What Exactly Are Sticks of Rock and Candy Floss?
If you visit the seaside, you will often find shops selling sticks of rock, candy floss and those pebbly-sweets. It’s all very nostalgic, but what are their history, what are they, and what are they made of? Let’s find out! Did you know there also now vegan Mr Whippy ice-cream vans?
Obviously, keep sticks of rock, candy floss and pebble sweets away from young children, due to choking hazards. Also read our post on keeping dogs safe by the seaside.
Also join the campaign to stop the sale of flying rings at beach shops (they get caught around the necks of seals). Shops can find biodegradable ‘solid ring’ alternatives, so won’t lose profit.
What are Confectionary Sticks of Rock?
Sticks of rock are made by either folding and stretching coloured toffee or from large sugar crystals).
To prevent letters losing their shape, the square letters are made first, followed by triangle and round letters, while the rock is still soft. This must be done within an hour, before the toffee hardens.
Many add food colourful, and in Mexico, sticks of rock are used to create decorated sugar skulls for the Day of the Dead festival.
The upcoming sugar tax means that many brands will likely go bust (unlike soda drinks, it’s likely more complicated to make them with artificial sweeteners).
Blackpool Rock was first sold around 1902 (or created in the 1870s) when Ben Bullock began to make sticks with words like ‘Whoa Emma’ at his Yorkshire factory, after a holiday in Blackpool.
Sticks of rock fell out of favourite during the sugar-rationing of World War II, and men were not around to do the heavy lifting of the sugar mix.
Typical ingredients of a modern stick of rock are refined sugar, glucose syrup, flavours and the colours E153, E100, E122 and E129 (the two red ones are linked to hyperactivity in children).
The History and Ingredients of CandyFloss
Candy floss was surprisingly invented by a dentist (in the days when you could find affordable dental care!) Introduced at the 1904 World Fair, it was made of over 70% air, a single serving had just 110 calories.
The main ingredient of modern candy floss is granulated sugar (sometimes with corn syrup) along with flavours and colours.
