FEATURES
Sweet words of
Love
Express yourself with the classic candy hearts this Valentine ’ s Day
There are many ways to say “ I love you ” for Valentine ’ s Day celebrants , various sentiments may be expressed with candy — particularly candy hearts . Candy hearts , also called Conversation Hearts¨ and
Sweethearts¨ ( similarly Love Hearts in the UK ), are sweet , chalky confections that have been around for more than 100 years . The conversation about candy hearts began back in 1847 when Oliver Chase , a Boston pharmacist , wanted to get in on the apothecary lozenge craze that was popular at the time . Lozenges were common remedies for sore throats and bad breath , and were growing in popularity as a convenient medical treatment . Chase invented a machine that could roll out lozenge dough and press it into perfect discs , a time-saving improvement on the manual process used until then . Chase eventually abandoned making lozenges and the pharmacy business , ultimately realizing his machine could be used to make candies . He formed the New England Confectionery Company and began producing what would eventually be known as NECCO wafers .
Wanting to get in on his brother ’ s candy empire , Daniel Chase saw an opportunity to build on the growing popularity of Valentine ’ s cards by printing words on candy with vegetable dye during the cutting process . In 1866 , conversation candies began as round confections and were much bigger than today ’ s heart varieties . It wouldn ’ t be until 1902 that conversation candy hearts became available .
Through the years , the candies became smaller and the sentiments expressed on the hearts have been updated to stay current with the times . Phrases like “ LOL ,” “ BFF ” and “ Text me ” have replaced some less modern sentiments .
At the height of the candies ’ popularity , NECCO estimated that it made nearly 100,000 pounds of the hearts each day throughout the year in preparation for Valentine ’ s Day .
In 2019 , NECCO filed for bankruptcy and did not produce the iconic candy hearts while it was being purchased by an investment company called Round Hill Investments , LLC . Round Hill decided to sell NECCO to another candy company . Fortune magazine reported Spangler Candy Co ., which took over rights to NECCO ’ s iconic brands , would manufacture candy hearts in 2020 . Similar conversation hearts also are available through Brach ’ s candy company .
January / February 2022 • Terre Haute Living 81