Tootsie Roll

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tootsie Rolls are a chocolatey chew candy that have been manufactured for more than 100 years. The cylindrical cocoa-flavored candies come individually wrapped, and are an American cultural icon. They are one of the best-selling candies in America and throughout the world today. The manufacturer, Tootsie Roll Industries, is based in Chicago, Illinois.

[edit] History

In 1896, Leo Hirshfield came to the United States and started his candy in a small shop, when he decided he wanted a chocolate tasting candy that would not melt in the heat, and would be an economical artificial alternative to traditional chocolates. He named the candy after his daughter's nickname, Tootsie. By 1905, production moved to a four-story factory. In 1917, the name of the company was changed to The Sweets Company of America, and the company was a listed company in 1922. In 1931, the Tootsie Pop, a hard-candy lollipop with Tootsie Roll filling was invented, and quickly became popular with Dust Bowl refugees during the Depression era due to its low price. During World War II, Tootsie Rolls were added to soldier's rations because of their ability to withstand severe weather conditions.

The name of the company has been Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc., since 1966. In 1996, Tootsie Roll Industries celebrated their 100th anniversary. As of 2003, sixty-million Tootsie Rolls and twenty-million Tootsie Pops are produced every day. Flavored Tootsie Rolls, called Tootsie Fruit Rolls, are also produced; they come in orange(orange wrapper), cherry(pink wrapper), lemon(yellow wrapper), lime(green wrapper) and vanilla(blue wrapper).

[edit] Jingle

Commercials containing this jingle continue to be shown on TV today, making them (along with the Tootsie Pop commercial) the longest running commercials on American television. This commercial still plays occasionally and was part of a recent special on the Food Network.

This jingle was recorded in 1976 in NYC by a girl and boy, both the children of jazz musicians and friends of the jingle writer. In the original concept the boy was to sing the solo "whatever it is I think I see, becomes a Tootsie Roll to me." But at 13 his voice was changing and cracked on the high notes. The girl, 9, was then given that part, which took an entire day to record at Blank Tape Studios in Manhattan. Both children were paid $50 each in cash for their work, and never received residuals. Thirty years later, the jingle can still be seen on television and millions of people, young and old, can sing the tune. The girl, now a lawyer, still has the original reel-to-reel recording of the jingle.

[edit] Ingredients

The ingredients of the traditional Tootsie Roll are sugar, corn syrup, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, condensed skim milk, cocoa, whey, soy lecithin, and artificial and condensed flavors.

Modern Marvels describe Tootsie Rolls as not quite caramels, not quite fudge, but something like both.

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Tootsie Roll Jingle