Ahh, Confectioneries, such a fancy word isn’t it? Confectioneries are those foods which are rich in carbohydrates and sugars. You know, those foods you have to sneak and eat if you’re on a diet - “cheat foods”- or those ones your parents forbade you to eat when you were a child. Yes, those foods and my absolute favs! There are two broad categories of confectioneries- Bakers’ Confections and Sugar Confections. It’s always good to have knowledge about the things you eat, so here we go.
BAKERS’ CONFECTIONERIES
Bakers’ Confectioneries are also called Flour Confectioneries and are inclusive of sweet baked goods, especially those which are served for dessert. The main ingredient in this type of confectionery is flour, hence it’s second name. Its main categories include: cakes, sweet pastries, scones and cookies. These are predominant in the Middle East and Asia.
Cakes- Welch Cakes, Korean Rainbow Rice Cake, European Spit Cakes, Angel Food Cake, Boston Cream Pie, etc.
Sweet Pastries- Apple Pie, Apple Strudel, Cherry Pie, Cinnamon Roll, Croissant, Cronut, Cuban Pastry, Danish Pastry, etc.
Scones- Scones with jam, Cranberry Scones with icing, etc.
Cookies- Almond Cookies, Animal Crackers, Snickerdoodles, Chocolate Chip, Ginger Snap, etc.
SUGAR CONFECTIONERIES
As its name suggests, sugar confectioneries are those which are sugar based and are normally consumed as snacks. These include: chocolate, lollipops, candies and candy bars, cotton candy, etc. There are many categories of sugar confectioneries, but here are four: Chocolates, Fudge, Ice cream and Hard Candy.
Chocolates - Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, White Chocolate, Raw Chocolate
Fudges - Chocolate Fudge, Brown Sugar Fudge, Peanut Butter Snickers Fudge
Ice cream - Neapolitan Ice cream, Butter Pecan Caramel Ice cream, Rocky Road Ice Cream, Cookie And Cream Ice cream (my favs)
Hard Candy- Stick Candies, Lollipops, Candy Cane
WHERE DID IT ALL START?
The grater cake usually has very high sugar content and should only be consumed in limited amounts. Dried coconut is peeled and stripped of the brown skin, then finely grated and boiled with granulated sugar. The mixture is then separated into two portions, with red food coloring added to one portion. Pour the white portion into a greased tray, then add a spoon small red toppings according to desired size of each cake, fair enough to suggest that it all started with honey! Long before sugar, the Egyptians, Chinese and Indians also liked to combine honey with fruits and nuts to make natural sweet treats. Additionally,s Licorice juice was extracted from the Licorice plant at that time and is considered to offer many health properties. Evolution had much work to do before we could have a handful of Licorice.
JAMAICA CONFECTIONERIES
Jamaican Gizzada
This is a sweet dessert consisting mainly of coconut and flour. Grated coconut flakes are boiled with brown sugar into a thick stew, seasoned with spices like, nutmeg and cinnamon. The mixture is then poured onto a 2-3 inch pie base. Some cooks use a fork to make decorative patterns on the pie base before baking for 15 minutes.
Jamaican Grater Cake
The grater cake usually has very high sugar content and should only be consumed in limited amounts. Dried coconut is peeled and stripped of the brown skin, then finely grated and boiled with granulated sugar. The mixture is then separated into two portions, with red food coloring added to one portion. Pour the white portion into a greased tray, then add a small spoon of red toppings according to desired size of each cake.
Jamaican Plantain Tart
Jamaican plantain tarts are sweet pastries with a delicious filling made from ripe plantains. They are boiled soft, then mashed into a pulp with sugar, vanilla, mixed spices and red food coloring (optional). The mixture is scooped onto the circle-shaped dough, which is then folded into a half-moon. It is ready to eat after baking.
Jamaican Coconut Drops
Coconut ‘Drops’ is a very popular dessert in Jamaica. The coconut is cut into small pieces and boiled in brown sugar with added spices. Traditionally, a banana leaf is used, but a greased tray can substitute to ‘drop’ the hot mixture into 2 inch cakes. It hardens as it cools and is ready for eating immediately.
HOW BIG IS THE CONFECTIONERY MARKET?
The confectionery market is a skyrocketing enterprise, which is now expected to reach USD 284.4 billion by the year 2025, according to ‘prnewswire.com’. According to said site, this is due to the market’s escalating modernization and modifications of their various products. It is also as a result of the upsurge in demand for chocolate products; there is no doubt about that, who does not love chocolate?
Although the market is ‘dripping’ in revenues, there has also been a surge of “healthy eaters”, which has caused manufacturers to rethink their strategies, to both keep the market alive and cater for the needs of these “healthy eaters”. Persons are now switching to healthy snacks, fresh fruits, cereal bars and diet foods, etc. So, what have they come up with? Confectionery manufacturers have found a way to outsmart healthy food manufacturers simply by incorporating healthy ingredients in their mouthwatering treats. For example, they have created protein bars and premium dark chocolate. Also according to ‘prnewswire.com’, Nestle SA introduced KitKats in various flavors such as dark chocolate and green tea to stay ahead in the market. If you ask me that is ingenious thinking.
Asia Pacific is at the forefront of the confectionery market, as it seems, as they represented a quarter of the overall market in 2017. In addition, the country’s which are leading the regional market include: India, China and Japan; no surprise there.
NB. Jamaica exports of sugars and sugar confectionery was US$16.69 Million during 2016, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade.
Comments