FOOD NEWS
The Reason Mint Is Such A Popular Holiday Flavor
By Crystal Antonace
Mint is a classic holiday flavor, with the United States producing over 1.7 billion candy canes each year, with most selling between the end of November and Christmas day. Many may not stop to question why mint is associated with the holidays, but the history is quite interesting.
Consumption of peppermint for healing and medicinal purposes can be traced back to ancient Egypt, but mint candy didn't come about until the Renaissance period. Along with mint, sugar also had purported health properties, so the two were fused with medicinal plants to make products that could help with digestion and cold symptoms.
Candy canes were most likely invented at some point in the 17th century, but they didn't make their way to America until 1847 when German-Swedish immigrant August Imgard used them to decorate his tree. They really became an American mainstay when Bob McCormack of "Bob's Candies" took over the industry in the 1920s.