There are certain English things that most Canadians could probably live without. Like marmite, excessive rain, and the fact that Halloween isn’t that big of a deal (It’s only one of the best holidays…).

Delicious mint candy should not be on that list, and certainly doesn’t get enough credit here in the great north. We’re about to tell you why, but first...

 

 

What is Mint Candy?

Put simply: Mint candy is sugar, flavoured with either mint flavouring or mint oil such as peppermint oil, spearmint oil or wintergreen. Unlike other candy it has beneficial properties like clearing your stuffy nose, freshening your breath and soothing your stomach.

When Canadians think mint we’re prone to thinking of that big bowl of red and white mints sitting on the hostess stand at our favourite restaurant, or those funny little candies filled with compound chocolate you get on top of your bill. The mints we’re about to share with you are far more magical and delicious and don’t even know what compound chocolate is.

4 Kinds of Mint Candy You Need in Your Life

 

Humbugs

While the name Humbug originates from the early 1800’s these delicious little guys were not, in fact, named after Mr. Scrooge’s famous line from the well-known novella “A Christmas Carol”, by Charles Dickens. They do however, share similarities:

• Humbugs are generally shared at Christmas time.
• The word “Humbug” originally meant a ‘practical joke’ or ‘hoax’. Humbugs consist of a hardboiled minty outer layer with soft toffee hidden on the inside. As the name suggests you believe you are eating a mint only to suddenly find a delicious piece of toffee!

 

 

Butter Mintoe

Yes, you heard me: butter. Butter makes everything better, it’s kind of like bacon that way. Similar to a Humbug, a Butter Mintoe is a hard boiled, mint flavoured sweet with a surprise toffee centre. The best part about this mint candy is, as the name would have you believe, its incredibly rich buttery flavour.

 

 

Mint Toffee

Toffee and mint seems to be a theme here, but trust us, it’s delicious. These perfect squares of toffee are actually infused with mint flavour, so you can get your toffee fix without feeling too guilty. At least your breath will smell fantastic!

 

 

English Mint

Your traditional mint candy with a twist. This delicious mint actually has a soft inside, which believe it or not isn’t toffee this time. After allowing it to melt in your mouth you reach a soft, chewy, minty center, yum!

But That’s Not All… The Real Magic Lies in How They’re Made

There are many different methods used to craft confectionary. While we can’t tell you all of the secrets to making delicious mint candy, we can tell you how a Humbug gets its stripes!

 

 

To start, the ingredients are combined, prepped and turned into a giant ‘log’. The candy log is placed on a conveyor belt and fed into a funnel. This is where other colours and flavours of candy ‘logs’ are added in to create the Humbug’s stripes. The sides of the funnel are made of rollers (like giant rolling pins) and roll the candy logs together as well as thinner and thinner.

The log reaches the desired thickness at the end of the funnel and is dropped onto another conveyor belt. Here it is chopped into equally sized pieces, cooled and individually twist wrapped ready for the consumer!

Verdict: Mint Candy is Amazing

If your mouth is now watering for mint candy you can find out where to pick up a bag of Waterbridge Just Mints Assortment, which includes every one of the mints mentioned above, here.