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Category Archives: Old Food

Chewing Gum

10 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by tanya brassie in Old Food

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Chewing Gum, history, Treats

TheseGuys

The Wrigley’s Man and Santa Anna. What do these guys have in common?

According to an article from Chemical & Engineering News (of all places), the average American chews 300 sticks of gum per year. However, gum has been around far longer than the United States; the ancient Greeks chewed a chewy tree sap they called “mastiche”, and in the Americas, the Mayans and Native Americans in the New England region also enjoyed their own region specific varieties of tree-sap.

Wrigleys1953

1953 Wrigley’s Gum advertisement from Boy’s Life magazine.

The first attempt to produce gum in America occurred in the mid-1800s when a man named John Curtis attempted to sell small sticks of spruce-sap chewing gum. His “Maine Pure Spruce Gum” failed to be chewy enough to satisfy customers and the product never caught on. It wasn’t until Santa Anna (a Mexican political leader and the same Santa Anna that fought against Texas forces during the Texas Revolution) and an American inventor, Thomas Adams collided that chewing gum as we know it appeared. In 1869, a decrepit, aging Santa Anna was exiled in Staten Island, New York and planning to raise money to take over Mexico City. Santa Anna hoped to cash in on the booming rubber business and to fund his machinations by importing a specific type of rubber produced by the sapodilla tree, called chicle. Although chicle never worked out as a substitute for rubber, Thomas Adams discovered that heating up the substance and adding some sugar produced a delightful treat.

By the 1870s, Adams had created a gum manufacturing machine and his own company, Adams & Co. which produced the flavored gum called Blackjack. Soon other gum manufacturing companies such as Wrigley’s popped up. The event of WWII and the inclusion of gum in soliders’ ration packs increased the popularity of chewing gum world-wide. Unfortunately, for sapodilla trees, the demand for chewing gum exceeded what they could produce. Synthetic alternatives were subsequently created, and nowadays, Glee Gum remains the only chewing gum in the United States still containing chicle.

DentyneAds

Dentyne advertisements from Life Magazine published in 1940.

Beech-NutGum2

“One of America’s GOOD Habits” – 1940 Beech-Nut Gum ad published in LIFE Magazine

Beech-NutGum

Another Beech-Nut Gum advert, also from 1940.

LeatMintGum

Post WWII Leafmint Gum Advertisement from Confectioner’s Journal, 1945


Sources
Beech-Nut Gum. “Beech-Nut Gum.” Advertisement. LIFE Magazine, August 29, 1940.
———. “It’s So Good….So Long.” Advertisement. LIFE Magazine, July 1940, 62.
Burks, Raychelle. “Chewing Gum.” Chemical & Engineering News 85, no. 32 (August 6, 2007): 36.
Dentyne Gum. “I Just Saw My Dentist Flinch.” Advertisement. LIFE Magazine, July 1940, 34.
———. “My Dentist is a Great Guy.” Advertisement. LIFE Magazine, July 1940, 40.
Leaf Gum Company. “Leaf Mint Gum.” Advertisement. Confectioner’s Journal, November 1945, 50.
Wrigley’s Gum Company. “It’s Really Keen!” Advertisement. Boy’s Life, June 1953, 28.

Candy & WWII pt.2

19 Tuesday Mar 2013

Posted by tanya brassie in Historical Advertisements, Old Food

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Tags

Advertisements, candy, WWII

The following continues the discussion of WWII’s impact on the candy industry. Here we’ll see how: advertisements addressed the wartime civilian candy shortage, the manufacturers of bakery equipment changed gears in wartime and Americans were encouraged to alter their consumption of meat.

While candy was being shipped overseas for military consumption, advertisements for many candies, such as the ones below, emphasized the industry’s the struggle to manufacture adequate amounts for both serviceman and civilians in a time of rationing and reduced production.

ChocolateWarRole

Blumenthal Bros advertisement, from 1945, thanking customers for their patience during wartime conditions.

Necco:Clark

An entire Necco advertisement from 1943 devoted to explaining wartime conditions.

NeccoCandiesMarch

Another Necco advertisement from 1943 emphasizing the benefits that Necco candies provides civilian workers and soldiers.

NeccoSkyBar

Yet another Necco advertisement from 1943 mentioning the war.

ReedsButterScotch

Necco wasn’t the only candy company sending rations overseas. According to this advertisement (also from 1943), Reeds sent nearly all of their candy to fighting troops.

TheyDeservetheFinestSperryCandy

Soliders also had the option to munch on Chicken Dinner and Denver Sandy Bars according to this 1943 Sperry Candy Company advertisement.

During WWII, many manufacturers of bakery and confectionery machinery also switched gears and instead, began to manufacture products beneficial for the war effort. This Greer advertisement from 1943 demonstrates the re-purposing of their conveyor lines to help stock military ships with ammunition.

Greer

Instead of creating conveyors for confectionery factories, Greer helped the war effort by using their popular conveyors to load ammunition into war ships.

WWII’s impact on American diets stretched well outside the realm of sugar. Read meat was also in short supply, most of it being sent overseas to fuel fighting troops. With the citizen supply limited, Americans were encouraged to eat their meat sparingly. This advertisement issued by the American Meat Association, encourages American’s to “share the meat” so that everyone might get a portion.

SharetheMeet

As more and more meat products began shipping overseas to fighting troops, civilians at home were encouraged to ration their meat consumption. This pamphlet produced by the American Meat Institute stresses the moral duty of of Americans to be more sparing in their meat consumption to give all “an equal chance at the available meat supply.”

Between the years of 1942-45 the National Research Council established the Committee on Food Habits. The Committee’s goal was to “restructure social norms, change perceptions of taste, and help assimilate variety into the U.S. diet” (Wansink). A specific mission was to encourage Americans to accept alternative sources of protein in their diet. Organ-meats not traditionally consumed by Americans, such as kidneys, brains and hearts, were promoted as viable sources of protein. The concerns addressed within this advertisement and the Committee on Food Habits concerning protein intake are also reflected in candy advertisements of the era. Many, like the following advertisement for the Staley Company promote the consumption of candy by specifically touting its protein content.

CandyMakesMuscle

With meat being in short supply, Americans were encouraged to find protein in alternative sources. Candy companies tried to persuade consumers that candy could provide protein for those in need.


Sources
Blumenthal Bros Chocolate Products. “BB Chocolate Products Have a War Role Too!” Advertisement. Confectioner’s Journal 71 (May 1945): 21.
———. “BB Chocolate Products Have a War Role Too!” Advertisement. Confectioner’s Journal 71 (May 1945): 21.
D. L Clark Company. “Two Quick Selling Items.” Advertisement. Confectioner’s Journal 69 (January 1943): 34.
Greer Company. “Now…Greer Conveyors Hoist the Ammunition.” Advertisement. Confectioner’s Journal 69 (April 1943).
NECCO. “Memo from Necco.” Advertisement. Confectioner’s Journal 69 (January 1943): 34.
———. “Necco Candies on the March!” Advertisement. Confectioner’s Journal 69 (March 1943): 37.
———. “Necco Candies On the March.” Advertisement. Confectioner’s Journal 69 (February 1943): 33.
Reed’s Candy Company. “On Active Duty.” Advertisement. Confectioner’s Journal 69 (July 1943): 39.
Share the Meat. Chicago, United States: American Meat Institute, 1943.
Sperry Candy Company. “They Deserve the Finest.” Advertisement. Confectioner’s Journal 69 (June 1943): 41.
Wansink, Brian. “Changing Eating Habits on the Home Front: Lost Lessons from
World War II Research.” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing 21, no. 1
(Spring 2002): 90-99.

Candy Consumption & WWII

05 Tuesday Mar 2013

Posted by tanya brassie in Historical Advertisements, Old Food

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candy, WWII, WWII Rationing

Throughout the length and breadth of the candy makers’ art we find products in use that contain the five dietary essentials; carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals and vitamins. It is true that they may not occur in optimum proportions in any one candy type, but to expect that they should is seeking Utopia, which is rarely if ever achieved.

The following images appeared in the Confectioner’s Journal in 1943, two years after the United States joined WWII. Involvement in the war affected the daily lives of all Americans. Food was rationed; commodities like sugar and coffee were not longer easily accessible through the local grocer. The candy industry, too, felt the impact of war. Not only were many ingredients used by confectioners now scarce, but candy, considered a non-essential component of a healthy diet, found itself an easy candidate for Americans seeking to eliminate all unnecessary foods from their plates. The article and advertisements below argue for candy’s importance, claiming it a useful addition to the human diet and highlighting its presence in military rations.

“Candy’s Place in the Diet,” describes the nutritional value of various candy types (e.g. hard candy, fudge types etc.) and aims to show that “candy is a good and wholesome food” which “should have its niche in the dietary structure.” Interestingly, the Editor’s Note which prefaces the piece claims the article “contains data confectioners will find useful in ‘selling’ their industry.”

Article1

“Candy’s Place in the Diet,” an article published in the June 1943 issue of Confectioner’s Journal, explains the nutritional benefits of various types or candy.

Article2

“Candy’s Place in the Diet” continued.

FightingFood

“Chocolate is a fighting food!” This announcement from the Confectioner’s Journal informs civilians of new restrictions and warns them of shortages of their favorite treats. In addition to the rationing of essential ingredients in candy bar manufacturing, many candy bars were sent overseas as part of soliders’ D-Ration packs.

CandyTroop

This advertisement for H. Kohnstam, a manufacturing for food dyes and flavors, also portrays candy as an essential part of the solider’s daily diet. From Confectioner’s Journal.

CandyisaFightingFood

Another H. Kohnstamm advertisement from Confectioner’s Journal noting candy’s wartime importance.


Sources
“H. Kohnstamm & Company.” Advertisement. Confectioner’s Journal 69 (July 1943): 21.
“H.Kohnstamm & Company.” Advertisement. Confectioner’s Journal 69 (September 1943): 22.
Jordan, J. Stroud, Dr. “Candy’s Place in the Diet.” Confectioner’s Journal 69 (June 1943): 8-10.
“Lamont, Corliss and Company.” Advertisement. Confectioner’s Journal 69 (June 1943): 13.

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