It’s that time of year, the only time of year, that you hear about Sugar Plums. From the Nutcracker to a new flavored drink at Dunkin’ this year. But what exactly is a Sugar Plum anyway?
As explained by The Atlantic:
The sugar plums English-speakers ate from the 17th to the 19th century contained mostly sugar and no plums. They were made by pouring liquid sugar over a seed (usually a cardamom or caraway seed) or almond, allowing it to harden, and repeating the process. This candy-making technique was called panning, and it created layers of hard sugar shells. The final product was roughly the size and shape of a plum, which is how it came to be associated with the real fruit.
So there’s not even plums involved at all! Who knew?! Just a delicious ball of candy sugar. How food and treats during the holidays should be. Yum.
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