This delicate, fluffy pastry is a popular Christmas gift and treat in Buffalo
If you chance to be in Buffalo for the holidays this year (or have a Buffalonian visiting), you may try something startlingly crunchy and yet exquisitely airy: sponge candy.
My spouse grew raised in Buffalo, and I had my first taste of sponge candy during our first holiday season together. His folks sent my parents a package of it as a gift. "A Buffalo favorite!" " they explained.
When I opened the box, there was a row of what appeared to be normal chocolates, maybe caramels. If I had spent too much time deciphering the word "sponge" in "sponge candy," I would have assumed it was referring to, for want of a better term, a damp sponge. Perhaps it would be marshmallow-filled and hence spongey. But that's not what I received.
What exactly is sponge candy?
Watson's, one of the Buffalo firms noted for creating sponge candy, describes it as "crispy, tender chunks of caramelized spun sugar drenched in our wonderfully creamy chocolate."
It may be sacrilegious to say this, but a meringue cookie comes to mind as the object that best describes the interior consistency to someone who isn't from Buffalo. It has a hint of toffee flavor, but lacks the butter that gives toffee its weight. Sponge candy resembles a dry sponge in that it is hard, crumbly, and airy.
How is candy made from sponge?
A fascinating look into the production of sponge candy can be found in a 2015 news segment from Buffalo's News 4. Reporter Lauren Hall was guided through the procedure by Bob Wachowski, the sponge candy maker for Fowler's chocolates in Buffalo. He goes by the name "Sponge Bob" around Fowler's.
Sugar, corn syrup, and water are used to make the candy. In the video, Sponge Bob can be seen grabbing corn syrup globules with wet hands and magically tossing them into a copper bowl of water. The procedure seems strangely relaxing. Then sugar is added, and the stove is called for. It is heated there for about an hour, and after it begins to melt, texture is added with gelatin.
Over an open flame and in the copper bowl, this mixture is stirred. Baking soda is eventually added, causing it to rise and turn yellow. It now resembles cake batter more than liquid candy. It is then moved into another container to cool in one big, spongy blob. After setting up overnight to harden, it is sawed into squares and placed on a conveyor belt with chocolate coating.
The video, which was created in 2015, claims that Fowler's produces 10 batches, or about 850 pounds, of sponge candy each day.
Is sponge candy only popular in Buffalo?
Sponge candy, in particular, seems to be a Buffalo thing, so much so that people outside of the city don't frequently enjoy its flavors.
According to consultant Sam Mancuso, Buffalo Spree received negative feedback from people outside the region in 2012. "You may have observed tepid reactions that lead you to agree if you've ever forced sponge candy on non-native houseguests or brought some along as a hostess gift when visiting out-of-town friends. Even Pittsburgh, which is very near, cannot sell it; it is unquestionably a regional flavor.
There are several names for the same candy that is sold elsewhere. Examples include honeycomb candy, cinder toffee, and fairy food. But unlike sponge candy, which is made with corn syrup, honeycomb is made with honey and has a different consistency.
The air pockets in honeycomb candy are larger and have a more distinct shape than those in sponge candy, which has a fine, sponge-like texture full of tiny air bubbles, according to Stefanelli's Candies. When honeycomb candy is broken apart, it reveals a design resembling the honeycomb found in beehives, despite initially appearing smooth and solid.
More than a dozen businesses in Buffalo, according to Stepout Buffalo, produce the sweet. Buffalo even established a sponge candy-themed holiday, National Sponge Candy Day, which was established in 2015 by Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. Locals are aware that Christmas is the season for sponge candy even with its own designated day for celebration.
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