Halloween means Halloween candy—and while the world changes too quickly all around us, every day, we have a feeling this tradition will continue for years to come. Sorry, dentists! But we wondered: which candies have stood the test of time, too?
We went to the experts. Morris Cohen opened Economy Candy in Manhattan in 1937 after his candy cart (outside of his hat and shoe repair shop, naturally) started bringing in more money than the hats and shoes. Morris’ son, Jerry, took it over in the 80s, and now Jerry’s son Mitchell is in charge alongside his wife, Skye. Needless to say, the family has been in the candy business for a long time and know a thing or two about all that sweet stuff. I talked to Mitchell and Skye about trends over the years and the candies that were the most popular of their decade, though that's hard to quantify for absolute certain, but these were the ones that were emblems of their era.
1900s: Chocolate Migrates to the States
The Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar was invented by Milton Hershey, a man who, after dropping out of school after 4th grade and being fired from his job at a newspaper printer, delved into the world of candy making. He first mastered the art of caramel, which was booming at the end of the 1800s. But as the excitement around caramel waned at the turn of the century, Hershey was already onto the next big thing: chocolate. In particular he had a feeling that milk chocolate, which Europeans were crazy for, would take off in America. He sold his caramel company, invested in a farm outside of Lancaster, PA, so he could have easy access to fresh milk, and proceeded to make what became the first mass-produced chocolate in the United States. I have a feeling you know how that turned out. Hershey's Kisses followed seven years later and the Hershey's Bar with almonds a year after that.
