Sugar Plums

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.

You know the verse.

But, can you tell me …

what, exactly, is a sugar plum?

My first thought:

Photo by Kristen Taylor via Wikimedia Commons

Fresh, juicy, and sugar-sweet—much like the ones that grow at my farm.

But history says that my vision of a sugar plum is not accurate, at least not in terms of Clement Moore’s famous poem.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

It turns out that the “sugar-plums” dancing through the children’s dreams were not plums at all. They were elaborate little confections created by hardening layers of sugar (a process called “panning”) around a central seed or nut. Modern candy makers use a similar method to manufacture comfit candies like Jordan almonds and peanut M&Ms, but the sugar plums of old were a sight to behold. They probably looked something more like …

Image courtesy of Sarahnocera via Wikimedia Commons

Image courtesy of Sarahnocera via Wikimedia Commons

Classic sugar plums were about the size of their fruity namesakes, and they often encased almonds, caraway seeds, or cardamom seeds. As you might imagine, the process of handcrafting sugar plums was labor-intensive, to say the least. According to Candy Professor Samira Kawash, it took more than 50 years after the original publication of “A Visit from St. Nicholas” in 1923 for the panning procedure to approach some semblance of efficiency. “Depending on the size of the finished product, a batch could take several days to complete. Not just anybody could make these candies,” Kawash says of the original method. “Until the advent of machine innovations, comfits or sugar plums were a luxury good, most likely to be found in an aristocrat’s pocket or between courses at a banquet. By the 1860s, candy makers were using steam heat and mechanized rotating pans, so that less-skilled workers could make larger batches more easily. Sugar plums could be made in quantity, at a much lower price. So, sugar plums for all!”

Even now, though, comfit creation is “one of the most difficult and tedious methods in craft confectionery, requiring specialized equipment, careful heat control, and experience,” says confectionery historian Laura Mason.

I don’t know about you, but I’m sure I won’t have time to whip up any sugar plum comfits before Christmas. Instead, I might just try turning my own visions of fresh sugar plums into holiday delights. If you’d like to do the same, take a peek at these sumptuous sugar plum recipes from The Huffington Post.

Image courtesy of Janet Hudson via Wikimedia Commons