Only rarely do we stop to consider the history and traditions behind the sweets that bring smiles to our faces. Numerous small museums throughout the world help visitors learn about the history, ingredients, and manufacturing processes that give rise to the candies and confections people love. Wide-ranging exhibitions focus on particular companies or different genres of sweets. The museums on this list offer a glimpse of highly local culture even as they explore larger issues, such as the cultural significance of sugar and the societal costs of its production. From the exhibitions, visitors can discover the art of confectionery from chocolate to baked goods to Gummi Bears, while museum cafés and shops often offer a taste of the sweet things on display.
Via Emilia, 45, Anzola Emilia, Bologna, Italy
Tel.: +39 051 6505306
“Gelato is an emotional reward at any age,” states the museum’s website. The museum traces the history and culture of gelato making in Italy and has a gelato school for children and young adults.
Xaxueta, S. L. B-20593257, Plaza Zarra 7, Tolosa, Spain
Tel.: +34 943 651 226
Managed by the Gorrotxategi family and company, this museum has exhibits dedicated to chocolate, honey, turrón, marzipan, and regional sweets, including xaxus (marzipan cakes), tejas (crisp almond cookies), and cigarillos (rolled butter wafers).
www.kalev.ee/en/maiasmokk-cafe/kalev-marzipan-museum-room
Tallinn, Pikk tn 16, the Maiasmokk Café House, Tallinn, Estonia
Tel.: +372 64 64 192
This museum in Estonia’s capital documents the long history of marzipan and houses a collection of antique marzipan molds and figures. Marzipan-decorated cakes are also part of the museum’s collection.
www.laima.lv/en/tours/laima-chocolate-museum
Miera Street 22, Riga, Latvia
Tel.: +371 67080301
Opened in 2013 by the Laima Chocolate Company, this museum traces the history of chocolate production in Latvia as it follows the trajectory of cacao beans from their origins in West Africa to the company’s factory, which was founded in 1870.
www.landesmuseum.at/sammlungen/kultur/bibliothek/linzer-torte
Museumstraße 14, Linz, Austria
Tel.: +43 732 7720 52200
This small exhibition pays tribute to the Linzer torte, with models of different varieties. It is connected to library collections containing early recipes for the dessert.
www.francis-miot.com/confitures-confiseries/pc/LE-MUSEE-d2.htm
Rond Point d’Uzos—D37, Uzos, France
Tel.: +33 5 59 06 89 13
Antique pots, jars, and other utensils used in preparing preserves are on display at this museum. Vintage posters highlighting various brands of French preserves are included in the collection, which also documents the history and techniques of jam, jelly, and preserve making.
Pont des Charrettes Uzès, France
Tel.: +33 4 66 22 74 39
The Haribo Museum follows the history and production of Haribo candies, which were first made in 1920. Visitors can see posters, advertisements, and displays of the various flavors the company has produced over the years. Machinery is also on display.
A Moure, Gramont, France
Tel.: +33 5 63 94 00 20
A visit to this museum provides an in-depth exploration of the history of honey and beekeeping, and of honey-based food traditions in the Midi-Pyrénées region of France.
Polígono Industrial Espartal II, Xixona,Alicante, Spain
Tel.: +34 96 56 10 712
The rich heritage of turrón (nougat) in Xixona (Jijona), Spain, is detailed in numerous displays devoted to the ingredients, manufacture, and marketing of this region’s best-known confection.
www.museuxocolata.cat/museu.php
Carrer Comerç, 36, Barcelona, Spain
Tel.: +34 93 268 78 78
The history of chocolate, and of Catalan chocolate confectionery in particular, is the focus of this museum, which also offers classes for children and adults.
7 Ul. Malaya Krasnoselskaya, Moscow, Russia
Tel.: +7 495 982 57 97 or +7 915 027 65 77
In the heart of Moscow, this museum offers a comprehensive look at the global history of chocolate, from the Maya to the present, including exhibitions relating to some of Russia’s most popular confectioners, Krasny Oktyabr (Red October) and Babaevsky, which document the story of the chocolate industry in Russia from the early nineteenth century up to the present.
www.wels.at/Kultur-und-Bildung/Museen-der-Stadt-Wels/Burg-Wels/Gebaeckmuseum.html
Stadtplatz 1, Wels, Austria
Tel.: +43 7242 235 0
Part of a cultural complex in the town of Wels, this museum displays examples of celebratory and symbolic baked goods from the collection of Professor Ernst Burgstaller, arranged according to the progression of holidays throughout the year.
www.paindepices-lips.com/musee
110 rue Principale, Gertwiller, France
Tel.: +33 3 88 08 93 52
This museum devoted to gingerbread has an extensive collection of antique pans, molds, cutters, and transfers used for decorating gingerbread cookies and cakes. Visitors also learn about the history and importance of gingerbread in Alsatian food culture and can see a reconstruction of a traditional eighteenth-century kitchen.
100 Route de Valence, Montélimar, France
Tel.: +33 4 75 50 62 66
Candy, nougat, and even toys are the highlights of this museum. Permanent exhibits explore sugar, chocolate, and nougat production. A living honeycomb is on display, as is the world’s largest block of nougat, which set a Guinness World Record, and other sculptures crafted of nougat and chocolate.
www.sallylunns.co.uk/kitchen-museum
4 North Parade Passage, Bath, United Kingdom
Tel.: +44 1225 461 634
Part of Sally Lunn’s historic eating house, this museum features a replica of a seventeenth-century kitchen, as well as tools dating back to medieval times. The house and kitchen are thought to be the site of the first Bath bun ever baked. The “eating house” menu includes Bath buns and sweet or savory Sally Lunn loaves.
www.szamosmarcipan.hu/en/shops
Dumtsa Jenő utca 12, Szentendre, Hungary
Tel.: +36 26 310 545
Szamos, one of Hungary’s leading confectionery companies, is behind this Marzipan Museum, where visitors can see a life-sized marzipan replica of the Hungarian Parliament, learn about the company’s history, and taste its products in the museum café.
P.O. Box 125, Puunene, Hawaii, United States
Tel.: +1 808 871 8058
The brutal conditions of plantation life for immigrant workers are sugar coated in this museum devoted to the rise of the sugar industry on Maui, and to its role in creating Hawaii’s multiethnic society.
16 5th Ave NW, LeMars, Iowa, United States
Tel.: +1 712 546 4090
LeMars, Iowa, is the home of Blue Bunny Ice Cream. The town’s welcome center shares the company’s history with visitors, who can also experience a reconstructed ice cream parlor from the 1920s and taste 37 different varieties of ice cream.
23 East Main Street, Le Roy, New York, United States
Tel.: +1 585 768 7433
Operated by the Le Roy Historical Society in the town where the iconic jiggly gelatin dessert was born, this museum collection includes material from Jell-O advertising campaigns, recipes and recipe books, and a large collection of Jell-O molds.
http://southernfood.org/kuyper-cake-collection
http://holpalms.com/minicakemuseum.html
1609 Oretha C. Haley Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Tel.: +1 504 569 0405
Frances Kuyper, a former vaudevillian turned cake decorator, maintained this collection of preserved decorated cakes, along with over 500 cake-decorating manuals, at her home in Pasadena, California, until 1999, when she moved to a retirement home, where she stored the collection in the basement until her death in 2010. Today Mrs. Kuyper’s collection is part of the permanent collection of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana.
http://candyality.com/life-is-sweet-candy-museum
520 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Tel.: +1 312 527 1010
3737 North Southport Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Tel.: +1 773 472 7800
Run by Candyality, a store specializing in a wide variety of commercial sweets from gummi-style candies to chocolates, this museum features candy art and candy-related artifacts.
Avenida Madero #440, Colonia Centro, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico
Tel.: +52 443 312 8157
De la Calle Real, the oldest candy maker in Mexico, runs this museum from the site of its old candy shop. The shop now displays old photos, letters, family recipes, and candy-making equipment as part of the museum’s exhibits. In the demonstration kitchen, visitors can watch centuries-old candy-making techniques and taste the finished products.
347 Spring Street, Jeffersonville, Indiana, United States
Tel.: +1 812 283 8367
This museum is an arm of Schimpff’s Candy, a company known for old-fashioned hard candies such as horehound, lemon, and clove drops, as well as a regional favorite known as the Modjeska. It features American candy equipment, memorabilia, and other artifacts.
www.spanglercandy.com/about-us/tour-store-museum
400 North Portland Street, Bryan, Ohio, United States
Tel.: +1 888 636 4221 or +1 419 633 6439
Spangler Candy makes Dum Dums (lollipops), Jolly Rancher hard candies, Saf-T-Pops, and old-fashioned Circus Peanuts. The museum shares historical information and realia from the Spangler Company’s 108 years in business. A tour is available.
www.wilburbuds.com/docs/museum.html
48 North Broad Street, Lititz, Pennsylvania, United States
Tel.: +1 888 294 5287
Located deep in Pennsylvania’s Amish country, this museum has an extensive collection of antique candy tins and candy-related novelties, as well as old advertisements, candy-making equipment, and artwork from around the world.
Sultanahmet, Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey
Tel.: +90 212 512 04 80
This enormous kitchen was dedicated to the preparation of sweets during the Ottoman Empire. On display are utensils, copperware, and other tools used to prepare traditional halvah and other Turkish confections.
Man Lam Road, Shihlin District, Taipei City 546, 4th Floor, Taipei, Taiwan
9 Bayberry Lane County, Taoyuan City Youth Cubs Industrial Area Road 1, Yangmei City, Taiwan
Tel.: +886 2 2831 3422
Traditional Taiwanese pastry making, pastry history, and culture are the subjects of exhibitions at both branches of this museum, which also offers classes in the art of Taiwanese pastry. Visitors can take tours of the Kuo Yuan Ye pastry factory at the Yangmei City location.
Yanagizushichō 331-2, Kamidachiuri Agaru, Karasuma Dōri, Kamigyōku, Kyoto, Japan
Tel.: +81 75 432 3101
This museum, devoted to the art of traditional Japanese sweet making in Kyoto, is operated by and adjacent to the confectioner Tawaraya. It has a small exhibition hall and sweet-making workshops, and offers samples of Kyoto confectionery.
Amphawa Municipality City Hall 75110 Amphawa, Samut Songkhram, Thailand
Tel.: +66 3 475 1359
The history of khanom, meaning “dessert” in Thai, is the focus of this museum on the Mae Klong River. On display are colorful resin replicas of over 100 different desserts.
www.kagaya.co.jp/le_musee_de_h
65-1 Wa, Wakura-machi, Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan
Tel.: +81 767 62 4000
Pâtissier Tsujiguchi Hironobu designed the Confectionery Art Museum to showcase his sugar art, which is on display. In the museum café, visitors can enjoy his original confections.
www.konpeitou-kingdom.com/info_museum/index.html#yao
2-88 Wakabayashicho, Yao, Osaka Prefecture, Japan
Tel.: +81 72 948 1339
This museum is part of a network that includes the Sakai Petit and Fukuoka museums. All three focus on the history and culture surrounding the production and consumption of konpeitō, a traditional Japanese rock candy brought to the island by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century. Factory tours are given at each location.
Rachel Finn