You’ve probably thought the unicorn shapes are new to the world of confectionery, much like the healthy option of choosing honey over sugar. However, these trends are much older than one would expect.
You’ll catch more flies with honey than with sugar
The first candy dates back all the way to ancient Egypt, around 3,400 BC. But can these first attempts be called candy? Sugar had not been invented at that time. Everything was sweetened using honey. Even the Greeks and the Romans used honey, even though they were importing sugarcane juice from India at that time. Back then, sugarcane juice served as a remedy, and they kept its production a secret. It was cracked only later, in the 7th century AD, by the Arabs, who spread its use with the expansion of their territory. Sugar was first refined in the 14th century. Confectionery as a trade began to crystalize with the development of sugar refineries in the early 19th century.
Since the predecessor of sugar was honey, the confectionery trade was preceded by the honey-utilizing trade of gingerbread making. It first showed up in Central Europe in the 13th century. The first written mention of the sale of gingerbread in our lands dates back to 1335, with the city of Turnov as its patron. Every seller back then had to pay a fee to the magistrate for the sale permit. The amount was 3 coins – not silver, but gingerbread ones.
What were the original shapes of the old Bohemian treats? T
he most popular were horses, religious symbols, St. Nicholas and Krampus or girls and boys in folk costumes. The gingerbread also came in the shape of a
toddler, farmer, chimney sweeper or
soldier. The animal shapes included a
horse, lamb or
deer. The gingerbread makers also created trinkets in the shape of dolls, cribs or ponies, which were not edible but served as children’s toys. They even came in the shapes of alphabet letters and were used as teaching aids.
The moulds were made of aged hardwood. The symbol was carved into the mould and then imprinted on the pressed-in dough. However, moulds for bigger baked goods, such as marble cakes or millet cakes, were mainly ceramic and later enamel or cast iron. They were often shaped like circles or hearts. Sometimes they came in the shapes of babies or animals for special occasions. The most common animal was fish, followed by crayfish, lamb, swan or even a unicorn.