Thank you, Skeen!
Chicken Bones: an uniquely Canadian holiday treat
In this small town of 5,000 people, hours away from any major urban centre, this is a story of success tied to Chicken Bones, a bright pink candy with a gory name.
Invented by Ganong candy maker Frank Sparhawk in 1885, Chicken Bones have a spicy cinnamon crust and dark chocolate core and are polarizing in the Maritimes: some love them, some hate them, but few are indifferent. Since their invention, the company has produced nearly 700 million pieces – more than five million in 2012, a banner year – all of which are still made by hand at Ganong’s headquarters at 1 Chocolate Dr.
In one room, glossy hot-pink cinnamon candy is stretched, kneaded and cooled, both by the gyrating metal arms of a taffy puller and the strong arms of two workers.
They wield long, pockmarked steel bars and wear thick, heatproof gloves to protect themselves from the scalding candy, which is wrapped around a giant slab of bittersweet chocolate. The resulting 100-pound log is heated, rolled, pulled and cut into its distinctive tapered shape.
A lot has changed since brothers James and Gilbert W. Ganong founded Ganong Bros. Ltd. in 1873. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the company’s original steam whistle. It blows every day, twice in the morning and once at lunch hour. Candy maker Joey White, 55, who has been making Chicken Bones for a decade, says the sound, like the company itself, is part of what defines St. Stephen. “You can hear it five miles away. I don’t know what people would do if it stopped.”
M'chelsMusings 