SWEET TALK ME SOME MORE

By Jenna Derhammer

This Valentine's Day, if you have a hankering for a bit of nostalgia served up in one romantic bite, look no further than New England Confection Company's (NECCO) Sweetheart® Conversation Hearts. These truly old-fashioned candies have been amusing children and adults alike for over a century.

NECCO was founded in 1847 by Oliver Chase, but it was his brother Daniel who is credited for inventing the classic Sweetheart® Conversation Hearts. The original candies, or "motto hearts," came with lengthy slogans such as "Please send a lock of your hair by return mail" printed on slips of paper which were then placed in the "cockles" of the candy. Some classic phrases like "Be Mine," "Sweet Talk," and "Kiss Me" are still seen today, but since the 90's, new phrases (now printed directly on the candies themselves) are added each year as others are retired.

Though sentiments have changed, the Sweetheart® Conversation Hearts recipe has not. The sweets are made of 90% sugar with the other 10% consisting of corn syrup, gelatin, gums, and artificial colors and flavors. They contain no fat, no sodium, and only three calories per small heart. And if that weren't enough, they hold an impressive five year shelf-life.

Now driven by modern computerized electronics, the main factory in Massachusetts still uses equipment dating back to 1911 to mix the candy in 550 pound batches. The candy dough is then rolled, printed with a slogan, and cut into the familiar heart shapes. The still soft hearts have an hour-long journey, 700 feet on 13 conveyor belts, past driers until they're ready to be packaged. Each machine produces exactly 12,640 hearts per minute, which at the end of the day amounts to 60,000 pounds of hearts. NECCO sells about 8 billion of the Sweetheart® Conversation Hearts just in the six weeks leading up to Valentine's Day.

The delightful and instantly recognizable little Valentine's Day snack has charmed candy lovers for over 100 years. So, the next time you enjoy a "Kiss Me" heart, remember that you're biting into a little piece of an unchanged love story.