Did you happen to see this AP story today? Spangler Candy - maker of Circus Peanuts - is teaming with Disney to make Pooh and Piglet Peanuts!!!
Circus peanuts: Love them or hate them?
By JOHN SEEWER ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
BRYAN - Steve Kerr pulled apart the freshly made circus peanut and pressed his thumbs into its spongy, orange center.
Not too moist or too rigid just right. Its all about feel, he said.
He wasnt tempted to taste it though. Im not a big fan, admitted Kerr, vice president of operations for Spangler Candy Co., one of the few remaining makers of circus peanuts.
The marshmallow confection is as controversial as it gets when it comes to candy. What makes the circus peanut so intriguing and sparks debate among candy connoisseurs is that the treat is a mystery on many levels.
People cant wrap their brains around why its sweet and get really confused by the flavor, said Beth Kimmerle, author of Candy: The Sweet History.
EITHER LOVE EM OR HATE EM
Though theyre orange and look like a peanut, they taste like banana. And they are chewier than a traditional marshmallow. Even those who like circus peanuts cant agree whether theyre better soft and fresh or stale and hard after sitting out for a week. Break out a bag anywhere and youll get a debate going, Kimmerle said.
Most love em or hate em, Kimmerle said.
Circus peanuts have become a cult item much like Peeps the marshmallow chicks and bunnies, said Steve Almond, a self-described candy addict who wrote Candyfreak, a memoir that chronicles candy-making in America.
He calls them a mixture of fascination and disgust. Its a completely baffling candy.
No one knows how circus peanuts got their shape and name or how long theyve been around. One theory is that they originated with the traveling circuses where vendors sold salted peanuts and candy.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
By all accounts, circus peanuts date to the 1800s, when they were a seasonal treat and one of the original penny candies. There are few candies that actually have survived as long as circus peanuts, said Jon H. Prince, owner of wholesale candy retailer www.candyfavorites.com. Its not so much candy as its Americana.
Spangler, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary and is best known for Dum-Dum lollipops and candy canes, has been producing circus peanuts since the 1930s in northwest Ohio.
The candy is the most difficult of the companys products to make, Kerr said, because youve got all these variables coming together.
Theres little room for error when it comes to cooking temperatures and ingredients mainly sugar, gelatin, corn syrup and artificial flavor. The toughest part is getting just the right moisture. Too much will leave a thin, crusty layer on the outside. Too dry, and theyll cave inward.
HOW ITS MADE
The mixture is squirted into starch molds that pull out the moisture and shape the peanut. Next, the candy crystallizes in temperature-controlled rooms for about 24 hours.
Spangler makes about 32,000 pounds per day. Most is sold in bulk to wholesalers and repackaged. The company also sells its own brand in retail stores.
It makes varieties that are heart-shaped for Valentines Day and bunnies, chicks, and eggs for Easter.
Next Easter, the company will team with Disney on a nationwide distribution of Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger candies. Theyll come in cotton candy, cherry, banana and lemon flavors.
The hope is it will attract more children to eat what is an old persons candy, said Kirk Vashaw, Spanglers vice president of contract businesses.
THE BUSINESS
Circus peanuts are about 5 percent of Spanglers business. The privately run company does not release overall sales figures.
Still, circus peanut sales were up last year and have increased 10 percent this year, Vashaw said.
Dallas-based Brachs Confections and Melster Candies in Cambridge, Wis., are the other two leading makers of circus peanuts.
Sales at Melster have been on the rise in recent years despite circus peanuts bad rap, said Andy Telatnik, a spokesman for Impact Confections, which owns Melster. Anything thats survived 200 years is pretty good.
Circus peanuts: Love them or hate them?
By JOHN SEEWER ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
BRYAN - Steve Kerr pulled apart the freshly made circus peanut and pressed his thumbs into its spongy, orange center.
Not too moist or too rigid just right. Its all about feel, he said.
He wasnt tempted to taste it though. Im not a big fan, admitted Kerr, vice president of operations for Spangler Candy Co., one of the few remaining makers of circus peanuts.
The marshmallow confection is as controversial as it gets when it comes to candy. What makes the circus peanut so intriguing and sparks debate among candy connoisseurs is that the treat is a mystery on many levels.
People cant wrap their brains around why its sweet and get really confused by the flavor, said Beth Kimmerle, author of Candy: The Sweet History.
EITHER LOVE EM OR HATE EM
Though theyre orange and look like a peanut, they taste like banana. And they are chewier than a traditional marshmallow. Even those who like circus peanuts cant agree whether theyre better soft and fresh or stale and hard after sitting out for a week. Break out a bag anywhere and youll get a debate going, Kimmerle said.
Most love em or hate em, Kimmerle said.
Circus peanuts have become a cult item much like Peeps the marshmallow chicks and bunnies, said Steve Almond, a self-described candy addict who wrote Candyfreak, a memoir that chronicles candy-making in America.
He calls them a mixture of fascination and disgust. Its a completely baffling candy.
No one knows how circus peanuts got their shape and name or how long theyve been around. One theory is that they originated with the traveling circuses where vendors sold salted peanuts and candy.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
By all accounts, circus peanuts date to the 1800s, when they were a seasonal treat and one of the original penny candies. There are few candies that actually have survived as long as circus peanuts, said Jon H. Prince, owner of wholesale candy retailer www.candyfavorites.com. Its not so much candy as its Americana.
Spangler, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary and is best known for Dum-Dum lollipops and candy canes, has been producing circus peanuts since the 1930s in northwest Ohio.
The candy is the most difficult of the companys products to make, Kerr said, because youve got all these variables coming together.
Theres little room for error when it comes to cooking temperatures and ingredients mainly sugar, gelatin, corn syrup and artificial flavor. The toughest part is getting just the right moisture. Too much will leave a thin, crusty layer on the outside. Too dry, and theyll cave inward.
HOW ITS MADE
The mixture is squirted into starch molds that pull out the moisture and shape the peanut. Next, the candy crystallizes in temperature-controlled rooms for about 24 hours.
Spangler makes about 32,000 pounds per day. Most is sold in bulk to wholesalers and repackaged. The company also sells its own brand in retail stores.
It makes varieties that are heart-shaped for Valentines Day and bunnies, chicks, and eggs for Easter.
Next Easter, the company will team with Disney on a nationwide distribution of Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger candies. Theyll come in cotton candy, cherry, banana and lemon flavors.
The hope is it will attract more children to eat what is an old persons candy, said Kirk Vashaw, Spanglers vice president of contract businesses.
THE BUSINESS
Circus peanuts are about 5 percent of Spanglers business. The privately run company does not release overall sales figures.
Still, circus peanut sales were up last year and have increased 10 percent this year, Vashaw said.
Dallas-based Brachs Confections and Melster Candies in Cambridge, Wis., are the other two leading makers of circus peanuts.
Sales at Melster have been on the rise in recent years despite circus peanuts bad rap, said Andy Telatnik, a spokesman for Impact Confections, which owns Melster. Anything thats survived 200 years is pretty good.
