Coal candy or Candy coal is a confectionery in the United States, Canada, Spain, Italy, and elsewhere associated with the Christmas holiday and the tradition of giving lumps of coal instead of presents in the Christmas stockings of naughty children. In Japan, it is known as "kaitan'ame" (塊炭飴).
Coal executives were treated to candy coal in the 19th century at lavish dinners. In the 1970s it was reported that lobbyists for the coal industry passed out coal candy to Congressmen.
Kranz's Candies sold coal candy made out of licorice in Chicago during the early 20th century.
A version of coal candy once known as "Black Diamonds" is produced in the mining town of Pottsville, Pennsylvania by Mootz Candies. The candy was invented by Catherine Mootz in the 1950s and is anise flavored. Black in color and oily, they are made in irregular chunks and packaged in miniature buckets with a small hammer.
They can be made of licorice.
See also
References
- Coal candy Archived 2012-01-14 at the Wayback Machine recipe About.com
- Secret Toronto: The Unique Guidebook to Toronto's Hidden Sites, Sounds and Tastes Scott Mitchell ECW Press, 2002
- ^ The Famous Dutch Kitchen Restaurant Cookbook: Family-Style Diner Delights from the Heart of Pennsylvania Tom Levkulic. Thomas Nelson Inc, Mar 17, 2004 232 pages
- Wallace, A. (2012). St. Clair. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 9780307826107. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
- One time harvest: reflections on coal and our future by Mike Jacobs 1975 300 pages
- Chicago's Loop Janice A. Knox, Heather Olivia Belcher Arcadia Publishing, 2002 - History - 95 pages
- 500 Things to Eat Before It's Too Late: and the Very Best Places to Eat Them by Jane Stern and Michael Stern Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, June 4, 2009 448 pages page 101
- Victor, T.; Dalzell, T. (2007). The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. Taylor & Francis. p. 150. ISBN 9780203962114. Retrieved 2015-02-13.