standard until 1976. That’s
when the world was introduced to Jelly
Belly jelly beans. These beans took the
concept to a whole new level. They were
fl avored inside and out and came in a
variety of fl avors. Some of the wackier
fl avors include popcorn and cantaloupe.
The Easter candy completing the big
three is, of course, the chocolate bunny.
Tens of millions of these cocoa hares
are produced each year. That’s a big
number considering they are not like
jelly beans, which can be found yearround.
Chocolate bunnies came to the
United States in 1842 when Stephen
Whitman founded Whitman’s Chocolates.
Since then, the bunnies have
expanded. They can now be found in
a variety of fl avors. You can even get
them hollow or solid. Some people wonder
why these treats were ever made
hollow when a solid bunny gives you
more chocolate. The answer is simple.
Hollow bunnies are easier to eat.
Having a sweet treat is great anytime,
but Easter gives you an excuse
to really sink your teeth into some candy
classics. It doesn’t matter if you’re
fi lling an Easter basket or raiding one,
you’ll probably see at least one of the
big three.