Humbug (sweet)
 | |
| Type | Confectionery |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | United Kingdom |
| Main ingredients | Sugar |
| Ingredients generally used |
|
Humbugsare a traditional hard-boiled sweetavailable in theUnited Kingdom,Ireland,South Africa,Canada,Australia,Zimbabwe andNew Zealand.They are usually flavoured withpeppermint[1]and striped in two different colours (often black and white). In Australia, the black-and-white-striped humbugs may beaniseedflavoured. Humbugs may be cylinders with rounded ends wrapped in a twist ofcellophane,or more traditionally tetrahedral formed from pinched cylinders with a90-degreeturn between one end and the other (shaped like a pyramid with rounded edges) loose in a bag.[1]Records of humbugs exist from as early as the 1820s, and they are referred to in the 1863 bookSylvia's Loversas being a food fromthe North.[2]
Manufacture
[edit]A mixture ofsugar,glycerine,colour and flavouring is heated to 145 °C (293 °F). This mixture is then poured out, stretched and folded many times. The stripes originate from a smaller piece of coloured mixture which is folded into the main mixture. The mixture is finally rolled into a long, thin cylinder and sliced into segments.[3]
Bulls-eyes
[edit]
A similar sweet is "bulls-eye" which has red-and-white or black-and-white stripes. These are peppermint-flavoured and are also known as bullets in the UK as they are similar in size tosmoothboremusket balls.[citation needed]
See also
[edit]- 1858 Bradford sweets poisoning
- Bêtise de Cambrai– French boiled caramel sweet
- Gobstopper
References
[edit]- ^abDavidson, Alan; Davidson, Jane; Saberi, Helen (2006). Jaine, Tom (ed.).The Oxford companion to food.OUP Oxford.ISBN0-19-280681-5.
- ^Ayto, John (1990).The Glutton's Glossary.Routledge. p.144.ISBN0-415-02647-4.
humbug sweet -bah.
- ^Renton, Alex (10 September 2009)."Humbugs, mints, gums and our Top 20 sweets".The Times.Retrieved25 January2011.
