The History Of Lollipops & Recipes For National Lollipop Day
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Updated July 2026 It’s National Lollipop Day. Read this history of the lollipop as you enjoy one or two. Below: > The origin of the word “lollipop.” > Easy-to-make lollipop recipe. > Why are lollipop sticks hollow? Elsewhere on The Nibble: > The year’s 60+ candy holidays. The history of lollipops begins with prehistoric man eating honey off the sticks they used to scrape it from the beehive and culminates in a competitive industrial legal battle in early 20th-century America. The ancient Arabs, Chinese, and Egyptians made fruit and nut confections candied in honey, often serving these sticky confections on sticks to keep fingers clean. But what we think of as a lollipop likely dates to Europe in the Middle Ages when sugar was boiled and formed onto sticks as treats for the wealthy—who were the only people who could afford sugar. By the 17th century, sugar was plentiful and affordable. In England, boiled sugar treats (hard candy) were popular. Beginning in the later part of the 18th century, industry, including confectionery, became mechanized. Horehound drops, lemon drops, peppermints, and wintergreen lozenges became everyday candies. While we don’t know the inventor of the modern lollipop, the first automated lollipop machine was invented in Racine, Wisconsin in 1908. The Racine Confectionery Machine Company’s machine put hard candy discs on the end of sticks, producing 2,400 lollipops per hour, 57,000 per day. Other claimants for the same year: Beyond placing hard candy on a stick, the most significant advancement came in 1912 when Samuel Born invented the “Born Sucker Machine,” which automated the insertion of sticks into candy on a massive scale. Far from producing a few dozen lollipops a minute by hand in the begining, modern machines are capable of churning out up to 750 lollipops per minute—3 million lollipops daily. Lollipops have evolved into diverse forms, from the classic Tootsie Pop (introduced in 1931 with a chocolate center) to medicinal lollipops used for delivering pain relief or supplements, to CBD pops. = Today’s lollipops come in all shapes and sizes, from hand-crafted works of sugar art to caffeinated Java Pops and bacon lollipops. And beyond the original boiled sugar/hard candy, there are: The word “lollipop” (originally spelled lollypop) first appears in print in 1784, roughly coinciding with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. English lexicographer Francis Grose recorded the term in one of his dictionary editions, defining the “lollypop” as “a hard sweetmeat, sometimes on a stick.”* |
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There are two main theories regarding the etymological roots: Nothing fancy: It’s just the basic lolly you got from the doctor. But it’s your homemade version. If you want to get fancy, add edible glitter (photo #3) or confetti halfway thorough pouring the candy into the mold. Prep time is 5 minutes and cook time is 30 minutes. Ingredients For 12 Lollipops 1. PLACE the lollipop sticks in hard candy molds. If you don’t have molds, arrange the sticks 3 inches apart on greased foil-lined baking sheets. Set aside. 2. COMBINE the corn syrup and sugar in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. 3. COVER and cook for 3 minutes to dissolve the sugar crystals. Then uncover and cook over medium-high heat, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 300° (hard-crack stage). 4. REMOVE from the heat; stir in the and food coloring, keeping your face away from the mixture as the odor is very strong. 5. IMMEDIATELY POUR into the prepared molds, or pour free-form over the ends of the lollipop sticks on baking sheets. 6. COOL before removing. Lollipops don’t have to be sugary or hard. Check out these “lollipops”: It has to do with how the lollipops are manufactured. Candy manufacturers actually pour the liquid candy into the top of the stick so the head of the lollipop stays attached to the stick. Otherwise, it could come loose and fall off—which we opine is what happened enough times to create a solution to the problem. CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM. |
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