Christmas Special: Essential Sweets for a British Christmas

Merry Christmas! Because it’s that special time of year again, this post will be focusing on the essential sweets for a British Christmas.

Quality street tin

The Quality street tin is an assortment of toffees and chocolates. They were first created in the 1930s by Harold Mackintosh, the founder of Quality street. They were created as a cheap chocolate option because at the time, only the wealthy could buy boxed chocolates. In order to create cheaper chocolates, Harold Mackintosh covered different toffees in chocolate. He also twist wrapped each chocolate to reduce packaging costs. Did you know, the chocolates were put in a tin rather than a cardboard box so the chocolate smell could burst out when it was opened?

Chocolate coins

It's pretty self explanatory. Chocolate coins are coins made of chocolate. They are wrapped in gold or silver foil and often given during Christmas. They are also used for other holidays such as the Jewish holiday, Hanukkah.

After eights

After eights are wafer-thin mints. They were invented by Brian Sollit and launched in 1962. They were called after eights because they were only supposed to be eaten after eight, according to the adverts anyways. This was to market the sweets as posh and fancy.

Turkish delights

Turkish delights are soft, chewy sweets made from water, sugar, lemon cream of tartar and rosewater. They are said to have been invented by Hadji Bekir in the Anatolian mountain town of Kastamonu.

Matchmakers

Matchmakers are long twig-like candies. They come in the flavours cool mint and zingy orange. Just like the after eights, these were invented by Brian Sollit.

Toffee

Toffee is a popular sweet that is mainly consists of white and brown sugar, water and butter. It is uncertain when toffee was first made, but toffee rose to popularity in Europe in the early 1800s.

Cadbury Roses

Cadbury roses is a box of assorted twist wrap chocolates. They were released in 1938. Fun fact: They are called roses because the factory they were produced in was known as the “factory in a garden” and roses were a popular flower at that time.

Whether you are looking to have a British Christmas or not, these sweets will make a great addition to your Christmas. They make great stocking stuffers and are also great for feeding guests at your Christmas parties.

Please share this post, comment below and have a wonderful Christmas!

Sources:

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/12/12/370368642/hanukkah-history-those-chocolate-coins-were-once-real-tips
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/brian-sollit-chocolatier-who-created-after-eights-lion-bars-matchmakers-and-the-yorkie-8825017.html
http://www.qualitystreetchocolates.com/history.html
http://www.smittenbybritain.com/my-favourite-british-sweets-at-christmas/
http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2013/12/british-treats-youll-miss-christmas
https://www.cadbury.co.uk/the-story
Pictures:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2197218/Quality-Street-accused-short-changing-fewer-chocolates.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_coin
https://kenarah.wordpress.com/2014/04/23/after-eight-chocolate-mints/
Ahmet Ihsan Ariturk http://www.123rf.com/photo_3187685_turkish-delight-with-rose-syrup.html
http://www.thiscitylifelondon.com/2012/12/12/sweet-tooth-satisfaction-at-home-matchmakers-chocolate-chip-cookies/
http://www.brownsenglishtoffee.com
http://www.junglekey.co.uk/search.php?query=Cadbury+Roses&type=image&lang=en&region=gb&img=1&adv=1