This branch of the trade or business of a confectioner is perhaps the
most important. All manufacturers are more or less interested in it, and
certainly no retail shop could be considered orthodox which did not
display a tempting variety of this class. So inclusive is the term
"boiled goods" that it embraces drops, rocks, candies, taffies, creams,
caramels, and a number of different sorts of hand-made, machine-made,
and moulded goods. It is the most ancient method of which we have any
knowledge, and perhaps the most popular process of modern times; the
evidence of our everyday experience convinces us that (notwithstanding
the boom which heralds from time to time a new sweet, cooked in a
different manner, composed of ingredients hitherto unused in business),
it is the exception when such goods hold the front rank for more than a
few months, however pretty, tasty, or tempting they may be, the public
palate seems to fall back on those made in the old lines which, though
capable of improvement, seem not to be superceded. Of the entire make of
confectionery in Canada, at least two-thirds of it may be written down
under the name of boiled sugar. They are undoubtedly the chief features
with both manufacturers and retailers, embracing, as they do, endless
facilities for fertile brains and deft fingers for inventing novelties
in design, manipulation, combination, and finish. Notwithstanding the
already great variety, there is always daily something new in this
department brought into market. Many of the most successful houses owe
their popularity more to their heads than their hands, hence the
importance of studying this branch in all its ramifications. The endless
assortment requiring different methods for preparing and manipulating
make it necessary to sub-divide this branch into sections, order and
arrangement being so necessary to be thoroughly understood. _When we
consider the few inexpensive tools required to make so many kinds of
saleable goods, it is not to be wondered at so many retailers have a
fancy to make their own toffees and such like, there is no reason why a
man or woman, with ordinary patience, a willing and energetic
disposition, favored with a fair amount of intelligence, should not be
able to become with the aid of THIS BOOK and a few dollars for tools,
fairly good sugar boilers, with a few months practice._
There are reasons why a retail confectioner should study sugar boiling.
It gives character to the business, a fascinating odour to the premises,
and a general at-homeness to the surroundings. No goods look more
attractive and tempting to the sweet eating public than fresh made goods
of this kind. A bright window can be only so kept by makers. Grainy or
sticky drops may be reboiled; scraps and what would otherwise be almost
waste (at least unsightly) may be redressed in another shape, and
become, not only saleable, but profitable. _There are many advantages
which a maker possesses over one who buys all._ For instance, clear
boiled goods should be kept air tight, and are therefore delivered to
the retailers in bottles, jars, or tins, on which charge is made, these
have to be repacked and returned. Breakages are an important item, so is
freight--the cost of the latter is saved and the former reduced to a
minimum.
Whatever means are adopted to benefit the retailer and advertise the
business by brighter windows, cleaner shops, less faded goods, and
healthier financial conditions must contribute to the general prosperity
of the trade, from the bottom step to the top rung of the ladder.
It should be the aim of all amateurs to study quality rather than price.
Goods well made, carefully flavored, and nicely displayed will always
command a ready sale at a fair price, giving satisfaction to the
consumer and credit to the maker. Give your customers something to
please the eye as well as the palate, so that every sale may be looked
upon as an advertisement. Cheap, bulky, insipid stuff is unprofitable
and damaging to the trade as well as to the seller. I venture to assert
that more would-be makers have come to grief trying to cut each other in
price for rubbishy candies than through any other cause. Look at the
number of firms who have a reputation, whose very name command trade
at good prices, year after year add to the turnover. What is the
talisman? Look at their goods. There is perhaps nothing very striking in
them, but they are _invariably good_, busy or slack they are made with
care, packed with taste, and delivered neatly in a business-like
fashion. Compare this to our makers of cheap stuff; to obtain orders
they sell at unprofitable prices, often at a loss, and try to make up
the difference by resorting to various methods of increasing the bulk,
the result is ultimate ruin to themselves, loss to their creditors, and
injury to every one concerned. Few who read these lines will not be able
to verify all that is stated. The writer's advice has always been to
keep up a _high degree of excellence, try to improve in every direction,
and success is only a matter of patience, energy and civility_.
It is not intended to give a complete list of all kinds of candy known
in the trade, that would be absurd and impossible. To be able to make
any particular kind will require knowledge only to be gained by
experience, so that much depends on the thoughtful endeavor of the
beginner.