Not being much of a candy maker (I'm afraid of boiling sugar), I can't quite tell what the texture of the candies is like, but their snowy whiteness makes a great backdrop for the neon-colored candied fruit of the era.
We always had little plastic tubs of the stuff in my childhood kitchen. I never liked it, but it was a holiday staple, as you will see from recipes to come throughout the month.
I imagine this candy to be very sweet, slightly chewy, and studded with the weirdly textured candied fruit flavors of the past. But they aren't what I ever imagined sugar plums to be.
And so I set out to find out what a sugar plum is. Turns out this is not a straight forward question.
Here are a few examples of the most common version found on the interwebs today:
Other sources say they are a comfit; a confectionary item usually small in size which is arduously coated in multiple layers of sugar:
So I'm still confused.
Perhaps I should ask the Patron Fairy for answers:
Look! She's wearing candied cherries! Surely she will know.
I'm off to Google her contact info...
