Mary Jane
Mary Jane Candy made with almonds and molasses, Courtesy of old-time candy.com
As with greens, sweet potatoes, and yams, elites in colonial British America snubbed molasses. But over time, African cooks and street vendors in urban centers helped change views toward molasses. Africans bent “the taste of the Big House toward that of the quarters” argues one historian, “because the slaves as a class, including the rudest field hands, had quietly been making a life for themselves that included a healthy concern with cooking.” With roots dating back to 1847, the Massachusetts based Miller Company first manufactured Mary Jane candies in 1914. Another company would later purchase the rights to the popular molasses and peanut candy which remains in production today.
