Candel, also called cande, is a type of
candy sold in
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
under the branded name of Astra and manufactured by La Ronda and Penino & Corona.
It is a kind of hard
taffy with and easily identified by its pink color. The particularity of this candy is its high
hygroscopy
Hygroscopy is the phenomenon of attracting and holding water molecules via either absorption or adsorption from the surrounding environment, which is usually at normal or room temperature. If water molecules become suspended among the substance' ...
related with its consistence, that is rapidly altered by moisture shifting from hard and crunchy when dry to soft and chewy when moist.
Candels were created in 1940 by a
Polish immigrant called Pedro Steinbruch and are solely sold under the Astra brand.
History
Pedro Steinbruch was a Polish immigrant and
candy maker that arrived to Uruguay with his wife while escaping from the war in 1930.
Once established in the country and after working at various industries he started selling his own artisanal candies based in his own old recipe. He mixed all of its ingredients in a big pan over a
primus stove
The Primus stove was the first pressurized-burner kerosene (paraffin) stove, developed in 1892 by Frans Wilhelm Lindqvist, a factory mechanic in Stockholm. The stove was based on the design of the hand-held blowtorch; Lindqvist’s patent cove ...
and created his candel.
After their invention candels were sold in schools, kiosks and local stores from
Montevideo.
Ten years later another Polish immigrant takes place on the story, Jaime Grill was a young 22-year man ex-combative that married the daughter of Steinbruch.
Grill brought the
family business
A family business is a commercial organization in which decision-making is influenced by multiple generations of a family, related by blood or marriage or adoption, who has both the ability to influence the vision of the business and the willingn ...
into an industry enterprise by creating the brand Astra and mechanizing the elaboration process in 1940.
Candel Astra became a popular candy typical of Uruguay.
After the years the sales ran high and low until year 2002, when due to the Uruguayan
economical crisis of that year the enterprise was forced to be sold, at that time the La Ronda fabric purchased Astra and kept the brand for itself.
In popular culture
In
Uruguayan Spanish
Uruguayan Spanish (Spanish: ''Español uruguayo'' or ''castellano uruguayo'') is the variety of Spanish spoken in Uruguay and by the Uruguayan diaspora. Uruguayan Spanish is recognized as a variety of Rioplatense Spanish.
Influences
* There ...
, ', as a ' is a common expression that literally means "as fool".
See also
*
Taffy (candy)
Taffy is a type of candy invented in the United States, made by stretching or/and pulling a sticky mass of a soft candy base, made of boiled sugar, butter, vegetable oil, flavorings, and colorings, until it becomes aerated (tiny air bubbles ...
*
Salt water taffy
Taffy is a type of candy invented in the United States, made by stretching or/and pulling a sticky mass of a soft candy base, made of boiled sugar, butter, vegetable oil, flavorings, and colorings, until it becomes aerated (tiny air bubbles ...
*
List of candies
Candy, known also as sweets and confectionery, has a long history as a familiar food treat that is available in many varieties. Candy varieties are influenced by the size of the sugar crystals, aeration, sugar concentrations, colour and the typ ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
* https://www.candysweet.com.uy/candel-astra-2/
* https://peninocorona.wordpress.com/catalogo/
Uruguayan brands
Candy