(WHTM) – People around the world give candy to their loved ones on Valentine’s Day. Some pick chocolate, while others pick different kinds of sweets, including the famous conversation heart candies.
But when did these candies come to be what we know them as today?
Conversation hearts, sometimes called Sweethearts, are made with only a few ingredients: corn syrup, sugar, gelati, and food coloring. For some, they may not be the best-tasting Valentine’s Day treat, but they do have an interesting history.
Food Network states that the origins of the candy date back to 1847 when pharmacist Oliver Chase invented a machine to make lozenges more easily. This is also sometimes referred to as the country’s first candy-making machine.
Later, Chase founded the New England Confectionary Company, which was later known as NECCO.
Then in 1866, Chase’s brother Daniel discovered a way to stamp words directly onto the candies using red vegetable dye. The original wafers were long and disc-shaped and were stamped with much longer formal phrases.
These included things such as “How long shall I have to wait? Please be considerate,” and for weddings, the wafers gave relationship advice such as “Married in White, you have chosen right” or “Married in Pink, he’ll take to drink.”
Later in the 1900s, shapes were introduced that included baseballs, horseshoes and then hearts.
Food Network states that more than 8 billion of these candies are created in the six weeks leading up to Feb. 14. Certain phrases have been around since the beginning of the brand, including “Be Mine,” “Kiss Me” and “Be True.” However, updated ones such as “Text Me” and “Tweet Me” made an appearance beginning in the 2010s.
NECCO went out of business in 2018, and the Spangler Candy Company took over the candies, which are still made today.
