Wednesday 27 February 2013

Candy Displays


When it comes to weddings, you can be sure to expect a few different decorations and commemorative touches. Balloons, flowers, and ribbons are all staples at the modern wedding, but you are almost sure to find a variety of different candies as well. Wedding candy is usually found gracing the tables at the reception hall, either for guests to take home later or as a bit of a snack while they wait for dinner to be served. Some brides are doing away with the wedding cake altogether and instead offering a more creative candy buffet where guests can choose their own favourite dessert treats and take some home in a draw-string organza bag.

Just like anything else at your wedding, you will probably find that you want your candy displays to be perfect; they should convey the message of everlasting love that you have committed to and they should also match your wedding colors.

The candy display is not just about the candy, however; you will want to present the sweet treats in a way that is tasteful and memorable. Here are a few different suggestions.

- Right on the plates: There are a lot of weddings where this is the way the candy is laid out. It's fine, but make sure the candies are wrapped nicely so they set off the table.

- In netting: A nice little webbed netting can be a great way to present your candies, but try to make them easy to get into!

Display boxes: Now we are getting a little bit into the pricey end of the candy. In fact, you might more properly consider this kind of display as a wedding favor. The candy doesn't have to be wrapped in these boxes, but try to pour it in straight from the bag rather than risk contaminating them with your hands. The boxes will always remind your guests of your special day!

So that takes care of some ideas as far as your presentation goes, but what about the candy that will actually be handed out to your guests? Well, there is a wide variety of ideas and most will depend on the tastes of the bride and groom, but here are some of the most popular.

- Kisses: This popular treat from Hershey's says it all on your wedding, and is perfectly named for the occasion. For white chocolate lovers, Hershey expanded the idea with Hugs, and there are also chocolate covered almonds available!

- Mints: There is no shortage of mints that are appropriate for weddings, and they might come in perfect for your guests and the romantic after-dinner dance and so on. Wrapped peppermints and smooth mints are great on plates, and peppermints are good in favor boxes.

- Werbemittel Bonbons: Decorative swirl pops in your choice of sizes and colors make great decorative center pieces or place settings.

Eating Hard Candy

Eating hard candy like Hostess Mix assorted hard candies on a regular basis may actually have negative long term results whether you're a child or an adult. For children, it might be OK for parents to allow them to eat candy before their baby teeth fall out because they have naturally fast metabolisms that will counter balance the sugar and fat and their adult teeth won't be damaged.


But after they have their adult teeth, parents really have to be careful.

Eating soft candies and chocolates is also damaging to people's teeth. Eating chocolates like Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Miniatures also causes tooth decay and ups the chance of cavities. Of course, soft candies are often better than the hard candies because they do not stay in the person's mouth as long.


Parents shouldn't worry because there is a solution to all this. There are tons of products out there that are sugarless. These hard candies are not actually damaging to peoples' teeth because they don't cause tooth decay. These candies are sweetened by artificial sweeteners that cause very little damage to peoples' teeth. When parents choose gum or candy for their kids, they should choose sugarless hard candy without telling their kids. They probably won't even be able to tell the difference. Also, they won't get as hyper because of the sugar intake.


Caitlina Fuller is a freelance writer. Eating soft candies and chocolates is also damaging to people?s teeth. Eating chocolates like Reese?s Peanut Butter Cup Miniatures also causes tooth decay and ups the chance of cavities. Eating hard candy like Hostess Mix assorted hard candies on a regular basis may actually have negative long term results whether you?re a child or an adult.

Kids Like To Candy Choose

Candy just seems to dress up any activity. Because there is a special aura surrounding candy that says, "If you are really good; and really special; you will get a really great treat." It has always been this way with sweets. Let's face it; they are the food group that goes the extra mile whether there is a celebration at hand or not.

Each holiday or special event can be dressed up with some candy decorations. What fun is Easter without the Cad bury Eggs or malt balls in a basket? I always have loved when people put out a dish full of candy corn around Halloween or Thanksgiving. And of course Christmas; what would this holiday be without the candy cane? Candy is the ideal decoration because it is colorful, but also sweet treat for your guests. For your next event think candy, but don't eat too many of the decorations!


Kids these days have a myriad of candy to choose from, but hard candy is a particular concern because they may be a dental health issue. Dentists say that sweet hard candies can contribute to teeth decay and cavities because of the sugar content and how long they stay in a person's mouth. Parents should really limit the amount of hard candy their kids consume, but that doesn't mean that kids can't have any candy. It's no secret that children love sweets, but dentists recommend that they shouldn't have it after they brush their teeth.




An effective way for parents to get their kids to brush twice a day is to allow them to eat a piece of candy like Jolly Rancher Hard Candy - Original Flavors candy right before they brush in order to encourage healthy teeth habits. Also, when someone consumes a piece of hard candy right before they brush, the amount of decay and the risk of getting cavities is greatly reduced because brushing gets rid of the remains of the candy that may stay in a person's mouth for hours.

Creative Decoration Ideas

Having an event at your home and looking for some creative decoration ideas? Not to worry, there are some great ideas right in front of you. For almost any event you can decorate with candy. Candy can even spice up a formal setting if done correctly.

Anything from a wedding reception to a young child's birthday, and everything in between, can be decorated with candy.


If you are the room mom for your Kindergartener, and it is his or her party day, use specialized candies for treats and decorating. No matter what the party theme is you can find candy delicacies for any holiday. Take St. Patrick's Day for instance. You can buy specialized candy treats like chocolate shamrocks, green Hershey Kisses, or gourmet lollipops with Happy St. Patrick's Day on them. You can get shamrock mints or green rock candy. Maybe you want to give the kids their own little treasure chest of chocolate gold coins. It is all available. So don't be afraid to host that holiday class party.


Maybe you are hosting a tea for a departing missionary. Tea and sweets were born to be taken together. But, it doesn't have to be fancy or difficult. Buy some large chocolate bars; divide them into strips along the lines imprinted in the chocolate then alternate milk, white, and dark chocolate strips in a radiating circle on a beautiful dessert plate. Served along with your tea sandwiches, it makes a lovely accent, not to mention how tasty it will be. It looks gorgeous and all you had to do was buy some candy bars.


If your event is more formal such as a wedding reception, Jordan Almonds have long been a staple for both favors and decorating the tables. But, Jordan Almonds have come a long way since the days of those pretty pastel pinks, greens, and whites. Now, look in fine stores or on-line locations for Jordan Almonds covered in dragees: that beautiful shiny gold or silver coating bakers use for accents on cookies and cakes. They are simply stunning and scream "FORMAL EVENT!"

Why You Need Candy Jars in Candy Shop

Anyone, everyone, toddler to nonagenarian, no matter where in the world they live, love candy. Is it the sweetness? The taste?

Texture? Hardness? Softness? Or all of the above?

Sweet foods, whether they be an intricately executed six-layer wedding cake or a single piece of hard candy from a paper tube, eaten on the run, are a necessity of life, if not physically then definitely psychologically. The need to eat candy, with its inherent sweetness, must, somewhere in the passage of time, have become part of of man's evolution. Sweet treats are a great motivation. What would some people, especially women, do for a taste of that most sublime candy of all, chocolate?

Historically speaking, the first sweet food, honey, was dug out from the depths of bee hives by cavemen but the first recorded history credits candy to the Egyptians of 3,500 years ago. Honey popped its head up during the ancient times when Egyptians,

Arabs, and Chinese used it to prepare delicacies made of fruit and nuts candied in honey.

During the Middle Ages, the astronomically high price of sugar forced sugar candy to become a true delicacy, afforded by only the wealthiest Europeans.

Chocolate is made of cacao, a botanical discovered, in 1519, by Spaniards exploring Mexico. The Latin name for the fruit of the cacao tree is Theobrama Cacao which translates to "food of the gods." I certainly won't argue with that. Yum!

The seventeenth century brought a new treat in the guise of boiled hard candy to England and the American colonies.


By the middle of the eighteenth century, candy production was becoming an industry. There were at least 380 American factories working to satisfy America's sweet tooth. Most of the candy was called "penny candy," so named because a person could go into a general store, point at the glass cases, and come away with a penny's worth of this candy and a penny's worth of that candy and so forth. Children could spend many an hour gazing upon which glorious candies they should buy with their hard-earned allowance.

The discovery of sugar beet juice and the benefit of mechanical appliances during the early nineteenth century pushed the production of sweets to untold numbers. During that era, Americans ate homemade hard candies, such as lemon drops and peppermints.

Speaking of such candies, candy is prepared by merely melting sugar in water. How hot the water is determines the variety of candy:

 Hard candy is made with hot temperatures
 Soft candy is made with medium heat
 Chewy candy is made with cool temperatures


One final thought: During World War II (1942 - 1945), the women on the production line of Whitman's Sampler did much for soldier morale. They surreptitiously slipped notes to soldiers in boxes marked for military shipment. Love must have been in the air because this sentimental act brought to light many long-term relationships and even a few weddings.

Making candy at home can be a great family activity. All you need are the sugar, flavorings, a good recipe and, of course, the proper tools such as an accurate candy thermometer and good heat-resistant oven mitts.