Sweetheart Candy

Do you have Sweethearts at Valentine season there? No, no. Not the human sweetheart. I mean the candy Sweethearts. Those little bits of sugar and imagination are more reliable than any breathing sweetheart could be. They have been around for more than a hundred years as small heart shaped candies printed with a message such as "Be Mine" or "Kiss Me".

Necco, the company that has been making them for more than 150 years, manufactures nearly 8 billion sweethearts a year in several sugary flavors. According to the package labeling the recipe includes sugar, corn syrup, gelatin, gums, colorings, and flavorings. They uh..are not a candy snobs favorite sweet and are an more of an acquired taste because they are basically merely little sugar shaped hearts. But almost ever year Sweethearts are the best selling Valentine candy.

I have a bag of them right here next to my computer and these Sweethearts look and taste just as they did when I was a child. The only difference might be the imprinted messages on them, some have been updated to fit the times. There's an "E Mail Me" and a "Fax Me" Sweetheart in my bag of little goodies that reflect the new way we communicate to lovers and friends. I guess the Fax Me Sweetheart isn't a lover selection. Who would Fax a lover? None with any sense. I think it better to hand that Sweetheart to a business associate at work, not to your human sweetheart.

Any young man who has a bag of Sweethearts and his best girl next to knows to NEVER give the wrong Sweetheart to her. There's even one that says "Marry Me". It's smart to open the bag of Sweethearts first and remove potential problem sayings. "Marry Me" is big trouble. But most of those stamped Sweetheart messages are just cute. The range from the innocent- "Be Good", "You And Me", "Angel", Sweet Talk", "Number 1 Fan", "Smile"- to the more intimate- "Be Mine", "Yu And Me", "I Hope", "Sweet Talk", "Adore Me"- to the lovey dovey- "Kiss Me", "My Baby", "I Love You", "True Love", "You're Mine".

There are many other Sweetheart messages but the most recent one the company stamped on its Sweetheart candy has to be the green one I just ate while typing. It says "Tweet Me". I remember in elementary school at Valentine's time (February). The teachers used to reward the students with Sweethearts when they answered correctly in class. And we always gave a mini box of Sweethearts to our classmates on Valentine's Day. In those days small kids had yet to develop any sexual awareness, so it was ok to give that cute little babe in the next row a box of sweethearts with a Valentine's Day card attached.

Sadly, if I gave a babe a Sweetheart now it might bring a slap and a sexual harassment suit. Better to just eat all the sweethearts myself.