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Show THE 6 It is interesting to know that chocolate and sugar products, candies, are foods not luxuries. Aside from the popular gift sentiment and the enjoyment we get from them in satisfying that sweet tooth, there are other attributive facts regarding the nutrition in confections. To begin: Sugar and chocolate stand at the head of energy producing foods; that is why the laborer rather than the matinee girl requires candy. Chocolate and sugar can be so quickly converted into energy that they serve as a stimulant for those making great physical exertion; that is why sweets are given to soldiers going on long marches, to hunters and athletes. Candy is so highly flavored and so quickly assimilated that, by reason of eating it to ex- CITIZEN IFfiUllSiM Gift kJait&MlS cess, it completely and instantly satisfies the appetite for food. The use of nuts in candy increases its food value and helps to overcome that cloying sweetness; that is why nearly all kinds of edible nuts are popular in candy making. Pure chocolate will soften under very slight heat. Soft candies which can be swallowed quickly soon load the stomach with concentrated sugar solution and this is why hard candies, which must be eaten slowly, are better for children. The Old Sweet Shops However, not .long ago confections were indeed a luxury that was before the domestic sugar industry was founded and the lack of importing facilities in obtaining the cocoa bean from which chocolate is made prohibited the extensive manufacture of In the early days the a delicacy. sweets of the household consisted mostly of brown sugar and honey and these were occasionally meted out sparingly as a treat, but used mostly for flavoring. As the supply of sugar and local resources developed came the sweetshops. The first candy manufacturing concern to be established in the Salt Lake Valley and now reputed to be the oldest and largest distributors of fancy package goods in the United States is the J. G. McDonald Chocolate Company, founded nearly sixtv-fiv- e years ago in Salt Lake City. This company has extended its operations into established branches in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco and annually ships thousands of pounds of confections to every port in the world. This national and international distribution of a product has accomplished splendid representation for Salt Lake City. This Valley proved to be a mecca lor the development of the candy industry and it flourished under the most 'advantageous conditions. First, the climate with an altitude of 4300 feet is ideally suited and conducive to the manufacture of fine chocolate confections. Second, about 28 sugar factories now are operating in close proximity of the city, furnishing an inexhaustible supply. Third, is the abundance and excellence - of fruit raised in and near Salt Lake. And forth, the dairy products rate high in quality, Utah butter and eggs find foreign markets at premium prices. Cocoa Bean Imported The only remaining major material required in the fine art of candy making is the cocoa bean and this is only grown in tropical climes, such as South America, the West Indies and Central America. The United States furnishes the worlds largest market for the cocoa bean and the most select product is imported to the Salt Lake factory of McDonalds Chocolate Company and there is roasted, cleaned, ground and made into the chocolate and beverage TttCflMIOOfe WDOMLB ROOT CMOCNCMOCOUOI - 9MTUUI CITY MCTORV- cocoa. Insomuch the foreign bean has much to do with the manufacture of candies, a brief regarding its production will be of interest to the reader. Our present day books and records do not show clearly just how long the cultivation of cocoa has existed but it certainly goes back to very ancient times. Cortez and his sodiers became acquainted with the cocoa tree when he landed in Mexi- the sixteenth century and authorities on the subject state that there is every indication that the bean was grown many years prior to that time. The cocoa tree flourishes only in a humid, moist climate and the beans grow in large pods on the trunk or branches of the tree. These pods are from six to eight inches in length, soft shelled and contain about thirty-fiv- e beans. The beans are found in a white pulpy mass very much on the order of pumpkin or squash. The by the pods are cut natives with a large knife, or machete, and the seeds with' their surrounding pulp withdrawn. The seeds are then fermented, which is the most complicated and least un- co in cross-sectiona- lly derstood process in cocoa produc- tion. Down to a Science The general practice is to cover a small well drained .area of ground with plantain leaves, a tropical fruit bearing plant that has large smooth leaves. The beans, with the surrounding pulp as taken from the pods, are placed on these leaves, and a pile is built up in the form of a cone. These cones are covered over with several layers of plantain leaves and left to ferment for five to seven days. When they are properly cured they are spread out on large bamboo mats or platforms and dried in the sun. That is the final treatment of the beans until they arrive in the factory tc be made into the chocolate. The candy industry, true to modern achievement, has developed into a scientific craft. We all know from the experience of a novice, what a difficult task it is to make smooth and creamy fondant or fudge and after ruining several batches of valuable ingredients, we give up in ,v ; despair and seek the candy shop. Sugar is much too expensive to experiment with, so the candy maker must be well schooled and have a vast knowledge of chemical values and reactions. There are approximately 2000 types of candies on the market tohard candies, day. The brittles, fudges, etc. The candy bar in the past few years has become one of the most popular confections. One that originated in Salt Lake City, the Flying Lindy Sandwich, is a product of McDonalds skill and has swept the country with its popular appeal. The candy bars have been so heartily accepted for the reason they are crispy wrapped in sealed paper covering and they reach the public as well protected as the more The expensive boxed confections. candy craftsman is ever busily creating new sweetmeats to appease and delight the palate. Roof Garden Rendezvous A splendid example of the progress made in the confectionary in about a half centurys lifetime is the McDonald Chocolate factory. This factory is one of the best equipped in the United States and (Continued on Page 12) bon-bon- s, in-dus- try |