Talk on Candymaking, Oct. 7th

We have about 100 works in the collection that treat, to one degree or another, of confectionery. Of those, about 2 dozen are all or primarily about making confections. The earliest is an 1800 edition of Hannah Glasse’s Complete Confectioner “with considerable additions and corrections, by Maria Wilson.”  (A similar edition is available here)

There’s a good deal of history to be divined from these works, especially when you consider them set against the spiraling  production and consumption of sugar in the 18th & 19th centuries.  As sugar grew more available, cooks and confectioners developed a plethora of ways to use it. In the Glasse book, there are numerous chapters that ring the changes just on what you can do with sugar and fruit: compotes, conserves, jam, jellies, marmalades, clear cakes, dried fruit with sugar, etc, not to mention all the other confections.

But occasionally these works find another use. Ann Arbor is fortunate enough to be the home of a candy maker with a deep interest in handmade candy, and he’s been in on and off over the last several weeks, studying some of our candy manuals from the mid-19th century.  Now, there’s an opportunity to hear him speak on his engagement with sugar and what can be made with it.

Charlie Frank is the principal in Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory, makers of Zzang bars.  You can read enthusiastic reviews of his candy here and here. What he strives for, at the cost of no little trouble, is the pleasures that come with absolutely fresh candy, made by hand with care, and shipped in small batches.

This week, Charlie is giving a talk on his candy making, and the devotion that lies behind it. Below is the official announcement.

Charlie Frank, “Candy and Passion – A Sweet Life”

Thursday, October 7th, 7:00-8:30 pm
Held in the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor) Gallery in Room 100 (use Diag entrance)
913 S. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI
Public parking is available in the structure at 650 S. Forest, just south of S. University
Free and open to the public!

Charlie Frank, Candymaker and head of Zingerman’s Candy Manufactory, will talk about his path to a life making candy, his enthusiasm for his work, how candy is made at Zingerman’s, and how everybody can relate to his passion for…SUGAR! Candy tasting and a Q&A will follow.

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