Task 2
The Candy Man Can
Knowing my weakness for all things sugary, a friend recently gave me a wonderful gift: a framed candy-bar wrapper dating back to the Great Depression. The odd name of the bar, Chicken Dinner, was accented by the label art: a steaming chicken. Sad to say, Chicken Dinner did not include any actual chicken parts. It was mostly nuts and chocolate. But why would a confectioner name a chocolate bar after a Sunday meal?
This is a profound question in itself, of course, but it also highlights an odd fact: at times of economic crisis, while most manufacturers are struggling, companies such as Hershey’s and Nestle are reporting increased sales. Apparently there is nothing more soothing to the financially insecure than a candy bar, however oddly named. To understand why requires a look back at our past.
Both in the Old World and the New, chocolate was consumed exclusively by the aristocracy, and in liquid form. The technology required to render chocolate into a solid form came along only in the mid-19th century. But it took World War I for the chocolate bar to emerge as a distinct culinary product. American companies began mass-producing bars as single-serving rations for the soldiers. When the “dough boys” returned to the States, they encouraged the domestic demand for candy bars. Ironically, it was the beginning of the Depression that actually resulted in the golden age of candy bars. What had been, just a century earlier, the ultimate luxury foodstuff, became manna for the masses. According to the late Ray Broekel, the author of The Great American Candy Bar Book, more than 30,000 distinct brands were introduced during the Depression. Candy bars might be regarded as America’s first fast food: cheap, self-contained and filling — at least in the short-term.
The variety of regionally made bars available back then was dazzling. Most major cities had confectioners producing bars, and big cities such as Chicago and Boston boasted dozens. The range of components included local nuts and produce such as pecans, walnuts, strawberries, cherries and figs. No doubt the strangest bar to be introduced during the boom was the infamous Vegetable Sandwich, produced for quite a short while during the health craze of the 1920s. Billed as “a delicious candy made with vegetables,” the bar consisted of dehydrated celery, peas and carrots covered in chocolate. While it’s true that the Vegetable Sandwich probably lived up to its marketing tag — “will not constipate” — it never quite caught on with the public.
Still, what people wanted then was a dessert that they could convince themselves was healthy. The same holds true today. Consolidation by industrial giants such as Hershey’s and Mars has long since driven most regional bars out of existence, and a much smaller number of national brands has emerged. But brands like Snickers continue to be marketed as “satisfying” (read: filling and nutritious) snacks. Nor is it any surprise that retail candy sales have been strong during the current recession. Candy bars remain an incredibly affordable luxury, products that simultaneously deliver a sugar high and a nostalgic feeling of excitement, by reminding consumers of the innocent pleasures of childhood.
Which of the following is TRUE of chocolate, according to the text?
AChocolate has become Americans’ favourite dessert.
BChocolate used to be the privilege of the nobility.
CChocolate was first made solid during World War I.
D Chocolate drinks were invented during the Great Depression.