Corby Kummer has been writing on food in The Atlantic for years, (maybe even before the magazine became a "price sticker" by dropping the "monthly" from its masthead and going to ten issues a year). He almost always comes up with some unique and interesting insights.
Finding him writing about Necco wafers in the October issue really caught my attention, though - it's not the kind of thing you usually find in a food column. On the other hand, I can remember Necco Wafers from my childhood, and I still like a pack now and then today (so Necco, I hope you don't mind my borrowing your photo of the package).
This perennial candy has been made in the U.S. since 1847 (yes, eighteen), and I remember even from the perspective of 40 or 50 years ago that the name "Necco" derives from the manufacturer, the New England Confectionery Company. There is a lot of interesting Necco lore and history on the company's website - do take a look, or you won't know (for example) the story of Necco at the South Pole.
Kummer's main emphasis is that Necco recently changed over its production to all-natural ingredients, flavors, and colors. That's a big deal for a fairly low-cost candy, but maybe it is indicative of how deep the interest in "natural" has become. He says the "neon" colors have been toned down, but I never thought of them as neon - by comparison to almost any other such candy (the kind of stuff sold in movie theaters and at drugstore counters), they always seemed subdued. Now, I guess, they're even more so.
Yesterday I bought myself a roll, to see if the new version really measured up to the old. The good news is that they seem to taste as good as ever, so at least the changeover to "natural" hasn't hurt them. It's an interesting fact about taste, by the way - most flavors derive from chemical compounds that are either present in nature, or can be created in a lab. Studies have shown that flavoring from manufactured chemicals aren't distinguishable from "natural" ones, so when it comes to the taste of a candy like Necco, such as "clove" or "orange," "natural" has much less significance (in fact almost none). Natural ingredients may be more healthful and to the extent they hhave flavor of their own, might enhance taste too. But it really doesn't matter where that infinitesimal drop of "orange flavoring" comes from.
I love chocolate Neccos. Must test the new version. Thanks for update!
Posted by: Karen Watkins | March 07, 2010 at 11:48 AM