Gibraltar rock, Gibraltars, or Salem Gibralter is an old-fashioned candy associated with

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...

in the United States. The Gibraltar was the first candy commercially sold in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It is still being sold as of 2023.

History

The Salem Gibraltar was originated by the Spencer family of northern

in 1806, after they relocated from England. A shipwreck left them destitute, so that their neighbors donated them supplies; they included a barrel of sugar since Mrs. Spencer was a

confectioner Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categorie ...

. She first sold her

lemon The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China. The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...

peppermint Peppermint (''Mentha'' × ''piperita'') is a hybrid species of mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world.Euro+Med Plantba ...

flavored hard candy on the steps of the First Church herself, until they became so popular that she was able to purchase a horse and wagon to sell them to neighboring towns. According to a 1947 cookbook,, reprinted 2000 by Dover Publications
p. 288
/ref> Salem native

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...

wrote in his notebook of their having As hard candy remains stable indefinitely if kept dry, captains of commercial ships in turn could carry the candy to ports throughout the world for sale. After Mrs. Spencer died, the business remained in family hands until the 1830s, when it was sold to John William Pepper.

Recipe

Ye Olde Pepper Companie continues to sell the candies, apparently using the original recipe as "Gibralters" icand lists sugar, water, cream of tartar, cornstarch, and oil of lemon as ingredients. They are cut into the shape of a rhombus about 1½ inches on a side. A 1947 cookbook gives a recipe using sugar, water, vinegar, and either vanilla, peppermint or cloves for flavoring; it is boiled until hard then pulled like taffy, and becomes "soft and creamy" in several days.

Literary footprint

An 1893 book about Salem calls Gibraltars, together with molasses "black-jacks", "two Salem institutions" and says She says the lemon flavor is preferred by youth, and the peppermint by the elderly, and quotes a "charming old Salem dame" as saying "I know I must be growing old, because a peppermint Gibraltar is so comforting to me." Gibraltar candies are mentioned in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel ''

The House of the Seven Gables ''The House of the Seven Gables: A Romance'' is a Gothic novel written beginning in mid-1850 by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in April 1851 by Ticknor and Fields of Boston. The novel follows a New England family and their anc ...

'', published in 1851. In the book, a character named Hepzibah Pyncheon operates a little "cent-shop" which contained "a glass pickle-jar, filled with fragments of Gibraltar rock; not, indeed, splinters of the veritable stone foundation of the famous fortress, but bits of delectable candy, neatly done up in white paper."
Chapter II, "The Little Shop-Window"
/ref> His story "The Old Apple-Dealer", collected in ''

Mosses from an Old Manse ''Mosses from an Old Manse'' is a short story collection by Nathaniel Hawthorne, first published in 1846. Background and publication history The collection includes several previously published short stories, and was named in honor of The Old Mans ...

'', similarly mentions "that delectable condiment, known by children as Gibraltar rock."

References

External links

Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie, America's Oldest Candy Company

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibraltar Rock (Candy) Salem, Massachusetts Brand name confectionery

History

Recipe

Literary footprint

See also

References

External links