Halloween Costumes, Treats, and Candy Trivia

Trick or Treating, going from house to house to ask for gifts, seems to have started in England, where peasant children dressed up as prisoners to beg for coins or treats in remembrance of Guy Fawkes, who was drawn and quartered after attempting to blow up British government offices. Halloween did not become an American Hallmark holiday until the 20th century. It evolved from children going next door for a treat, to parents driving around carloads of children looking for choice neighborhoods to load up on loot.

Average sales for Halloween candy in the USA are around 2 Billion dollars per year. One quarter of all the candy sold each year is purchased between September 15 and November 10.

The most popular candy treats to receive are chocolate candy bars with Snickers being number 1. Snickers was named after the Mars family horse.

Tootsie Rolls were the first wrapped penny candy in the US. They debuted in 1896, introduced by Leo Hirshfield of New York, who named them after his daughter's nickname, "Tootsie."

The average American household spends about $44 each year on Halloween candy.

20 million pounds of candy corn is consumed each year. October 30th is National Candy Corn day. A cup of candy corn has fewer calories than a cup of raisins.

The original Hershey's chocolate bar was introduced in 1900.

In 1920 The Baby Ruth candy bar is first sold, named for President Grover Cleveland's daughter - not the famous baseball player.

Dubble-Bubble was invented in 1928.

The 3 Musketeers bar was introduced in 1932 and each package had three pieces of candy nouget flavored vanilla, strawberry and chocolate.

Tootsie Roll Pops are introduced in 1931 and were widely advertised as the lollipop that offers two candies in one - flavored hard candy on the outside and chewy Tootsie Roll center inside.

The 5th Avenue Bar was created by William H. Luden, the man perhaps best known for his cough drops. It was made from layers of peanut butter crunch coated in milk chocolate.

Hershey's Reese's Pieces bite-size candies are introduced in 1978 and four years later soared in popularity because of the blockbuster movie E.T.

Bobbing for apples may have originated from the harvest festival that honors Pamona, the goddess of fruit trees.

A popular Halloween drink in 18th century Ireland was "lambs-wool," which consisted of roasted, crushed apples mixed into milk.

William W. Kolb invented the red candy apple in 1908. He sold the whole first batch for 5 cents each and later sold thousands yearly. Soon candied apples were being sold along the Jersey Shore, at the circus and in candy shops across the country.

Caramel apples are more popular in much of the United States, with candy apples unknown in some regions.

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Goobers Unwrapped

Take a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Goobers with Food Network's Unwrapped!

Runts Unwrapped

Go behind-the-scenes with Food Network's Unwrapped for a look at the making of Wonka Runts!

Exploring the Origin of the Snow Cone

Snow cones are a classic fat free summer delight. With a bit of shaved ice and a flavored syrup, a delicious treat is made that anyone can enjoy. Despite the prominence of this treat, most people don't know how the it came about.

Surprisingly, the ancient Romans are credited with the creation of the original version sometime between 27 BC and 395 AD. Snow was brought down from the mountaintops and flavored with syrups. Though undoubtedly considered a treat, this process was laborious and would have required great speed so that the ice didn't melt before it could be consumed. In the late 1800s to early 1900s, the creation of snow cones was revived. In this instance, ice blocks were shaved down in a manner similar to grating cheese with metal shavers, and then the syrup was added to the finished shaved ice product. Hand held shavers were produced by many manufacturers in the late 1800s. Though certainly less time consuming than hauling snow down from a mountaintop, this process was still labor intensive.

The easier incarnation of these treats came about in the early 1900s. In 1919, Samuel Bert began selling modern versions at the Texas State Fair. A year later, he invented his own version of a snow cone machine, which was able to produce the treats far more quickly than in prior attempts. He continued to sell his popular cones at the Texas State Fair until his death in 1984. Ernest Hansen in New Orleans also created his own snow cone maker in 1934. His came equipped with a motor to shave the ice quickly and evenly. He and his wife created various flavors of the syrup to be added to the ice, and opened his own business, featuring his invention. The establishment is still open to this day, and Mr. Hansen continued to work there until a year prior to his death.

Ever since snow cones became easier to make, people all over the world have come to love them, resulting in new and unique varieties of flavors and serving styles. The Japanese, for example, enjoy akizuki syrup, also known as the red bean flavor. Leche, or milk flavor, is popular in Mexico. Puerto Rico tends to serve the ice in a pyramid shape. They are especially popular in tropical and island habitats due to the high temperatures year long. Snow cones have a long and varied history and are clearly here to stay.

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SNICKERS® Hunger Fouls: Nate Zegura on Drafting Sleepers

Playing fantasy football this season? Here, Nate Zegura warns you about the danger of committing hunger fouls. You're not you when you're hungry. Snickers Satisfies. Visit us on Facebook www.facebook.com/snickers and Twitter www.twitter.com/snickers.

Children's Party Sweet Buffet and Candy Buffet Ideas

If you're looking for children's party sweet buffet and candy buffet ideas, you should start by deciding whether you'd like to hire a caterer or create a buffet by yourself.

A sweet buffet is a great idea for a children's party. Kids will feel like they're in a candy store and get the freedom to splurge and choose anything they want for just one afternoon. A selection of children's favourites and maybe some old time classics for the parents at the party will have everyone excited.

If you're hiring a caterer, give them an idea of how many children will be attending the party and let them know what kind of candy you want to stock the buffet with. A caterer can be expensive but will handle everything for you and can also provide a beautiful sweet cart, candy bags, scoops and sweet containers as part of the package.

Creating a candy buffet yourself for a children's party can be fun and will take up much less of your budget. With some advice and imagination you can create a magnificent sweet buffet.

If you want to create a sweet buffet for your child's party, you should consider:

• Allergies. Be sure to ask parents of children attending whether their child has any allergies. With a sweets buffet, you never know if a child may grab a candy that they may be allergic to, so avoid common allergens to avoid any medical issues.


• Choking hazards. Buy age appropriate candy. If you have guests of varying ages, make sure parents know that some candy might not be appropriate for younger children.


• Buy enough candy. Buy almost a pound of candy per guest.


• Have a way to close candy bags. Little hands can be clumsy, make sure to get containers that close so kids aren't spilling candy everywhere.


• Be sure to make your candy buffet short enough for children to reach and scoop candy into their bags. Arrange the sweet containers so that children are not having to reach over containers to get to others. Monitor the children and help when necessary.

If you're looking for themes and children's party sweet buffet and candy buffet ideas, get inspired by your child's favourite characters. Coordinate the colour of candy with the colour of the character, and display the character on the table. Choose your child's favourite movie and have your candy coordinate with that theme. Your child's guests will love the sweet treats, and their parents will admire your creativity.

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Snickers Chocolate Bar - A Short History

Snickers chocolate bar is made and marketed by US based Private Corporation called Mars, Inc. It is peanut butter nougat with caramel and peanut topping and dairy milk chocolate. Snickers is a popular chocolate bar sold around the globe and its annual sales is over 2 billion dollars.

In the early 1920s, Mars Inc made a very successful chocolate bar called Milky Way. It was the most popular chocolate bar in America between 1927 and 1929. It also allowed the company to develop new recipes for chocolate candies. It took more than three years to develop Snickers and was released in the market in 1930.

Snickers bar was named in the memory of a favorite horse at a farm of Mars family named Snickers. The horse sadly died couple of months before the new product was launched. The farm was named Milky Way Farm and it seemed suitable that the name of the farm should be given to the next chocolate bar.

Snickers was initially made by hand but later machines were used to increase the volumes and old way was no more practiced. During those times, the price of the first Milky Way bar was in 1920 for only 5 cents and the price of the Snickers bar was 20 cents in 1930 when it was first released.

There was not too much change in the Snickers brand during its first forty years. Mars were inspired to produce the Snickers mini candy bar in 1968 which were labeled 'fun size' and were which sold in bags having dozen or more.

Since Snickers was first introduced to the market in the 1930s, it had been known as Marathon chocolate in UK. However in the 1990s, Mars Inc consolidated branding exercise for bringing all of the corporations products under unified Mars branding that would not only be recognized locally but also globally.

The Marathon bar in line with global naming was to become Snickers. It featured the phrase 'Internationally known as Snickers' for a period of 18 months. Since then, all Marathon candy were branded Snickers in the British Isles.

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Joan Collins & Stephanie Beacham 2012 SNICKERS Ad (ENG)

"Dynasty" divas Joan Collins & Stephanie Beacham star in the new ad campaign for Snickers chocolate bar.

I Scream, You Scream - 5 Fun Facts About Ice Cream

Most people love ice cream or frozen yoghurt substitutes, but have we ever really thought about how this delicious dessert developed? Do we believe that this wonderful sweet came form Italy? If we did, we'd be wrong.

1. It is generally believed that ice cream had its beginnings in ancient China in the second century BC although some claim it was much longer ago. What is certain is that the precursors of ice cream were made of snow and were eaten by the wealthy as they could send slaves into the snowy mountains to bring them back snow for desserts. The snow was flavoured with fruit and fruit juices and must have been more like a sorbet than what we now know as ice cream. Alexander the Great is documented as eating snow flavoured with honey and nectar. The Emperor Claudius (56-86 A.D.) had slaves bring him snow and this was flavoured with different fruit and juices.

Ice pits were dug by slaves to store snow in China and archaeologists have found these dating back to the 7th century B.C. Alexander the Great also stored snow in such pits around 330 BC and the Romans certainly had them. In Naples the pits were across the Bay of Naples, so it could be dangerous for people to row across the Bay in bad weather. During those days, the Neapolitans had no ice cream.

2. In the mid-16th century scientists discovered that by adding salt petre, potassium nitrate to water, wine and cream, it could be frozen. They soon replaced this with common salt, so iced cream could be made more easily.

3. The story goes that Catherine de Medici took an ice cream recipe with her to France on her marriage to Henri II, in 1553. By the 17th century, King Charles II of England was eating ice cream at banquet in 1672.

The Italian Latini published his "Treatise on Various Kinds of Sorbet or Water Ices" between 1692 and 1694 and mentions a "milk sorbet that is first cooked." Filippo Baldini wrote of "milky sorbets" much later in 1775 in De' sorbetti or frozen desserts from Naples.

4. The first recipe that didn't come from Italy was Mrs. Mary Eales Receipts (the older word for recipes, published in 1718 whose recipe must have been a frozen ice cream that was not smooth, but had ice crystals in it.

5. Wall's of London began operations around 1823, selling ices in the streets of London from a fleet of tricycles with the slogan "Stop me and Buy one." Because of the scarcity of food and dairy products, this business fell into decline during the war years in Britain, 1939-1945, but after the war, Wall's invested in freezers for shops and sold off its tricycles. It is now, of course a multi-national company. And in Pakistan there are tricycles selling the ice cream in portable freezers in Pakistan, which street vendors lease form the Wall's company.

Spring is just beginning in Pakistan, so the vendors will be selling their wares once more, upstaging kulfi which is the traditional type of ice cream in the Asian subcontinent. I am looking forward to it!

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Origins of Your Favorite Candy Shop Candies

Just mentioning the word "candy" is enough to make many people's mouths water. Forget cakes and cookies, candy is the way to many hearts. What other food product takes center stage during holidays like candy does around Valentine's Day and Easter? There is a reason why sweet treats are so popular and everyone has their favorites.

People like candy for the sweet taste created by its sugar content. The flavor is rich and the treats come in different types. Their consistency attracts many people and whether you prefer hard, crunchy, or chewy candy, it is not difficult to find. In the earliest form of candy, cave people sucked honey from beehives. Spanish explorers discovered cacao, the main ingredient used to make chocolate, in 1519.

Gummy candy has been a favorite for decades. Gummy bears were the first gummy candies created, made during the 1920s by Hans Riegel, owner of Haribo German candy company. However, it was not until 1982 that gummies began being manufactured in the U.S. by Haribo. Trolli candy manufacturer actually beat its German competition to the punch, making the first gummy worm candy in 1981. Gummy worms are now the most popular gummy candy.

An edible gelatin forms the basis of gummy candy. This ingredient is also used to make licorice, soft caramels, and other sweets. It provides elasticity, chewiness, and extends shelf life. People have been using gelatin since the era of Egyptian Pharaohs, making it a longstanding staple in food preparation. Cornstarch, sugar, corn syrup, flavoring, and food coloring are the other ingredients used to make gummy treats.

Many chocolate lovers head straight for candy store display racks holding M&Ms candies. Most of us know the company slogan by heart and are very thankful that Forrest Mars developed the recipe for this delicious chocolate in the midst of the Spanish Civil War. The first M&Ms chocolate was made available for public consumption in 1941. Peanut M&Ms were introduced in 1954, the same year the slogan and adorable M&Ms characters made their appearance. Vegetable dye is used to imprint the letter "m" on each piece of candy.

While some people stick with these sweets, others go for one of the many novelty candies available. Pez is particularly popular and was initially created as a substitute for cigarettes. The first Pez candy was peppermint-flavored and the word "Pez" stems from the German translation, pfefferminze. Who knew that candy shop candies had such an interesting history?

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