Appendix C

Glossary of Terms and Processes

BATCH ROLLER: A batch roller has two large poles wrapped with a cotton tarp. The poles turn the cotton tarp, and as the candy is turning, it keeps the pressure the same on all sides, giving the candy its nice round shape. It allows the candy maker to create a candy rope for candy canes, lollipops and other hard candies more efficiently. A gas line runs at the base of the hood, and an open flame keeps the candy hot and pliable. Gas gives a constant heat and doesn’t fluctuate up and down.

BEATER CONFECTIONS: These include fondants, fudge and cream centers.

CANDY CANES AND LOLLIPOPS: Candy canes and lollipops are made at Hammond’s year round. Each batch starts out at seventy-seven pounds but can become larger depending on the amount of recycled candy added. (Recycled candy comes from previous batches, usually the first or last pull or pieces that don’t come out just right. About five to ten pounds of recycled candy is added right after the candy is poured onto the cooling tables, and any existing flavor burns off at this time.)

Candy is usually cooked between 320 and 330 degrees, depending on the type of candy being made. Once it reaches the desired temperature, it is poured onto the cooling tables, which have been rubbed down with coconut oil. Color, flavor and—if it is a fruit flavor—citric acid are added at this time. The candy is divided into what is the center of the candy and the stripes. This is done with one of the cooks’ most valuable tools: those big carpet scissors. The cooks continue to turn the candy onto the cooled tables with a large stainless steel pole until it cools to a temperature they can mold with their gloved hands. The temperature of the candy is estimated at about 220 degrees at this time. Once the candy is at this point, it is moved to the “blocking table.”

Cooking the candy to about 325 degrees. Photo by the author.

Adding color and flavoring for hard candies. Photo by the author.

A cook spreading and flattening the flavored batch on the cooling table. Photo by the author.

Pieces of the candy are put on the candy puller to lighten the color of the candy pieces and then kneaded to remove the lines that were formed from the puller. Once the ideal color is achieved, the cooks will begin the stripe building process. Depending on the pattern, blocks of candy will be stretched into long strips of candy and placed accordingly next to each other, forming the stripe pattern. The center of the candy is also placed on the candy puller, where the flavor is added. Candy cane and lollipop centers are different from each other; the center for the candy canes are mixed only long enough to mix the flavor in, whereas the lollipop centers are on the puller for at least two minutes, making it more light and fluffy, so it is easier to twist. Once the centers have been pulled, they will be formed into a block shape, and larger air bubbles that are formed during the pulling process will be punctured with the scissors and finally wrapped with the jacket. With the filled canes, the center will be spread out onto the table looking like a three-foot by three-foot flat piece of candy. A fresh batch of cream filling (either chocolate or vanilla cream) is prepared (by another cook) and is placed in the center of the candy. The candy is then wrapped around the cream and sealed, shaped into a block and wrapped with the striped jacket. These batches can be as heavy as one hundred pounds. At this point, the cook will hand carry the large piece of candy to a batch roller.

When the candy is ready to pull, the cook will begin to push the candy at the end, making it into a smaller diameter easier to grab with both hands. A small piece of the batch will be pulled, cut off and set to the side, and a pulling and twisting motion will continue until the candy is stretched along the table covered with a cotton tarp. Each cane or lollipop will be cut at a mark on the cotton. The length of the candy is determined by lines drawn on the table, but getting the same thickness every time takes years of practice. The cook will be pulling, twisting and cutting until the entire batch is gone. Depending on the size of the candy piece, cooks could be pulling thousands of times. On average, one batch will create over five hundred candy canes or over one thousand one-ounce lollipops.

The cane will be crooked by another employee from the packaging room and placed onto the conveyer belt that carries it to the packaging room. This process takes two people to make one cane.

The lollipops will get pulled the exact same way as the canes, but the diameter will change depending on the size of the lollipop. The lollipops will be twisted by another employee from the packaging room, and someone else will insert the stick. Usually two people will be enough for a normal lollipop, but if the spirals are being made, the cook and up to five others will be assisting, making it one of the most labor-intensive lollipops Hammond’s makes. And instead of the stick being inserted into the candy, the candy is wrapped around the stick until it spirals all the way to the top. These lollipops resemble a unicorn horn.

For Christmas, the company makes a lollipop ornament, which is done exactly like a one-ounce lollipop except it has no stick. It is placed into a gift bag with a pretty red bow and a gold stretchy band to hang on a Christmas tree. These make fabulous gifts for guests at Christmas parties to “pick” from their host’s tree and hang on theirs after a joyous Christmas dinner; they make an attractive and special gift decoration. The Christmas tree lollipop is also made using a Teflon mold for this shape, and a stick is inserted.

Valentine’s Day calls for a heart-shaped lollipop, which is labor intensive, needing about five employees to assist the cook. A stainless steel triangle mold is used in this process as well as the lollipop stick. The shaper will form the lollipop into a round lollipop as usual, the stick will be inserted, and then it is put into the mold. A lollipop stick is placed on the top of the lollipop, and pressure is added as it pushes the candy into the mold; a triangle shape is formed at the bottom of the lollipop, while the stick forms the indent at the top of the heart. The workers accomplish all this in about fifteen to thirty seconds. These lollipops come in cinnamon, wild cherry and bubble gum flavors. All-natural flavors are also produced in the canes and the lollipops.

CANDY PULLER: A candy puller is used to pull, stretch and fold the candy upon itself, trapping air into the candy with every turn. This lightens the color of the candy and also the texture of the candy once it is solid.

CONSTRUCTION/BLOCKING TABLE: This is where the stripe jacket is built. “Blocks of candy” are formed and stretched by hand and placed next to each other, forming a stripe pattern. This jacket is wrapped around the center of the candy. Due to the open flame burning at the base of this table, it is very hot, and the cooks usually build for about twenty minutes. Old-fashioned handmade candy only has stripes on the outside, not through and through.

COOLING TABLE: Each table weighs almost three thousand pounds. Cold and room-temperature water circulates directly under the stainless steel top, cooling the candy from the bottom up. This is where the candy is poured and color, recycled candy and sometimes flavor are added.

CORN SYRUP TANK: This is the holding tank for the corn syrup, holding approximately 30,000 pounds. It is slightly warmed, and a valve allows the corn syrup to freely fill kettles and pots. A blue light will blink in the top of the tank to let the kitchen assistants know the level is running low. It is usually filled once a month. Hammond’s does not use high-fructose corn syrup. On an average day at Hammond’s, about 1,500 pounds of syrup is used. In addition to corn syrup, Hammond’s now uses tapioca syrup.

FIRE MIXER: This is an open-fire candy stove with a kettle that mixes candy as it cooks. It is used for caramel, toffee, nougat, etc.

PILLOW MACHINE: This machine cuts many candies but primarily pillows. Other types of candies, including straws, jewels and the famous waffles, are all cut on this one machine. A simple adjustment as the candy is fed into the equipment determines the length of the candy. The width, or thickness, of the candy is determined by the cook and the way that the candy is being pulled. There are guides that help lead the candy into the right cutting die.

TEMPERING WHEEL: The tempering wheel helps distribute the cocoa butter in the chocolate. Tempered right, the cocoa butter crystals are contagious and affect the other cocoa butter, creating a uniform temper. The tempering wheel helps with that. Tempering is an artful process that takes time and an understanding of chocolate to learn. It is the melting, cooling and the distribution of cocoa butter (fat) crystals in the chocolate that creates the proper temper (shine, mouth feel and shelf life).