Elmer Candy Corporation was founded in 1855 as the Miller Candy Company in
New Orleans,
Louisiana.
[Louisiana Economic Development News Release (December 30, 2014)—Elmer Chocolate announces $40 million manufacturing expansion in Ponchatoula]
Retrieved 2015-03-29 The company sells seasonal holiday candies and, in 2014, was the second-largest manufacturer of
Valentine
A valentine is a card or gift given on Valentine's Day, or one's sweetheart.
Valentine or Valentines may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Valentine (name), a given name and a surname, including a list of people and fictional char ...
boxed chocolate in North America.
[
]
History
In 1855, a German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
immigrant, Christopher Henry Miller, started the Miller Candy Company in New Orleans.[Old New Orleans—Elmer's Candy]
Retrieved 2015-03-29 When Augustus Elmer married Miller's daughter, the company name was changed in the early 1900s to Miller-Elmer Candy Corporation. Elmer's five sons joined the business and, around 1914, the company became Elmer Candy Corporation.[
In 1936, the Elmer brothers came up with a new ]cornmeal
Cornmeal is a meal (coarse flour) or a cell membrane ground from dried corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to coarse, medium, and fine consistencies, but not as fine as wheat flour can be.Herbst, Sharon, ''Food Lover's Companion'', ...
based cheese curl. A product naming contest was held in New Orleans, and the winning name entry was CheeWees. In 1946, a new company, Elmer's Fine Foods
Elmer's Fine Foods, or just Elmer's, is a snack food company based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Elmer's started in 1946 in making snack products, including its popular CheeWees and Mardi Gras cheese curls sold in various southeastern states. Until th ...
, was formed to market their new cheese curl product,[History of Elmer's CheeWees]
Retrieved 2015-03-30 but the brothers continued operating Elmer Candy Corporation for their chocolate business.
In 1963, Roy Nelson, a native of Chicago, bought Elmer Candy Corporation, including the trademark name, CheeWees, from the descendants of Augustus Elmer.[ The Elmer family retained control over Elmer's Fine Foods and continued to sell their cheese curls under various names.
In 1993, Elmer's Fine Foods repurchased the trademark name CheeWees from Elmer Candy Corporation.][ In order to stay competitive with larger chocolate companies, the Nelsons concentrated on production of seasonal holiday chocolates (Valentine, Easter, and Christmas) for regional consumption.][Elmer Chocolate]
Retrieved 2015-03-30
By 2004, Robert Nelson, Allan's son, was president of Elmer Candy Corporation.[
]
Products
*''Heavenly Hash Egg'' consists of a marshmallow center that contains two roasted almond
The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...
s and has an outer coating of milk chocolate
Milk chocolate is a solid chocolate confectionery containing cocoa, sugar and milk. Chocolate was originally sold and consumed as a beverage in pre-Columbian times, and upon its introduction to Western Europe. Major milk chocolate producers incl ...
. In 1923, Elmer's acquired the recipe for Heavenly Hash from a New Orleans department store. Besides the original version, Elmer's also produces a strawberry marshmallow Heavenly Hash, and a dark chocolate version of the original.[Elmer's Easter season chocolates]
Retrieved 2015-03-29
*''Gold Brick Egg'', first introduced in 1936, is a milk chocolate bar with chopped pecans.[ Two other versions include dark chocolate, and milk chocolate with bits of malted milk.][
*''Pecan Egg'' consists of a nougat center, covered in ]caramel
Caramel ( or ) is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard.
The process of caramelizatio ...
and chopped pecans.[
*''Boxed chocolates'' include five flavors: caramel in a milk chocolate shell, strawberry creme covered in milk chocolate, raspberry chocolate truffle in a dark chocolate shell, chocolate fudge covered in milk chocolate, and orange creme in a dark chocolate shell.Elmer's boxed chocolates]
Retrieved 2015-03-30
*''Gold Brick topping'' is a milk chocolate sauce with bits of pecan. It is the only company product available throughout the year.[
]
Gallery
Image:Elmer's Heavenly Hash Wrapper.jpg, Heavenly Hash wrap
Image:ElmersHeavenlyHash split.jpg, Heavenly Hash egg
Image:Elmer's Gold Brick Package.jpg, Gold Brick wrap
Image:ElmersGoldBrickEgg split.jpg, Gold Brick egg
Image:ElmersPecanEggWrap.jpg, Pecan Egg wrap
Image:ElmersPecanEgg split.jpg, Pecan Egg
Image:Elmer Valentine boxed chocolates.jpg, Valentine boxed chocolates
References
{{Reflist, 2
American chocolate companies
Privately held companies based in Louisiana
American companies established in 1855
Food and drink companies established in 1855
1855 establishments in Louisiana