Turtles are a

candy Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language an ...

made with

pecan The pecan (''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed in the southern United States, primarily in Georgia, ...

s and

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 ...

dipped in

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

, with a shape resembling a turtle. The name is trademarked by

DeMet's Candy Company DeMet's Candy Company is a food company based in Connecticut, United States. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Yıldız Holding. History DeMet's started in 1898 as a candy store business and soda fountain shop by George DeMet of Chicago — ...

. In Canada they are sold under the Nestle brand name.

History

Turtles were developed in 1918 by Johnson’s Candy Company (which became DeMet’s Candy Company in 1923), after a salesman came into the commissary’s dipping room and showed a candy to one of the dippers, who pointed out that the candy looked like a turtle. Soon after, Johnson’s Candy Company was making the same kind of candy and selling it under the name "Turtles." Today, Turtles candies come in all sizes, shapes and recipes, some even shaped like a turtle, with modern mold-making techniques, but the originals were produced by candy dippers on a rectangular marble 'board', similar in size to a contemporary kitchen cutting board. The original recipe, as executed on marble, was pecans, caramel and various chocolates; they were a multi-task confection, requiring several sittings.

Trademark

Pecans dipped in chocolate were commonly made in the early 1900s, however, Johnson's Candy Company first protected the trademark "Turtles." In 1923, the stores dropped the Johnson name and assumed the name DeMet's, passing along the trademark. Nestle owned the brand in the USA for a time, but sold it to Brynwood Partners'

in 2007. In 2013, Brynwood sold the company to

Yıldız Holding Yıldız Holding is a Turkish Conglomerate (company), conglomerate that is best known for manufacturing food products. The company also produces other consumer goods and has its own retail, private equity and real estate operations. Yıldız Hol ...

Canadian Market

In Canada the products are still distributed and sold as a Nestle product; promoted as "a cherished Canadian tradition since 1949". A popular Christmas product that's sold by most major retailers most notably during the holiday season. The Canadian packaging features Mr. Turtle, a mascot of an anthropomorphic turtle wearing a

tuxedo Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element fo ...

, a

top hat A top hat (also called a high hat, a cylinder hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat for men traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally m ...

, and a monocle. The candy is manufactured in Toronto for the domestic market.

In popular culture

* The turtles are the favorite sweets of Rochelle Rock in the 1980s-period sitcom ''

Everybody Hates Chris ''Everybody Hates Chris'' is an American television semi-autobiographical sitcom that is inspired by the memories of the teenage years of comedian Chris Rock. The show is set from 1982 to 1987, although Rock himself was actually a teenager from ...

''. The character appeared eating them in several episodes and even had a withdrawal crisis when she had to stop eating them for a short time. * One episode of

Hey Arnold ''Hey Arnold!'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Craig Bartlett. It originally aired on Nickelodeon from October 7, 1996, to June 8, 2004. The show centers on fourth grader Arnold Shortman, who lives with his grandpare ...

, ''Chocolate Turtles'' has a focus on it.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Canadian website
(

Nestlé Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...

)
U.S. website
( DeMets) Brand name confectionery Canadian confectionery Chocolate bars Chocolate-covered foods Nestlé brands