I Can’t Sleep - Candy | Peaceful Bedtime Reading for Sleep

Episode Date: August 25, 2024

Unwind with this calm bedtime reading about candy, the sweet treats enjoyed around the world for centuries. Benjamin’s soothing narration explores the history, cultural significance, and variety of candies, all shared in a steady, comforting cadence. With fact-filled storytelling—no whispers, no hypnosis—this episode is crafted to ease insomnia, reduce stress, and quiet restless thoughts while you gently learn. Perfect for sleepless nights or moments of anxiety. Press play, relax, and drift into peaceful rest while imagining the colorful and delightful story of candy. Want More? Request a Topic: https://www.icantsleeppodcast.com/request-a-topic Ad-Free Episodes: https://icantsleep.supportingcast.fm/ Shop Sleep-Friendly Products: https://www.icantsleeppodcast.com/sponsors Join the Discussion on Discord: https://discord.gg/myhGhVUhn7 This content is derived from the Wikipedia article on Candy, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. Read the full article: Wikipedia – Candy. Happy sleeping! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to a Glassbox media podcast. What if I told you that most of the modern day self-help advice you've been hearing could actually make you worse? The key to a better life isn't about feel-good gimmicks that sound catchy. The Mentally Stronger Podcast gives you access to a licensed therapist who shares science-backed tools that will actually change your life. Hi, I'm Amy Morin, psychotherapist, mental strength trainer, and international best-selling author. In each episode, we cover research-back strategies, like how to stop relying on willpower and start creating habits for lasting change. And the five mental strength-building exercises you can do from your couch.

I also speak to world-class experts like Dr. Nicole Kane, who shares how to permanently heal anxiety by addressing the root cause. With over 200 episodes in our catalog, this podcast is for you if you're ready to crush self-doubt, conquer challenges, and become stronger than ever with therapist-approved strategies that can change your life. Listen to Mentally Stronger with Therapist Amy Morin, wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back or welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast, where I read random articles from across the web to bore you to sleep with my soothing voice. I'm your host, Benjamin Boster. Today's episode is from a Wikipedia article titled Candy.

Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category is also called sugar confectionery, encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum, and sugar candy. Vegetables, fruit, or nuts, which have been glazed and coated with sugar, are said to be candied. Physically, candy is characterized by the use of the use of the ingredients. of a significant amount of sugar or sugar substitutes. Unlike a cake or loaf of bread that would be shared among many people, candies are usually made in smaller pieces.

However, the definition of candy also depends upon how people treat the food. Unlike sweet pastries served for a dessert course at the end of a meal, candies are normally eaten casually, often with the food. the fingers as a snack between meals. Each culture has its own ideas of what constitutes candy rather than dessert. The same food may be a candy in one culture and a dessert in another. The word candy entered the English language from the old French sucre calni, sugar candy. The French term probably has earlier roots in the Arabic Kandi, Persian Kand, and Sanskrit Kanda. also words for sugar.

Sugar cane is indigenous to tropical south and southeast Asia. Pieces of sugar were produced by boiling sugarcane juice in ancient India and consumed as Kanda. Between the 6th and 4 centuries BCE, the Persians followed by the Greeks discovered the people in India and their reeds that produce honey without bees. They adopted and then spread sugar and sugarcane agriculture. Before sugar was readily available, candy was based on honey. Honey was used in ancient China, the Middle East, Egypt, Greece, and the Roman Empire

to coat fruits and flowers to preserve them, or to create forms of candy. Candy is still served in this form today, though now it is more typically seen as a type of garnish. Before the Industrial Revolution, candy was often considered a form of medicine, either used to calm the digestive system or cool a sore throat. In the Middle Ages, candy appeared on the tables of only the most wealthy at first. At that time, it began as a combination of spices and sugar used as an aid to digestion. Banquet hosts typically served these types of candies had banquets for their guests. One of these candies, sometimes called chamber spice, was made with cloves, ginger, aniseed, juniper berries, almonds, and pine kernels

dipped in melted sugar. The middle English word candy began to be used in the late 13th century. The first candy came to America during the early 18th century from Britain and France. Only a few of the early colonists were proficient in sugar work, and sugary treats were generally only enjoyed by the very wealthy. Even in the simplest form of candy, rock candy made from crystallized sugar, was considered a luxury. The candy business underwent a drastic change in the 1830s when technological advances and the availability of sugar opened up the market. The new market was not only for the enjoyment of the rich, but also for the pleasure of the working class. There was also an increasing market for children. While some fine confectioners remained, the candy store became a favorite of the child of the American working class.

Penny candies epitomized this transformation of candy. Penny candy became the first material good that children spent their own money on. For this reason, candy store owners relied almost entirely on the business of children to keep them running. Even penny candies were directly descended from medicated lozenges that held bitter medicine in a hard sugar coating. In 1847, the invention of the candy press, also known under the surprising name of a toy machine, made it possible to produce multiple shapes and sizes of candy at once. In 1851, confectioners began to use a revolving steam pan to assist in boiling sugar. This transformation meant that the candy maker was no longer required to continuously stir the boiling sugar.

The heat from the surface of the pan was also much more evenly distributed and made it less likely the sugar would burn. These innovations made it possible for only one or two people to successfully run a candy business. Sugar candies include hard candies, soft candies, caramels, marshmallows, taffy, and other candies whose principal ingredient is sugar. Commercially, sugar candies are often divided into groups according to the amount of sugar they contain and their chemical structure. Hard-boiled candies made by the vacuum cooking process include stick candy, lemon drops, and whorehound drops. Open fire candy like molasses taffy and cream taffy is cooked in open kettles and then pulled. Pan-work candies include nuts and other candies like jelly beans and sugar-coated almonds,

made by coating with sugar in revolving copper kettles. Fashioned for melting and molded, dried, and sugared like gum drops. They are soaked for a time in sugar syrup to allow crystals to form. Sugar candies can be classified into non-crystalline and crystalline types. Non-crystalline candies are homogenous and may be chewy or hard. They include hard candies, caramels, toffies, and nuggets. Crystalline candies incorporate small crystals in their structure, are creamy that melt in the mouth or are easily chewed.

They include fondant and fudge. In 2022, flavorless candy was developed that was hard but not sweet. Chocolate is sometimes treated as a separate branch of confectionery. In this model, chocolate candies like chocolate candy bars

and chocolate truffles are included. Hot chocolate or other cocoa-based drinks are excluded, as is candy made with white chocolate. When chocolate is treated as a separate branch, includes confections whose classification is otherwise difficult, being neither exactly candies nor exactly baked goods, like chocolate-dipped foods, tarts with chocolate shells, and chocolate

coated cookies. Sugar candy is made by dissolving sugar in water or milk to form a syrup, which is boiled until it reaches the desired concentration or starts to caramelize. Candy comes in a wide variety of textures from soft and chewy to hard and brittle. A texture of candy depends on the ingredients and the temperatures that the candy is processed at. The final texture of sugar candy depends primarily on the concentration of sugar. As the syrup is heated, it boils, water evaporates. The sugar concentration increases and the boiling point rises. A given temperature corresponds to a particular sugar concentration.

These are called sugar stages. In general, higher temperatures and greater sugar concentration result in hard, brittle candies, and lower temperatures result in softer candies. Once the syrup reaches 171 degrees Celsius, or higher, the sucrose molecules break down into many simpler sugars. creating an amber-colored substance known as caramel. This should not be confused with caramel candy,

although it is the candy's main flavoring. Most candies are made commercially. The industry relies significantly on trade secret protection because candy recipes cannot be copyrighted or patented effectively, but are very difficult to duplicate exactly. Seemingly minor differences in the machinery, temperature or timing of a candy making process can cause noticeable differences in the final product. Candy wrapper or sweets wrapper is a common term for this packaging.

Packaging preserves aroma and flavor and eases shipping and distribution. Wax paper seals against air, moisture, dust, and germs, while cellophane is valued by packages for its transparency and resistance to grease, odors, and moisture. In addition, it is often resellable. Polyethylene is another form of film sealed with heat, and this material is often used to make bags in bulk packaging. Plastic wraps are also common.

Aluminum foils wrap chocolate bars and prevent a transfer of water vapor while being lightweight, non-toxic, and odor-proof. vegetable parchment lines boxes of high-quality confections like gourmet chocolates. Cardboard cartons are less common, though they offer many options concerning thickness and movement of water and oil. Packages are often sealed with a starch-based adhesive, derived from tapioca, potato, weed, sego, or sweet potato. Prior to the 1900s, candy was commonly sold unwrapped from carts in the street. where it was exposed to dirt and insects. By 1914, there were some machines to wrap gum and stick candies,

but this was not the common practice. After the polio outbreak in 1916, unwrapped candies garnered widespread censure because of the dirt and germs. At the time, only upscale candy stores used glass jars. With advancement in technology, wax paper was adopted, and foil and cellophane were imported to the U.S. from France by DuPont in 1925. NECO Packagers were one of the first companies to package without human touch. Kiosks and vending machines were introduced around the beginning of the 20th century.

Handy packaging played a role in its adoption as the most popular treat given away during trick-or-treating for Halloween in the U.S. In the 1940s, most treats were homemade. During the 1950s, small individually wrapped candies were recognized as convenient and inexpensive. By the 1970s, after widely publicized but largely false stories of poison candy myths circulating in the popular press, factory-sealed packaging was a recognizable name brand on it, became a sign of safety. Packaging helps market the product as well. Manufacturers know that candy must be hygienic and attractive to consumers. In the children's market quantity, novelty, large size, and bright colors are the top sellers.

Many companies redesign the packaging to maintain consumer appeal. Because of its high sugar concentration, bacteria are not usually able to grow in candy. As a result, the shelf life is longer for candy than for many other foods. Most candies can be safely stored in their original packaging at room temperature in a dry, dark cupboard for months or years. As a rule, the softer the candy or the damper the storage area, the sooner it goes stale. Shelf-life considerations with most candies are focused on appearance, taste, and texture rather than about the potential for food poisoning.

That is, old candy may not look appealing or taste very good, even though it is very unlikely to make the eater sick. Candy can be made unsafe by storing it badly, such as in a wet, moldy area. Typical recommendations are these. Hard candy may last indefinitely in good storage conditions. Dark chocolate lasts up to two years. years. Milk chocolate and caramels usually become stale after about one year. Soft or creamy candies

like candy corn may last eight to ten months in ideal conditions. Chewing gum and gumballs may stay fresh as long as eight months after manufacture. Most sugar candies are defined in U.S. law as a food of minimal nutritional value. Even in a culture that eats sweets frequently, candy is not a significant source of nutrition or food energy for most people. The average American eats about 1.1 kilograms of sugar or similar sweeteners each week, but almost 95% of that sugar, all about 70 grams, comes from non-candy sources, especially soft drinks and processed foods. Candy is considered a source of empty calories because it provides little or no nutritional value

beyond food energy. At the start of the 20th century, when under nutrition was a serious problem, especially among poor and working-class people, and when nutrition science was a new field, the high-calorie content was promoted as a virtue. Researchers suggested that candy, especially candy made with milk and nuts, was a low-cost alternative to normal meals.

To get the food energy, necessary for a day of labor, candy might cost half as much as eggs. During the 1920s and 1930s, candy bars selling for five cents were often marketed as replacements for lunch. At the 1904 World Fair, the Quaker Oats Company made a candy-coated puff cereal, a wheat-based product similar to Cracker Jack's candy-coated popcorn. The product concept was reintroduced unsuccessfully in 1939. by another business as Ranger Joe, the first pre-Swedden candy-coated breakfast cereal. Post-foods introduced their own version in 1948,

originally called Happy Jacks, and later Sugar Crisp. They marketed it as both a replacement for unswedened breakfast cereals, and also for eating as a snack or as candy, using three animated cartoon bears as the mascots. candy, handy, and dandy. The early slogans said, As a cereal, it's dandy. For snacks, it's so handy.

Or eat it like candy. In more recent times, a variety of snack bars have been marketed. These include bars that are intended as meal replacements, as well as snack bars that are marketed as having nutritional advantages when compared to candy bars such as granola bars. However, the actual nutritional value is often not very different from candy bars, except for usually a higher sodium content, and the flavors, most popularly chocolate, fudge, and caramel,

and the presentation mimic candy bars. Among the Bengali people, candy may be eaten for an entire meal, especially during festivals. Candy may also be offered to vegetarian guests in lieu of fish or meat, dishes in India. Global sales of candies were estimated to have been approximately $118 billion in 2012. In the United States, $2 is spent on chocolate for every $1 spent on non-chalker candy. Because each culture varies in how it treats some foods, a food may be considered a candy in one place and a dessert in another. For example, in western countries, baklava is served on a plate and eaten

with a fork as a dessert. But in the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Eastern Europe, it is treated as a candy. Candy is the source of several cultural themes. The phrase, like taking candy from a baby, is a common simile.

It means that something is very easy to do. In 1959, Swedish dental health campaign encouraged people to reduce the risk of dental problems by limiting consumption of candy to once a week. A slogan, all the Swedes you want, but only once a week, started a tradition of buying candy every Saturday called Lordox Gaudus, literally Saturday candy. To this day, the process of going door to door to receive free candy during Halloween time

has become a major draw for children all across America. Children across the country dress up and costume and go door to door. In turn, the residents of each house graciously buy candy for children and hand it out in small increments. Just as it had been in the mid-1970s, the main form of candy that has passed out is prepackaged sweets. Parents feel much more easy-minded allowing their children to eat pre-packaged candies because of the quality control that comes with each product. As a result, name-brand candies have become a step. staple for Halloween and trick-or-treating up to the present. Some candies continue to be popular with trick-or-treaters, such as Reese's Cubs, Kit-Cat, and Snickers, which were the top three

Halloween candies of 2022. The tradition of handing out treats on Halloween originated from the holiday of All-Hollows Day, or All-Saints Day, which derives from Christian tradition. On this day, children would travel across town saying prayers along the way. These children prayed mainly for all people who had died. In between their prayers, these children would also arrive at the doorsteps of people within their town. As a reward for their actions, they were given homemade cakes, referred to as sole cakes, made by the homeowners. These sole cakes resemble a form of biscuit and were usually filled with raisins or cinnamon among other ingredients.

Many cakes were also given the poor during this time. The sole cakes gave these children the incentive to prey intensely in exchange for sweets. The idea of providing trick-or-treaters with candy was not fully conceptualized until the 1950s. Up until that point, many households continue to provide children with soul cakes, among other homemade goods. However, it was discovered by numerous candy producers that the holiday of Halloween could be marketed to sell their products. As a result, many households began to buy candy products. The main draw to these candy products were that they were inexpensive, took no time to prepare, and came in bulk. Nevertheless, candy would not completely take over until the 1970s.

Up until that point, givers would continue to make treats or package small toys and coins specifically for Halloween. Judging from recent statistics, it is evident that Halloween candy is still at high demand. In 2021 alone, profits from Halloween candy were up to at least $324 million. From the same report, the demand for Halloween candy was up 59.8% from 2019. From these numbers, it can be presumed that Halloween is still a big deal for Americans. An average bigger deal for the American public is the act of receiving candy from trick-or-treating. Candy continues to be a staple for the Halloween season and remains the biggest draw for participation. Candy-making is the preparation and cookery of candies in sugar confections.

Candy-making includes the preparation of many various candies. such as hard candies, jelly beans, gum drops, taffy, licorice, cotton candy, chocolates and chocolate truffles, fudge, caramel candy, and toffee. The technology for candy making has generally kept pace with the technology for the times. For example, when steam power became common in textile in engineering factories, steam power was also used in candy factories. candy making and consumption increased greatly during the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. Candy had previously been made by hand, either occasionally at home or by specialists in small local businesses. Increased mechanization caused prices to drop and production to increase.

In the late 19th century, and especially the early 20th century, industrial candy making was almost exclusively a master's. affair, and home-based candy-making was a feminine affair. Candy was considered sweet and dainty, so making it at home, giving it away to friends, and perhaps selling small amounts in the local area, conformed with the Western gender roles for women of the time. Most women making and selling candy did so only seasonally or for a little extra money. They rarely earned enough to support themselves or their families. Despite several large brands being named after women or otherwise capitalizing on wholesome, feminine, and maternal images, very few were owned or operated by women.

Gender segregation also affected candy workers in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. Men and boys were employed for cooking or operating machinery, putting them at higher risk of injury or death. women were mostly employed for wrapping and putting candies in packages or for hand-dipping candies in chocolate. Hard candy, also referred to as boiled sweet, is a candy prepared from one or more syrups boiled to a temperature of 160 degrees Celsius. After a syrup boiled to this temperature cools, it is called hard candy,

since it becomes stiff and brittle as it approaches room temperature. Hard candy recipes variously call for syrups of sucrose, glucose, or fructose. To add color, food coloring is sometimes used. The final texture of candy depends on the sugar concentration.

As the syrup is heated, it boils, and the sugar concentration increases as water evaporates. A given temperature corresponds to a particular sugar concentration because the boiling point elevation of the sugar solution is a colligative property, i.e. it is related to the concentration of the solution. So temperature is used as a marker for the necessary concentration.

In general, higher temperatures and greater sugar concentrations result in hard, brittle candies, and lower temperatures result in softer candies.