Search - Modern Marvels - Candy (History Channel) on DVD

Everything you ever wanted to know about candy and then some

Kyle Tolle | Phoenix, Arizona USA | 09/20/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The opening facts about candy are pretty amazing in that Americans consume about 7 billion tons of it every year to the tune of 25 billion dollars in sales. Helping to understand what ingredients make up chocolate and other confections, short but interesting segments are shown on the history, harvesting methods, and preparation of cocoa beans and sugar cane.

Beginning with a stop at the Hershey Chocolate plant in Pennsylvania, here is a fascinating look and history of one of the most prolific and renowned candy makers in the world today. As automation plays a significant role in manufacturing processes, explored here are elements such as robotics and computerization and how they help to produce enormous amounts of candy at their factory each day.

On the other side of the spectrum, some candy making is still considered to be an art form and Schimpff's Confectionary store in Indiana is a good example of this. Privately owned and operated, here is an entertaining look at older tools and techniques which are incorporated into making several different types of hand made treats. Also using a more manual approach to making candy, the See's company shows some methods they use in their preparation, cooking, and inspecting of their products.

Farther along, the spotlight switches over to jelly beans to include a short history of their beginnings and the production processes. The Jelly Belly Company itself makes over fifty different types of beans and they are unique in that some of their more bizarre flavors include dirt, earwax, sardine, soap, earthworm, rotten egg, and booger. Salt water taffy is another fan favorite among many treats so it gets its time in the sun here too.

Closing out this program, final segments look at licorice, gourmet candy, and even real insects that are cooked into items such as lollipops and assorted hard candies and how this is accomplished.

Hands down, `Modern Marvels: Candy' is a detailed, captivating, and fun viewing experience all the way through. It might even make you hungry after seeing all the wonderful creations that were churned out during this program. A solid five stars for this documentary and I happily recommend it to everyone.

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