Valentine’s Day means chalky candy hearts with a lot to say. But what’s behind these very loud little candies?
The story of conversation hearts, also known as Sweethearts, began in 1847, when a Boston pharmacist named Oliver Chase longed for a way to get in on the apothecary lozenge craze. Lozenges were quickly gaining steam as the medicine conveyance of choice, and were also popular remedies for sore throats and bad breath. But making them was complicated and time-consuming—the process involved a mortar and pestle, kneading dough, rolling it out, and cutting it into discs that would eventually become lozenges.
There had to be a better way, and Oliver came up with it. Inspired by the new wave of gadgets and tools that hit America as it industrialized, he invented a machine that rolled lozenge dough and pressed wafers into perfect discs. Oliver had inadvertently created America’s first candy-making machine, and before long, he had abandoned his pharmacy business to crank out miles of what would become New England Confectionery Company (NECCO) wafers.
Legend has it that Oliver’s NECCO wafers were carried by Civil War soldiers, and some speculate that the tradition of sending loving greetings to the troops morphed into the conversation heart, but those claims are hard to verify. What is clear is that as Oliver built his candy empire, his brother Daniel decided he wanted a piece of the action.
Inspired by the growing market for Valentine’s cards (which were popularized in the United States by Esther Howland, also a resident of Boston at the time), Daniel wondered if it would be possible to print sentimental messages on candy. In 1866, he figured out a way to print words on candy with vegetable dye during the cutting process.
People loved conversation candies (they weren’t available in heart shapes until 1902)and their wittymessages, which couldstoke the flames of love or warn off flaky suitors. Daniel’s candies were bigger than today’s version and had phrases like “MARRIED IN WHITE YOU HAVE CHOSEN RIGHT” and “HOW LONG SHALL I HAVE TO WAIT? PLEASE BE CONSIDERATE” emblazoned on a pastel, scalloped wafer.
By the turn of the century, the conversation heart was a Valentine’s cliché. Here’s how they were used at a Boston party in 1911:
Partners for the evening were found by means of candy “motto” hearts. These were broken in two, and each young lady was given a piece, but the men were obliged to hunt for theirs. As they were carefully hidden, this took some length of time and proved an excellent ‘ice breaker.’ The silly mottoes were read with laughter as the couples chose their tables.
Over the years, conversation hearts lost size, but gained many more phrases. In 2016, NECCO estimated it made 8 billion conversation hearts a year. Now, the Spangler Candy Company produces the cheeky confections. In 2023, the company included animal-themed phrases like “Love Birds,” “Purr Fect,” and “Big Dog”on the hearts; for 2024; it released “situationship” boxes, complete with messages that were as blurry and hard to read as an undefined romantic relationship.
A version of this story originally ran in 2015; it has been updated for 2024.
The production of conversation hearts actually originates in a pharmacy! Back in 1847, Oliver R.Chase created a medication-cutting machine to increase production speed at his Apothecary. Medicinal and binding ingredients were pressed together and sliced into round discs, forming lozenges.
The history of conversation hearts dates back to 1847, but their origin story is not what you'd expect. The machine used to make the candies was initially invented to create medicine. Boston-based Pharmacist Oliver Chase developed the lozenge cutter to industrialize the formation of apothecary lozenges.
The original candies had messages like, "Who Me, Luv U, Be Good, Kiss Me and Sweet Talk." Fast forward to present day and you can find hearts with sayings like, "Wicked Cool, Txt Me, Tweet, #Love, Wink Wink, Ur Hot, Call Me and even Marry Me." Those sayings not good enough? You can make your own.
Richard Cadbury (yes, that Cadbury), chocolate-maker, philanthropist, and (I'm going to go ahead and assume) hopeless romantic, is credited with inventing and marketing the first heart-shaped box of chocolates in 1868.
Traditionally, conversation hearts are printed with personal and romantic messages like “XOXO,” “Kiss Me,” and “Email Me.” More current examples include “Text Me” and “Bae.”
The story of St Valentine's Day begins with some unknown medieval birdwatchers, probably in France rather than England, who reckoned that birds begin mating in mid-February, and decided to give this a precise date: 14 February.
Necco (or NECCO /ˈnɛkoʊ/ NEK-oh) was an American manufacturer of candy created in 1901 as the New England Confectionery Company through the merger of several small confectionery companies located in the Greater Boston area, with ancestral companies dating back to the 1840s.
The sayings on these Necco and Brach's sweet treats are reviewed and changed every year to stay current, but the classics are just canon. According to a rep from Brach's, the Queen Bee of Candy Hearts, “LOVE YOU” is America's favorite conversation heart message, chosen by 50% of people surveyed this year.
In 1902, the Sweethearts candy brand was created, with original sayings that are still popular today, including "Be Mine" and "Kiss Me." Over the next several decades, Sweethearts continued to grow in popularity.
Quite possibly one of America's most divisive candies, most people can agree that the best thing about conversation hearts — made of corn syrup, sugar, gelatin and food coloring — isn't the taste, but their playful nostalgia.
It means “totally”, as if agreeing. Girls usually use that as a form of slang, because it sounds nice to them and whoever they're talking to (most of the time). If you see a group of girls, and one of them says that form of slang, they use a lot more slang words too.
The production of conversation hearts actually originates in a pharmacy! Back in 1847, Oliver R. Chase created a medication-cutting machine to increase production speed at his Apothecary. Medicinal and binding ingredients were pressed together and sliced into round discs, forming lozenges.
Brach's® Wisecrack® Conversation Hearts have fun phrases like “Dream On” and “Let's Not” to help bring the sass to any chat. These comical hearts come in lemon-lime, banana, cherry, grape, orange, and wintergreen, and are sure to get a laugh from all who read them.
Note: If you want to preserve your Valentine's Day crafts that use conversation hearts candy, you will need to coat candies with clear polyurethane varnish. Pour the varnish into the container over the candies, but make sure you use more than one coat to ensure you don't miss any.
The first known depiction of a heart-shape as a symbol of love was in the 1250's French manuscript the Roman de la poire, in which a young man holds his vaguely pine cone-shaped heart up towards his lady love. Up until the fourteenth century, the heart was usually depicted upside down.
The heart shape is thought to be a depiction of the shape of ivy leaves which are also connected to symbols of fidelity. Others theorize the heart shape is connected to Silphium. Silphium (or silphion) is a type of big fennel plant that hails from the ancient North African city of Cyrene located in modern day Libya.
Oliver worked in the apothecary/confectionery industry where he made lozenges composed of gum Arabic, peppermint and brown sugar by hand. After an increase in orders from apothecary shops, he rigged his homemade lozenge cutter to keep up with demand.
The oldest known Valentine still exists today as a poem written by Charles Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting that was written in 1415 is part of the manuscript collection at the British Library in London.
Introduction: My name is Twana Towne Ret, I am a famous, talented, joyous, perfect, powerful, inquisitive, lovely person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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