A festive sweet treat with surprising Swedish origins
AlamyEvery year, millions of red and white polkagris sweets, also known as candy canes or sticks, are rolled out by hand in the tiny town of Gränna in the north of Småland, considered by many to be Sweden's capital of candy.
Shop windows along Brahegatan (the main street) abound with colourful displays, ready for the multitude of tourists who flock in to taste the iconic treats. During the holidays, the town hosts a Christmas market and concert and visitors can see candy makers handcrafting the red-and-white sticks in shop windows.
The history of this sweet delight dates to 1859, when 25-year-old housewife Amalia Eriksson found herself a widow and single mother to a daughter, Ida. Determined to support herself, Amalia started making candy for weddings, christenings and funerals. At the time, Swedish law didn't allow women to own or operate a business, but after receiving a license to sell the confectionery from Gränna's magistrate, Amalia gained approval from the mayor, Carl Johan Wennberg, to start her own business, becoming one of Sweden's first female entrepreneurs.
Amalia's polkagris stick was made with a boiled mixture of sugar, vinegar and water that was kneaded and pulled. Originally the confectionery was made in small pluttars, or pillow-shaped pieces, but Amalia eventually formed the candy into a stick shape. Part of the dough was coloured red, and the other part, which was white, was flavoured with peppermint.
Julia Trygg/imagebank.sweden.seFor years, Amalia kept the recipe for her polkagris sticks a close secret known only to Ida, who worked with her mother her whole life. After Amalia's death in 1923 at age 99, Ida continued the family candy-making tradition and shared their recipe so others could start crafting polkagris too.
In the 1950s, as production in Gränna increased, the candy became increasingly popular, with more women following in Amalia's footsteps and making the candy as a year-round treat. Locals boiled polkagrisar (plural of polkagris) in their kitchens and sent their children out with baskets to sell them on the streets.
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Sweet stands soon followed on the Riksettan, the main road that passes through the heart of Gränna and connects southern Sweden with its capital, Stockholm, and the candy cane became a must-have souvenir for visitors.
Today, the polkagris is as in-demand as ever, with only 14 specialist bakers in the town allowed to officially make and sell the colourful canes. In 2022, genuine Gränna Polkagrisar received a protected geographical indication from the EU, which means the confectionery can only be made in the old district of Gränna. Its special status pays tribute to the quality and reputation of the stick and its link to the town.
Peter AppelinCandy canes are made year-round by some of the bakers, but 20 April is officially Polkagris Day, when production starts in earnest and Gränna pays tribute to Amalia by churning out the tasty treats in preparation for the holiday demand. The small town, which has roughly 2,700 residents, honours her with a dedicated exhibition at the Grenna Museum, including old photographs and descriptions of what life was like when the cane craze began. Amalia's home on the main street is now luxury boutique Hotel Amalias Hus with just 20 rooms, each decorated and furnished with a nod to the 18th Century.
A J-shaped tradition
It's not completely clear when the familiar J-shaped canes associated with Christmas came about. Some say the cane originated in Germany as early as 1670, when a choirmaster bent sugar sticks into small shepherds' crooks and gave them to choirboys to keep them quiet during the Living Crèche ceremony (nativity scene). It is accepted, however, that a German-Swedish immigrant named August Imgard was the first known person to decorate a Christmas tree with a candy cane in 1847 in Ohio.
So popular is the cane with bakers and buyers that in 2013, a one-time candy championship was held among the confectioners, with Stefan Fransson hailed the winner. (Fransson's father, Alf, was of one of the most prestigious bakers in Gränna and his name is immortalised with the words "Polkagris King" written on his gravestone.)
Nowdays, Fransson and his partner Catrin Kvist, along with fellow owner, Susanne Samuelsson, have a shop called Polkaprinsen on Gränna's main street, which is a vital cog in keeping the polkagris tradition alive, along with the other 13 shops.
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In the late 1970s, the first polkagris made in different colours was blue and yellow, resembling the Swedish flag. "This caused a great stir and some thought it was the end of the polkagris," says Kvist, "but more and more flavours and colours have been created and each year we come up with new tastes, some which are added to the assortment, others just for the summer."
Smaland_PolkaToday, Polkaprinsen makes 55 varieties, from the famous red-and-white peppermint to more unusual flavours like cinnamon roll, tutti-frutti, Turkish pepper and whisky.
Making the canes remains relatively simple, using a mixture of sugar, water, vinegar, peppermint oil and food colouring. Visitors to the shops are encouraged to have a go at crafting their own.
"Polka Pig"
The name polkagris translates to "polka pig" in a nod to the lively Slavic swirling dance. Gris or "pigs" was old slang for sweets when the confection was invented.
"We bake and sell around half a million sticks per year just in our shop and so add that to the other 13 [shops] and it's a lot of candy canes being enjoyed," says Kvist.
The love for the Swedish candy cane sees around 800,000 visitors to Gränna every year, with the traditional red-and-white peppermint the best seller – something Amalia would be proud of 165 years after she first invented it.
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