Browse content similar to Christmas. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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From chocolate coins to sugar mice, everyone has a festive favourite. | 0:00:03 | 0:00:07 | |
Last year, we spent a phenomenal 800 million on sweets and chocolate | 0:00:07 | 0:00:11 | |
in the run-up to Christmas. | 0:00:11 | 0:00:12 | |
But this 21st-century spending spree has a long history, | 0:00:14 | 0:00:17 | |
as four modern-day professionals are about find out. | 0:00:17 | 0:00:20 | |
Our sweet-makers have already travelled through four centuries of | 0:00:21 | 0:00:25 | |
confectionery history, | 0:00:25 | 0:00:27 | |
grappling with archaic equipment and long-forgotten ingredients. | 0:00:27 | 0:00:31 | |
Oh, it looks like a fingernail. | 0:00:31 | 0:00:32 | |
Now they're heading back to experience life as confectioners | 0:00:34 | 0:00:37 | |
in Christmases past. | 0:00:37 | 0:00:40 | |
I have to remind myself this is not a real boar. | 0:00:40 | 0:00:42 | |
Our modern sweet-makers will be exploring the origin of many of our | 0:00:42 | 0:00:47 | |
favourite Christmas treats, and then | 0:00:47 | 0:00:48 | |
also be recreating others that have been lost in the mists of time. | 0:00:48 | 0:00:53 | |
It tastes like Christmas, like a Christmas cookie. | 0:00:53 | 0:00:55 | |
They'll discover how confectioners | 0:00:58 | 0:01:00 | |
created new sweet traditions in three formative eras. | 0:01:00 | 0:01:04 | |
From grown-up Georgian spectacle... | 0:01:06 | 0:01:09 | |
-Oh, now it's Christmas. -Looks beautiful. | 0:01:09 | 0:01:11 | |
..to Victorian children's novelties. | 0:01:11 | 0:01:13 | |
Eight for a penny. | 0:01:13 | 0:01:15 | |
And finishing with the festive classics of a 1920s sweet shop. | 0:01:17 | 0:01:21 | |
Have a lovely Christmas. | 0:01:22 | 0:01:24 | |
Our sweet-makers will discover that | 0:01:24 | 0:01:26 | |
the confectionery we enjoy over the festive period not only reflects, | 0:01:26 | 0:01:31 | |
but has also helped to shape the very way we celebrate Christmas. | 0:01:31 | 0:01:35 | |
Oh, my favourite. | 0:01:35 | 0:01:36 | |
Green triangle. | 0:01:38 | 0:01:39 | |
At Blists Hill in Shropshire, four confectioners are starting | 0:01:50 | 0:01:54 | |
their journey back in time to Christmases past. | 0:01:54 | 0:01:57 | |
I love Christmas. | 0:01:59 | 0:02:00 | |
Christmas is the epitome of everything that I do. | 0:02:00 | 0:02:04 | |
Diana Short is a trained chef and chocolatier. | 0:02:04 | 0:02:06 | |
We work for about four months of the year towards Christmas, | 0:02:07 | 0:02:10 | |
so Christmas is everything in our business. | 0:02:10 | 0:02:12 | |
Andy Baxendale is a trouble-shooter for the confectionery industry. | 0:02:13 | 0:02:18 | |
I always associate, well, candy canes, | 0:02:19 | 0:02:21 | |
sugar mice and chocolates with Christmas, really. | 0:02:21 | 0:02:24 | |
If I had to make one product, it would have all those elements in it. | 0:02:24 | 0:02:27 | |
Oh, my God, I love Christmas. | 0:02:29 | 0:02:31 | |
Cynthia Stroud designs bespoke wedding cakes. | 0:02:31 | 0:02:35 | |
Christmas is the only time of year that you can wake up and have | 0:02:35 | 0:02:37 | |
chocolate from the beginning, you know? It's brilliant. | 0:02:37 | 0:02:41 | |
I love cinnamon and nutmeg and ginger. | 0:02:41 | 0:02:43 | |
But I like some of the things that are coming back, | 0:02:43 | 0:02:45 | |
so egg nog's a bit trendy this year. | 0:02:45 | 0:02:47 | |
Paul A Young runs two boutique chocolate shops. | 0:02:47 | 0:02:52 | |
I like the kind of classic and the modern mixed together. | 0:02:52 | 0:02:55 | |
Anything that makes you feel like you've got a hug on the inside. | 0:02:55 | 0:02:58 | |
They'll be needing all their skills | 0:02:58 | 0:03:00 | |
as they cook their way through three centuries of the festive fare. | 0:03:00 | 0:03:03 | |
And they're starting in the late 1700s, | 0:03:05 | 0:03:08 | |
where they'll be stocking their Georgian shop window with | 0:03:08 | 0:03:11 | |
enticing Yuletide treats. | 0:03:11 | 0:03:13 | |
-Hello. -Hello. | 0:03:20 | 0:03:22 | |
Seasons greetings. | 0:03:22 | 0:03:23 | |
-Thank you. -And welcome to Georgian Christmas. | 0:03:23 | 0:03:26 | |
Lovely. Excellent. | 0:03:26 | 0:03:28 | |
So, I'm sure we are aware | 0:03:29 | 0:03:30 | |
-of the commercial opportunity that Christmas represents. -Yeah. | 0:03:30 | 0:03:35 | |
These days, we spend over 70 billion... | 0:03:35 | 0:03:39 | |
-Wow. -..in the run-up to Christmas. | 0:03:39 | 0:03:40 | |
There's a whole range of things that that's spent on, from decorations, | 0:03:40 | 0:03:44 | |
to party clothes, as well as kind of food and drink, as well. | 0:03:44 | 0:03:47 | |
But in the Georgian era, the emphasis was really on feasting. | 0:03:47 | 0:03:52 | |
With confectionery now hitting the high street, | 0:03:52 | 0:03:55 | |
of course it's a huge time for you. | 0:03:55 | 0:03:56 | |
I've got two bills here, confectioners' bills, | 0:03:56 | 0:03:59 | |
and just reading through them, just looking at them, | 0:03:59 | 0:04:02 | |
you can really see the impact that confectionery was having. | 0:04:02 | 0:04:05 | |
So, this one, which is 1766, they buy three things in June. | 0:04:05 | 0:04:09 | |
And then you get to December, and all of a sudden, | 0:04:09 | 0:04:11 | |
there are ten things in December. | 0:04:11 | 0:04:13 | |
And then on the 24th alone, | 0:04:13 | 0:04:15 | |
there's this whole other chunk of bits and pieces. | 0:04:15 | 0:04:18 | |
And they're spending over £3 on this - | 0:04:18 | 0:04:21 | |
so about £450 in today's money. | 0:04:21 | 0:04:23 | |
You've got things like Jordan almonds, fine raisins, clear cakes, | 0:04:23 | 0:04:27 | |
confits, orange drops - a pound of Angelica, as well. | 0:04:27 | 0:04:32 | |
So those flavours that are sweet, but are also very, very fruity. | 0:04:32 | 0:04:36 | |
That's really quintessentially what it's all about. | 0:04:36 | 0:04:39 | |
Nowadays, it's very much geared towards the 25th December. | 0:04:39 | 0:04:42 | |
-Yes. -But in the Georgian period, | 0:04:42 | 0:04:45 | |
festivities would start as early as the 6th of December, | 0:04:45 | 0:04:48 | |
and then really gearing up for Twelfth Night on the 6th of January. | 0:04:48 | 0:04:52 | |
6th to the 6th, a whole month? | 0:04:52 | 0:04:53 | |
So this is a month of carousing and drinking, | 0:04:53 | 0:04:57 | |
dancing and a general debauchery. | 0:04:57 | 0:04:59 | |
For the Georgians, | 0:05:03 | 0:05:05 | |
Christmas celebrations culminated on Twelfth Night. | 0:05:05 | 0:05:07 | |
In the Christian calendar, | 0:05:08 | 0:05:10 | |
this was the epiphany and marked the day the three Kings visited | 0:05:10 | 0:05:13 | |
the infant Jesus. | 0:05:13 | 0:05:14 | |
Twelfth Night had been celebrated since the Middle Ages, | 0:05:16 | 0:05:20 | |
and central to the feast was the Twelfth Cake - | 0:05:20 | 0:05:22 | |
a forerunner of our modern Christmas cake. | 0:05:22 | 0:05:25 | |
By the 1750s, confectioners had | 0:05:27 | 0:05:28 | |
turned what were once home-made cakes into beautifully | 0:05:28 | 0:05:32 | |
decorated centrepieces for their festive shop window. | 0:05:32 | 0:05:35 | |
To create the Twelfth Cakes for their shop, | 0:05:38 | 0:05:40 | |
our sweet-makers will be working in a kitchen stocked with only | 0:05:40 | 0:05:43 | |
the ingredients and equipment of the day. | 0:05:43 | 0:05:46 | |
-Ooh! -Ooh! -I like this. | 0:05:50 | 0:05:53 | |
-What's that? -Pomegranates. -Pomegranates. | 0:05:53 | 0:05:55 | |
Angelica root, yes. | 0:05:55 | 0:05:57 | |
-That is amazing. -Oh, is that what it is? You've got Angelica? | 0:05:57 | 0:06:00 | |
Guys, it's 24th of December. | 0:06:00 | 0:06:03 | |
-Oh, Christmas Eve. -Oh, my gosh. | 0:06:03 | 0:06:05 | |
As well as their cakes, | 0:06:07 | 0:06:08 | |
our confectioners will be filling their Georgian shop with enticing | 0:06:08 | 0:06:12 | |
festive delicacies sold during the era. | 0:06:12 | 0:06:15 | |
You remember the bills that we looked at? | 0:06:17 | 0:06:19 | |
Well, here they are again. | 0:06:19 | 0:06:21 | |
And on here are some very, very telling items. | 0:06:21 | 0:06:24 | |
So if we look down the list, we have Jordan almonds. | 0:06:24 | 0:06:27 | |
In 1766, four pounds of Jordan almonds cost six shillings - | 0:06:29 | 0:06:35 | |
the equivalent of around £40 today. | 0:06:35 | 0:06:37 | |
These imported luxuries were the basis of a festive treat which no | 0:06:38 | 0:06:42 | |
confectioner's window would be without. | 0:06:42 | 0:06:44 | |
Now, have you heard of a thing called a sugarplum? | 0:06:47 | 0:06:49 | |
-Yeah. -Yeah. -Don't know what it is. | 0:06:49 | 0:06:51 | |
-Any idea what it is? -Sugarplum fairy. | 0:06:51 | 0:06:52 | |
-A plum covered in sugar? -No, you would be forgiven thinking it was, | 0:06:52 | 0:06:56 | |
and I always think there's something quite nice about the idea somehow of | 0:06:56 | 0:06:59 | |
having a plum sparkling. | 0:06:59 | 0:07:00 | |
-Yeah. -You often find mention of plums in Georgian recipes. | 0:07:00 | 0:07:03 | |
Things like plum pudding and plum pottage. | 0:07:03 | 0:07:06 | |
Plum just means dried fruit, but in this case, plum means a nut. | 0:07:06 | 0:07:10 | |
-So it is a sugared almond. -Sugared almonds! -Wow. | 0:07:10 | 0:07:14 | |
-Have a lot of fun. -Thank you very much. | 0:07:14 | 0:07:17 | |
The sugarplum - or sugar almond - recipe comes from a 1772 book, | 0:07:17 | 0:07:21 | |
the Court And Country Confectioner. | 0:07:21 | 0:07:23 | |
It explains how the layers of sugar have to be slowly built up - | 0:07:25 | 0:07:28 | |
a process that can take all day. | 0:07:28 | 0:07:31 | |
So Paul and Andy are keen to get going. | 0:07:31 | 0:07:34 | |
-So... -Sugared almonds. | 0:07:34 | 0:07:36 | |
-Lovely. -So we need some almonds. | 0:07:36 | 0:07:38 | |
And we need to dry them in the balancing pan. | 0:07:38 | 0:07:41 | |
We've got our fire on, ready. | 0:07:41 | 0:07:43 | |
-Yeah. -So, I'm going to grab my stool. | 0:07:43 | 0:07:45 | |
OK, you warm those up. I'll make some gum arabic solution. | 0:07:45 | 0:07:48 | |
Smashing. Let's get these in. | 0:07:48 | 0:07:49 | |
The balancing pan is a piece of equipment confectioners have used | 0:07:54 | 0:07:58 | |
since Tudor times. | 0:07:58 | 0:07:59 | |
Suspended over a charcoal burner, | 0:08:01 | 0:08:03 | |
the pan slowly dries the nuts before they can be sealed with a syrup made | 0:08:03 | 0:08:07 | |
from sugar and gum arabic - a type of sap. | 0:08:07 | 0:08:10 | |
I'll just warm these through and take them out if I need to | 0:08:10 | 0:08:13 | |
because they might get a bit too hot. | 0:08:13 | 0:08:16 | |
It's really hard, this gum stuff. | 0:08:16 | 0:08:18 | |
It is interesting stuff, though, isn't it? | 0:08:18 | 0:08:20 | |
Exactly. It comes out of the side of the tree. | 0:08:20 | 0:08:23 | |
-Wow. -Are they nice and dry now? | 0:08:23 | 0:08:25 | |
They're very, very dry and just warm. | 0:08:25 | 0:08:28 | |
-OK, coming over. -OK. Great, we're ready. | 0:08:28 | 0:08:31 | |
Mind your fingers until I've got it on. | 0:08:34 | 0:08:36 | |
That is so much more syrupy than I thought it would be. | 0:08:37 | 0:08:40 | |
Woo, it's hot. | 0:08:40 | 0:08:43 | |
But they're drying, they're getting crystal-y. | 0:08:46 | 0:08:49 | |
-They're getting well sealed. -Yeah. | 0:08:49 | 0:08:52 | |
The ridges and the skin on the almonds are quite | 0:08:52 | 0:08:54 | |
good for holding on. | 0:08:54 | 0:08:55 | |
Probably best that we didn't blanch them, as well, because... | 0:08:55 | 0:08:58 | |
Oh, yeah, definitely. | 0:08:58 | 0:08:59 | |
The nuts will now need at least 20 coats of sugar syrup before becoming | 0:09:01 | 0:09:05 | |
the sweet temptations familiar to the Georgian customer. | 0:09:05 | 0:09:08 | |
I'm just thinking about how many layers of sugar we've got to get | 0:09:09 | 0:09:12 | |
on these to make them really smooth. | 0:09:12 | 0:09:13 | |
We'll share the load, I think. We'll take shifts. | 0:09:13 | 0:09:17 | |
The confectioners' clientele | 0:09:18 | 0:09:20 | |
included both the aristocracy and an increasingly | 0:09:20 | 0:09:23 | |
wealthy middle class who were keen to show off their new status. | 0:09:23 | 0:09:27 | |
They flocked to Britain's flourishing high streets | 0:09:27 | 0:09:30 | |
to spend money on luxury goods. | 0:09:30 | 0:09:33 | |
Enticed into a shop by familiar | 0:09:33 | 0:09:35 | |
festive treats such as sugarplums | 0:09:35 | 0:09:38 | |
and Twelfth Cake, browsing customers might be persuaded to try some new, | 0:09:38 | 0:09:42 | |
more exotic Christmas products. | 0:09:42 | 0:09:45 | |
Spongati? | 0:09:46 | 0:09:48 | |
-Spongati. -Or Italian Christmas cake. | 0:09:48 | 0:09:50 | |
Oh, Christmas cake! | 0:09:50 | 0:09:51 | |
It says five yolks of fresh eggs, 1lb 7oz of sugar. | 0:09:51 | 0:09:55 | |
-OK. -Bread. | 0:09:55 | 0:09:57 | |
-Bread? -Oh, breadcrumbs. | 0:09:57 | 0:09:59 | |
Almonds. | 0:09:59 | 0:10:01 | |
Cloves. | 0:10:01 | 0:10:03 | |
So, obviously, we have cinnamon and clove, it's all those sort of, | 0:10:03 | 0:10:06 | |
you know, Christmassy, gingerbread-y kind of spices. | 0:10:06 | 0:10:09 | |
-Yeah. -So this is going to be kind of like panforte, maybe. | 0:10:09 | 0:10:12 | |
In 1820, Italian confectioner Guglielmo Jarrin | 0:10:14 | 0:10:18 | |
introduced his London customers to spongati - | 0:10:18 | 0:10:22 | |
a Christmas treat from his hometown near Parma. | 0:10:22 | 0:10:26 | |
Jarrin was among a number of Italians who settled in London, | 0:10:26 | 0:10:30 | |
bringing their Christmas traditions with them. | 0:10:30 | 0:10:32 | |
Sugar. | 0:10:34 | 0:10:35 | |
Oh, yeah. | 0:10:36 | 0:10:38 | |
Gosh, this seems like a lot of sugar. | 0:10:42 | 0:10:44 | |
Spongati were a northern Italian winter treat, | 0:10:46 | 0:10:49 | |
claimed to have been made since Roman times. | 0:10:49 | 0:10:52 | |
This particular recipe features a spicy filling encased in a hard, | 0:10:53 | 0:10:56 | |
sugar paste shell. | 0:10:56 | 0:10:58 | |
This thing's really thirsty. | 0:10:59 | 0:11:01 | |
I feel like I'm adding loads and loads and loads of liquid | 0:11:01 | 0:11:06 | |
-and it's just vanishing. -How are you doing? | 0:11:06 | 0:11:09 | |
This is a nightmare, this stuff. | 0:11:09 | 0:11:11 | |
-What you making? -It's kind of like a panforte-type thing. | 0:11:11 | 0:11:15 | |
-Oh, look! -Spongati. -Can I taste it? -Yeah. | 0:11:15 | 0:11:19 | |
So it's kind of like a sugary, almond-y paste with spices, | 0:11:19 | 0:11:23 | |
-held together with egg yolk. -That is delicious. That is one | 0:11:23 | 0:11:25 | |
-of the nicest things I think I might have ever eaten. Honestly. -Wow. | 0:11:25 | 0:11:29 | |
-VOICEOVER: -With the shell and filling ready, | 0:11:29 | 0:11:32 | |
the spongati can now be assembled in wooden moulds. | 0:11:32 | 0:11:35 | |
Yeah, those, they are nice. | 0:11:35 | 0:11:36 | |
-Right. -So I grab wafer paper. -Wafer paper. | 0:11:36 | 0:11:38 | |
So, if I take a bit of this... | 0:11:38 | 0:11:40 | |
So, this gets pressed in. | 0:11:43 | 0:11:45 | |
So it's, like, half a layer. | 0:11:46 | 0:11:48 | |
-VOICEOVER: -Intricate moulds, sometimes called boards or cards, | 0:11:48 | 0:11:51 | |
were often skilfully carved by the confectioners themselves. | 0:11:51 | 0:11:54 | |
Jarrin began his London career making moulds | 0:11:54 | 0:11:57 | |
for Twelfth Cake decorations. | 0:11:57 | 0:11:59 | |
-It has to be quite a thin layer. -I've never seen anything quite | 0:11:59 | 0:12:01 | |
-like it, to be honest, the mould. -That has not gone according to plan. | 0:12:01 | 0:12:04 | |
Hang on. | 0:12:05 | 0:12:08 | |
It's sticking more than I thought, to be honest. | 0:12:08 | 0:12:11 | |
Is it? Yeah, it's sticking to this wood here, as well. | 0:12:11 | 0:12:15 | |
-Ooh. -Oh! -Much better! | 0:12:18 | 0:12:20 | |
-Oh, look! -Lovely. | 0:12:20 | 0:12:21 | |
-That looks beautiful. -That's better. | 0:12:21 | 0:12:23 | |
Do you think we should be singing a Christmas carol at this point? | 0:12:23 | 0:12:25 | |
# Good King Wenceslas looked out | 0:12:25 | 0:12:27 | |
-# From his bedroom window -On the feast of Stephen | 0:12:27 | 0:12:30 | |
# When the snow lay round about | 0:12:30 | 0:12:33 | |
# Deep and crisp and even | 0:12:33 | 0:12:35 | |
# Brightly shone the moon that night | 0:12:35 | 0:12:38 | |
# Though the frost was cru-el | 0:12:38 | 0:12:40 | |
# When a poor man came in sight gathering winter fu-el. # | 0:12:40 | 0:12:47 | |
-That's the only verse I know. -Me, too! | 0:12:47 | 0:12:49 | |
-He was out for pizza, wasn't he? -Eh? -Deep pan, crisp and even. | 0:12:50 | 0:12:55 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:12:55 | 0:12:57 | |
Don't you want a taste? | 0:12:59 | 0:13:00 | |
Yes. Yes, please. Never had it, ever. | 0:13:00 | 0:13:02 | |
-VOICEOVER: -The spongati SHOULD be dried in a low oven overnight, | 0:13:02 | 0:13:06 | |
but our sweet-makers are eager to taste them straightaway. | 0:13:06 | 0:13:09 | |
It's... It tastes like Christmas. Like a Christmas cookie. | 0:13:11 | 0:13:14 | |
-VOICEOVER: -They never became a Christmas classic here, | 0:13:16 | 0:13:19 | |
but spongati are still eaten in the region around Palma in Italy, | 0:13:19 | 0:13:22 | |
where Jarrin came from. | 0:13:22 | 0:13:23 | |
-I would make those. Beautiful. -I was thinking I would make those. | 0:13:25 | 0:13:28 | |
-Great presents for people. -Yeah. I'd make those. | 0:13:28 | 0:13:31 | |
-Unusual, as well. -A little bit of chocolate on the bottom there. -Oh... | 0:13:31 | 0:13:35 | |
Whilst spongati were a new import, | 0:13:39 | 0:13:41 | |
many of the confectioners' festive treats, such as sugarplums, | 0:13:41 | 0:13:45 | |
dated back to at least Tudor times. | 0:13:45 | 0:13:48 | |
And some Georgian Christmas traditions | 0:13:53 | 0:13:56 | |
had even more ancient roots. | 0:13:56 | 0:13:58 | |
In pre-Christian Britain, winter solstice, or Yuletide, | 0:14:02 | 0:14:06 | |
had long been celebrated by pagans. | 0:14:06 | 0:14:09 | |
The shortest days of the year were marked by feasting and drinking. | 0:14:09 | 0:14:13 | |
Evergreen plants were revered as a sign of life during the dark | 0:14:13 | 0:14:16 | |
winter months, and fire rituals banished the darkness, | 0:14:16 | 0:14:20 | |
welcoming the light of days to come. | 0:14:20 | 0:14:22 | |
In an echo of these earlier times, Georgians decorated their shops | 0:14:24 | 0:14:28 | |
and houses with holly, mistletoe and ivy. | 0:14:28 | 0:14:31 | |
And the largest log they could find was dragged into the house on | 0:14:32 | 0:14:36 | |
Christmas Eve and burnt throughout the 12 days of Christmas. | 0:14:36 | 0:14:40 | |
Known as the Yule log, | 0:14:43 | 0:14:45 | |
it brought warmth and light to the celebrations, | 0:14:45 | 0:14:48 | |
but it was also believed to ward off evil and usher in prosperity | 0:14:48 | 0:14:52 | |
for the year to come. | 0:14:52 | 0:14:53 | |
An echo of the pre-Christian Yuletide | 0:14:59 | 0:15:02 | |
also found its way into the Georgian kitchen. | 0:15:02 | 0:15:05 | |
-Oh, It smells so good. -It smells really lovely, actually. | 0:15:07 | 0:15:09 | |
It smells like gin. It smells really strongly of gin. | 0:15:09 | 0:15:13 | |
Angelica has been used as a medicinal plant since ancient times, | 0:15:13 | 0:15:17 | |
and today it can be bought as bright green diamonds for cake decorations. | 0:15:17 | 0:15:21 | |
They taste quite sweet. | 0:15:22 | 0:15:24 | |
That first bite. | 0:15:24 | 0:15:26 | |
Then not very nice. | 0:15:26 | 0:15:27 | |
Boiled and then coated in sugar, | 0:15:29 | 0:15:31 | |
candied Angelica was a popular item on Christmas shopping bills. | 0:15:31 | 0:15:35 | |
It will come in useful to our confectioners | 0:15:35 | 0:15:38 | |
when they decorate their Twelfth Cakes. | 0:15:38 | 0:15:40 | |
That's gorgeous. | 0:15:46 | 0:15:48 | |
-Ta-da! -Look at the size of this... -Look at that. -Oh! | 0:15:48 | 0:15:51 | |
-VOICEOVER: -Confectioners would often order rich fruitcakes from a baker's | 0:15:51 | 0:15:54 | |
rather than making their own. | 0:15:54 | 0:15:56 | |
The ideal shape for a Georgian Twelfth Cake was domed, | 0:15:59 | 0:16:03 | |
and so our sweet makers are building them up and covering them | 0:16:03 | 0:16:05 | |
with almond paste - an early version of marzipan. | 0:16:05 | 0:16:08 | |
-What are you doing? -Hm? | 0:16:14 | 0:16:15 | |
-Are you eating it? -No. | 0:16:15 | 0:16:17 | |
Good. | 0:16:17 | 0:16:19 | |
It is delicious, though. | 0:16:19 | 0:16:21 | |
Beautiful. | 0:16:21 | 0:16:22 | |
That's it. I can't wait to get them decorated up. | 0:16:22 | 0:16:24 | |
-So now we just need to leave them to dry. -Yeah. | 0:16:24 | 0:16:26 | |
-VOICEOVER: -Before the cakes can be decorated, | 0:16:26 | 0:16:28 | |
the almond paste needs to dry out for at least a day. | 0:16:28 | 0:16:32 | |
# Silent night | 0:16:32 | 0:16:36 | |
# Holy night | 0:16:36 | 0:16:40 | |
# All is calm... # | 0:16:40 | 0:16:43 | |
Christmas Day itself was a brief respite | 0:16:43 | 0:16:45 | |
for tradesmen like confectioners. | 0:16:45 | 0:16:47 | |
Shops would be closed, | 0:16:48 | 0:16:49 | |
and it was customary for workers to have a day of rest and worship. | 0:16:49 | 0:16:52 | |
# Mother and Child | 0:16:52 | 0:16:55 | |
# Holy infant so tender and mild | 0:16:55 | 0:17:03 | |
# Sleep... # | 0:17:03 | 0:17:05 | |
It wasn't until 1871 that Boxing Day | 0:17:05 | 0:17:08 | |
was made an official public holiday, too. | 0:17:08 | 0:17:11 | |
So on the 26th of December, | 0:17:11 | 0:17:13 | |
it's straight back to work for our confectioners. | 0:17:13 | 0:17:15 | |
Paul and Cynthia are making a start on the icing for the Twelfth Cake | 0:17:17 | 0:17:20 | |
by mixing egg whites with icing sugar. | 0:17:20 | 0:17:22 | |
I'm glad we're doing royal icing because when I was a kid, when I was | 0:17:24 | 0:17:27 | |
much younger, it was always royal icing on the Christmas cake. | 0:17:27 | 0:17:29 | |
-Yeah. -Really, really hard, you could barely get through it. | 0:17:29 | 0:17:32 | |
-Yeah. -And then everything went to fondant. | 0:17:32 | 0:17:34 | |
-Yeah. -But I love royal icing for Christmas because you can spike it. | 0:17:34 | 0:17:37 | |
-Yeah. -Snowy spikes. -And it's so easy to do. | 0:17:37 | 0:17:39 | |
Yeah. It is. Then everyone had their way of eating it. | 0:17:39 | 0:17:42 | |
Some people didn't want cake and just wanted icing, | 0:17:42 | 0:17:44 | |
and some peeled their marzipan off and just had the icing. | 0:17:44 | 0:17:46 | |
-And then you swap the bits you like. -Of course. | 0:17:46 | 0:17:50 | |
-I bet the Georgians did the same thing. -Exactly. | 0:17:50 | 0:17:53 | |
-In the middle? -Yeah, on the... -Say when. How much? -Keep going. | 0:17:53 | 0:17:57 | |
Loads and loads and loads. | 0:17:57 | 0:17:59 | |
Oh, now it's Christmas. | 0:17:59 | 0:18:00 | |
It looks beautiful. Well, you're not going to get it glass-smooth. | 0:18:00 | 0:18:04 | |
-No. -So do you want to do, like, a swirl or something? | 0:18:04 | 0:18:08 | |
Yeah, I don't mind seeing palette-knife marks on it, no. | 0:18:08 | 0:18:11 | |
What do you feel like? What is your creative mind telling you? | 0:18:11 | 0:18:15 | |
My creative mind is telling me... | 0:18:15 | 0:18:17 | |
..that I really want a piping bag. | 0:18:18 | 0:18:21 | |
-They're not invented yet. -Yeah. -Use your fingers. -No. | 0:18:21 | 0:18:25 | |
Ooh. Can you come and do some ceilings at our house? | 0:18:25 | 0:18:29 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:18:29 | 0:18:30 | |
-Artex. -Artex, yeah! | 0:18:30 | 0:18:32 | |
To appeal to their wealthy customers, | 0:18:36 | 0:18:38 | |
confectioners would mimic the latest decorative fashions of the day | 0:18:38 | 0:18:41 | |
on their Twelfth Cakes. | 0:18:41 | 0:18:43 | |
And in the late 18th century, Wedgwood-coloured Jasperware | 0:18:45 | 0:18:48 | |
with its white reliefs were all the rage. | 0:18:48 | 0:18:51 | |
Diana and Andy are hoping to replicate the effect | 0:18:52 | 0:18:55 | |
with sugar paste. | 0:18:55 | 0:18:57 | |
Yay! | 0:18:57 | 0:18:58 | |
That's more like it. | 0:19:01 | 0:19:02 | |
Wedgwood was like sage green, so we'll see... | 0:19:03 | 0:19:06 | |
We'll add the spinach powder. | 0:19:06 | 0:19:07 | |
-We haven't got any blue, though, have we? -We haven't. | 0:19:07 | 0:19:10 | |
Artificial food dyes hadn't yet been invented, | 0:19:11 | 0:19:15 | |
so colour had been made from natural sources like spinach and turmeric. | 0:19:15 | 0:19:19 | |
Oh, beautiful. | 0:19:22 | 0:19:24 | |
With all the time that went into creating spectacular Twelfth Cakes, | 0:19:24 | 0:19:28 | |
they could be very lucrative. | 0:19:28 | 0:19:29 | |
Some were sold at one guinea - | 0:19:31 | 0:19:32 | |
about a third of a domestic servant's annual income. | 0:19:32 | 0:19:37 | |
-I could stand here and watch her all day. -I know. | 0:19:37 | 0:19:39 | |
But even for those at the bottom of the ladder, | 0:19:41 | 0:19:43 | |
there was something to look forward to on December 26th. | 0:19:43 | 0:19:46 | |
-Wow. -Hey. | 0:19:49 | 0:19:51 | |
Look at this hive of industry. This is beautiful. | 0:19:51 | 0:19:55 | |
-Thank you. -It's good, isn't it? | 0:19:55 | 0:19:57 | |
Anyone have any familiarity with this object? | 0:19:57 | 0:20:01 | |
-A money box? -A money box? | 0:20:01 | 0:20:03 | |
Looks like a money box, doesn't it? | 0:20:03 | 0:20:04 | |
What this is is a Christmas box. | 0:20:04 | 0:20:07 | |
Well, a replica of what a Georgian Christmas box | 0:20:07 | 0:20:09 | |
might have looked like. | 0:20:09 | 0:20:11 | |
Poorly paid workers, such as apprentices and delivery boys, | 0:20:15 | 0:20:19 | |
would appeal to the charity of local tradespeople, | 0:20:19 | 0:20:22 | |
asking for a few pennies as a Christmas tip for their money boxes. | 0:20:22 | 0:20:26 | |
They were so central, they were kind of an important tradition that | 0:20:27 | 0:20:31 | |
we get the name Boxing Day, which is the day that follows Christmas... | 0:20:31 | 0:20:34 | |
-Oh! -..from this very thing. | 0:20:34 | 0:20:37 | |
And I thought that was to do with opening boxes and presents | 0:20:37 | 0:20:39 | |
-and things like that. -I think a lot of people think that. | 0:20:39 | 0:20:42 | |
Was that then opened on Boxing...? | 0:20:42 | 0:20:43 | |
So the person could have it on Boxing Day? | 0:20:43 | 0:20:45 | |
It was indeed. And would you like to see how that was done? | 0:20:45 | 0:20:48 | |
-Yeah! -OK. Gather round. -Uh-oh. OK. | 0:20:48 | 0:20:52 | |
-Oh, you're not, really? -No. | 0:20:53 | 0:20:56 | |
-That's quite precious - they've made it. -Let's keep it real. | 0:20:56 | 0:20:59 | |
Oh, my goodness! | 0:21:01 | 0:21:03 | |
A Christmas box could be very lucrative. | 0:21:06 | 0:21:09 | |
An account from 1735 tells of an apprentice who collected | 0:21:09 | 0:21:14 | |
£3 in his box - more than many working people | 0:21:14 | 0:21:16 | |
could earn in an entire year. | 0:21:16 | 0:21:18 | |
There we go. | 0:21:24 | 0:21:26 | |
They're still warm. | 0:21:26 | 0:21:28 | |
After 20 layers of sugar, | 0:21:28 | 0:21:29 | |
the sugarplums just need a final coat of colour. | 0:21:29 | 0:21:32 | |
Cochineal red and saffron yellow. | 0:21:32 | 0:21:35 | |
-That's fine. I think they look lovely. -Right. -Fabulous. | 0:21:37 | 0:21:40 | |
Destined for crystal bowls in the shop window, | 0:21:41 | 0:21:44 | |
our sweet-makers have reserved | 0:21:44 | 0:21:46 | |
enough to decorate their grandest Twelfth Cake. | 0:21:46 | 0:21:48 | |
Gosh, that looks great. | 0:21:48 | 0:21:50 | |
Almonds have transformed it. | 0:21:51 | 0:21:53 | |
-Great. -Fantastic. -Well, I think they look amazing. | 0:21:56 | 0:21:58 | |
I think that looks amazing. | 0:21:58 | 0:21:59 | |
-I think they require a confectioners' high five. -That one? | 0:21:59 | 0:22:03 | |
-Well done. -Well done, guys. -Well done. | 0:22:03 | 0:22:05 | |
-Lovely jubbly. -Right, chuck me those almonds, I'll get them out the way. | 0:22:05 | 0:22:09 | |
-Packed up ready for t'shop. -For t'shop. | 0:22:09 | 0:22:11 | |
Long before the Regent Street lights or visiting Santa's grotto | 0:22:15 | 0:22:19 | |
in a department store became a Christmas appointment, | 0:22:19 | 0:22:22 | |
going to see the Twelfth Cakes in the confectioner's shop was | 0:22:22 | 0:22:26 | |
a highlight of the Georgian festive season. | 0:22:26 | 0:22:29 | |
200 years later, the magic of a Christmas shop window | 0:22:31 | 0:22:35 | |
still delights us. | 0:22:35 | 0:22:36 | |
-Beautiful. -Stunning. -That's eye-catching, isn't it? | 0:22:38 | 0:22:41 | |
I mean, it is absolutely authentic, isn't it? Wonderful. | 0:22:41 | 0:22:43 | |
The sort of thing you take the children down to come and see. | 0:22:43 | 0:22:45 | |
-Yeah. -Just going to have a look at the cake. | 0:22:45 | 0:22:47 | |
-Yeah. Great. -Very good. -Very happy. -Yeah, it's great. | 0:22:47 | 0:22:49 | |
Twelfth Cakes were destined for Twelfth Night parties - | 0:22:52 | 0:22:55 | |
a night when the social norms of Georgian society turned upside down. | 0:22:55 | 0:22:59 | |
The lowliest partygoer could find themselves playing King or Queen | 0:23:04 | 0:23:08 | |
for the night, and everyone feasted and drank till the early hours. | 0:23:08 | 0:23:12 | |
Our confectioners are rewarding themselves | 0:23:19 | 0:23:22 | |
for all their hard work with their own celebration. | 0:23:22 | 0:23:25 | |
Happy Twelfth Night. | 0:23:30 | 0:23:32 | |
-Hello. -Happy Twelfth Night. | 0:23:32 | 0:23:34 | |
I don't think that Christmas is Christmas without alcohol, | 0:23:34 | 0:23:37 | |
and the Georgians would have agreed. | 0:23:37 | 0:23:39 | |
And especially if you're throwing a party, as you are, on Twelfth Night, | 0:23:39 | 0:23:42 | |
you cannot just sit with empty cups in front of you. | 0:23:42 | 0:23:46 | |
I present to you wine chocolate. | 0:23:46 | 0:23:49 | |
-Ooh! -What?! -It is an excellent use for leftover port. | 0:23:49 | 0:23:53 | |
-Oh! -Don't mind if I do. | 0:23:53 | 0:23:56 | |
-Delicious. Smells amazing. -Beautiful. | 0:23:56 | 0:23:58 | |
Like most of the rich delicacies in their shop window, | 0:23:58 | 0:24:02 | |
this hot chocolate is not for children. | 0:24:02 | 0:24:05 | |
It's wine chocolate - port mixed with melted chocolate and sugar. | 0:24:05 | 0:24:10 | |
-Cheers. -Happy Twelfth Night. -Happy Twelfth Night. | 0:24:10 | 0:24:12 | |
Indeed. | 0:24:12 | 0:24:14 | |
-Oh, Lord. -That is yum. | 0:24:14 | 0:24:16 | |
Wow, that is so intense, isn't it? | 0:24:16 | 0:24:19 | |
Boozy, strong, delicious, | 0:24:19 | 0:24:22 | |
and would make a party really go with a bang, wouldn't it? | 0:24:22 | 0:24:25 | |
I like the Georgians. | 0:24:25 | 0:24:27 | |
I've not seen you look this happy... | 0:24:27 | 0:24:30 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:24:30 | 0:24:32 | |
It's great. | 0:24:32 | 0:24:33 | |
After the drinking came the party games. | 0:24:37 | 0:24:40 | |
So, this game is a game called Snapdragon. | 0:24:44 | 0:24:47 | |
I have just poured slightly heated brandy into this bowl of currants, | 0:24:47 | 0:24:51 | |
and the idea is that everybody has to reach into the flame | 0:24:51 | 0:24:54 | |
and pluck out a currant. | 0:24:54 | 0:24:56 | |
And the person with the most currants is going to win the game. | 0:24:56 | 0:24:59 | |
-That's brilliant. -Just before I set the brandy on fire, | 0:24:59 | 0:25:01 | |
if you do decide to play this at home, | 0:25:01 | 0:25:03 | |
now that you are all inspired to be like Georgians this Christmas, | 0:25:03 | 0:25:07 | |
just make sure that you've got some water on stand-by | 0:25:07 | 0:25:09 | |
and maybe a flame-retardant tablecloth? | 0:25:09 | 0:25:11 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:25:11 | 0:25:12 | |
I'm not saying it's going to be explosive, but...! | 0:25:12 | 0:25:14 | |
Like the hot chocolate, | 0:25:16 | 0:25:17 | |
this game is also definitely not meant for children. | 0:25:17 | 0:25:21 | |
Oh, one at a time? | 0:25:21 | 0:25:24 | |
Take as many as possible. | 0:25:24 | 0:25:25 | |
-Ooh! -LAUGHTER | 0:25:28 | 0:25:30 | |
That is why it's one at a time! | 0:25:30 | 0:25:32 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:25:32 | 0:25:35 | |
Our confectioners are entering the Victorian age, | 0:26:01 | 0:26:04 | |
and the way we celebrate Christmas has changed again. | 0:26:04 | 0:26:07 | |
-Wow. -There's a Christmas tree. | 0:26:10 | 0:26:13 | |
If you try to recreate a traditional Christmas now, | 0:26:14 | 0:26:16 | |
this is what you are after, isn't it? | 0:26:16 | 0:26:18 | |
You know, dried oranges and little biscuits hanging on ribbons. | 0:26:18 | 0:26:21 | |
And some candles. | 0:26:21 | 0:26:22 | |
I was think that when we consider Christmas today, | 0:26:23 | 0:26:25 | |
what we're really envisaging is the Victorian Christmas. | 0:26:25 | 0:26:29 | |
The tree decorated up and a fire crackling in the corner, | 0:26:29 | 0:26:32 | |
stockings hanging around it, | 0:26:32 | 0:26:34 | |
perhaps some children all ruddy-cheeked and glowing. | 0:26:34 | 0:26:37 | |
The cosy domestic focus of Victorian Christmas was inspired | 0:26:39 | 0:26:42 | |
by the Queen herself. | 0:26:42 | 0:26:45 | |
In 1848, the illustrated London News | 0:26:45 | 0:26:47 | |
published a drawing of the young Queen | 0:26:47 | 0:26:50 | |
with her husband Prince Albert and their children celebrating around a | 0:26:50 | 0:26:55 | |
decorated Christmas tree - | 0:26:55 | 0:26:57 | |
a tradition popular in Albert's home country, Germany. | 0:26:57 | 0:27:01 | |
Soon, all over Britain, | 0:27:03 | 0:27:05 | |
families were decorating a tree on Christmas Eve, | 0:27:05 | 0:27:08 | |
with children at the very heart of this new Victorian ritual. | 0:27:08 | 0:27:12 | |
They didn't invent a lot of the traditions that we see as part of | 0:27:14 | 0:27:17 | |
Christmas today, so things like the tree and Father Christmas and carols | 0:27:17 | 0:27:20 | |
all existed before the Victorian era. | 0:27:20 | 0:27:22 | |
But what they did do is they took traditions really from across Europe | 0:27:22 | 0:27:25 | |
and they sort of tweaked them, | 0:27:25 | 0:27:28 | |
made them into what we know today as opposed to the previous incarnation | 0:27:28 | 0:27:32 | |
of them. And one of the most interesting things, therefore, | 0:27:32 | 0:27:35 | |
from your perspective, is that while the Victorians may have invented | 0:27:35 | 0:27:38 | |
Christmas, it was Victorian confectioners | 0:27:38 | 0:27:41 | |
that really drove it forward | 0:27:41 | 0:27:43 | |
and who invented many of the traditions | 0:27:43 | 0:27:45 | |
that today we couldn't imagine having Christmas without. | 0:27:45 | 0:27:48 | |
There was no audience more receptive to the confectioner's innovations | 0:27:50 | 0:27:54 | |
than children. | 0:27:54 | 0:27:56 | |
During Victoria's reign, the price of sugar dropped by over 50%... | 0:27:58 | 0:28:02 | |
..which meant festive treats could now be made at pocket-money prices. | 0:28:03 | 0:28:07 | |
You are going to be stocking a small market stall for the Christmas fair. | 0:28:08 | 0:28:13 | |
Awesome. | 0:28:13 | 0:28:15 | |
Lots and lots of children will be coming to your stall | 0:28:15 | 0:28:17 | |
and they will be buying something which may well become | 0:28:17 | 0:28:20 | |
a family tradition for them. | 0:28:20 | 0:28:21 | |
OK. A Victorian Christmas. | 0:28:24 | 0:28:26 | |
-Victorian Christmas. -I'm excited already, | 0:28:26 | 0:28:28 | |
but I'm already feeling under pressure. | 0:28:28 | 0:28:29 | |
So, cheap jelly goods. | 0:28:29 | 0:28:31 | |
-That says it all, doesn't it? -Doesn't sound great, does it? -No. | 0:28:31 | 0:28:34 | |
-What's the recipe? -It says here, this is a cheap line. | 0:28:34 | 0:28:37 | |
There's not much body in them, | 0:28:37 | 0:28:38 | |
but they sell at a price and give satisfaction. | 0:28:38 | 0:28:40 | |
-Well... -Profit. -Absolutely. | 0:28:40 | 0:28:43 | |
Our confectioners will be making sweets to appeal to children | 0:28:44 | 0:28:48 | |
at eight for a penny. | 0:28:48 | 0:28:50 | |
To make any profit, the jellies will have to be mass produced, | 0:28:55 | 0:28:58 | |
and so they'll be made in starch trays... | 0:28:58 | 0:29:01 | |
We've got to get this really flat. | 0:29:01 | 0:29:03 | |
Really flat. Really even. | 0:29:04 | 0:29:06 | |
..a technique introduced by the Victorians. | 0:29:06 | 0:29:09 | |
We should be able to press these in one by one. | 0:29:11 | 0:29:14 | |
And lift. | 0:29:15 | 0:29:16 | |
They look beautiful. | 0:29:16 | 0:29:18 | |
The starch dehydrates the sugar, forming a crust around the jelly. | 0:29:19 | 0:29:24 | |
Great. One set of pigs. | 0:29:24 | 0:29:26 | |
Intricate moulds allowed Victorian confectioners to create novel, | 0:29:27 | 0:29:31 | |
child-friendly shapes. | 0:29:31 | 0:29:32 | |
Christmas favourites included sugar mice and the rather less familiar | 0:29:34 | 0:29:38 | |
jelly pigs. | 0:29:38 | 0:29:40 | |
The detail is fantastic. | 0:29:40 | 0:29:42 | |
-They've got little ears. -They do, and a little wiggly tail. | 0:29:42 | 0:29:45 | |
-Wow. -So you have to deal with them when it's liquid. | 0:29:45 | 0:29:48 | |
Andy and Diana are mixing sugar, | 0:29:49 | 0:29:51 | |
glucose and gelatine with water to make the cheap jellies. | 0:29:51 | 0:29:54 | |
The product might be basic, but to add child appeal, | 0:29:55 | 0:29:58 | |
they've got a few tricks up their sleeve. | 0:29:58 | 0:30:00 | |
-Dig in. -Now we need colour, flavour. We will put the acid in last. | 0:30:02 | 0:30:05 | |
They're using a new invention to colour the jelly - | 0:30:05 | 0:30:09 | |
artificial dyes. | 0:30:09 | 0:30:10 | |
It's coming. A bit more. | 0:30:10 | 0:30:12 | |
In 1856, the first edible synthetic dye was discovered. | 0:30:14 | 0:30:18 | |
Chemist Sir William Henry Perkin was working on a treatment for malaria | 0:30:19 | 0:30:23 | |
and found a by-product from the experiment | 0:30:23 | 0:30:25 | |
could produce a deep purple colour - mauveine. | 0:30:25 | 0:30:30 | |
-Did it come out of the spoon? -Yeah. | 0:30:30 | 0:30:32 | |
Other colours soon followed. | 0:30:32 | 0:30:34 | |
Paul and Cynthia are also using dyes to colour their sugar mice. | 0:30:36 | 0:30:39 | |
It's quite nice to work with pre-prepped colours, | 0:30:42 | 0:30:46 | |
and also comes on so much more evenly. | 0:30:46 | 0:30:49 | |
I feel like that needs to be darker to attract children. | 0:30:49 | 0:30:51 | |
Definitely. It's a very grown-up colour, that. | 0:30:51 | 0:30:53 | |
-It is very grown-up. -Oops! | 0:30:53 | 0:30:57 | |
Sugar mice could be made with a cold fondant of icing sugar | 0:30:58 | 0:31:02 | |
and egg white, or a hot fondant made by heating sugar, glucose and water. | 0:31:02 | 0:31:06 | |
Both were a popular Christmas treat. | 0:31:08 | 0:31:10 | |
I know that they're very English things - sugar mice. | 0:31:11 | 0:31:14 | |
-Yeah? -Yeah. I've never actually tried one. | 0:31:14 | 0:31:17 | |
You've never... | 0:31:17 | 0:31:19 | |
-Sorry. -Aw! Your first sugar mouse will be today. | 0:31:19 | 0:31:23 | |
-It will be - and it'll be one I made myself. -Brilliant. | 0:31:23 | 0:31:25 | |
-Orange oil. -Yeah. | 0:31:25 | 0:31:28 | |
-Is that the jelly nearly ready, Andy? -Yep. -Fantastic. | 0:31:28 | 0:31:31 | |
Oh, it smells incredible. It smells like childhood orange. | 0:31:33 | 0:31:36 | |
Look at that! Good technique. | 0:31:42 | 0:31:44 | |
This is actually very quick. | 0:31:47 | 0:31:49 | |
We'll be able to make hundreds and hundreds of jellies superfast. | 0:31:49 | 0:31:53 | |
While Paul fills his starch moulds, | 0:31:53 | 0:31:55 | |
Andy is using plaster versions to shape his hot-fondant sugar mice. | 0:31:55 | 0:31:59 | |
The cold fondant versions also use hard moulds, | 0:32:02 | 0:32:05 | |
which can be used again and again - in theory. | 0:32:05 | 0:32:09 | |
These mice are starting to squeak. | 0:32:16 | 0:32:18 | |
Eek, eek. | 0:32:18 | 0:32:20 | |
There you go. | 0:32:21 | 0:32:23 | |
Ah, that's brilliant. | 0:32:23 | 0:32:24 | |
-VOICEOVER: -It's taken only two hours to make over a hundred | 0:32:25 | 0:32:29 | |
jelly pigs and an infestation of sugar mice. | 0:32:29 | 0:32:32 | |
I'll see your jellies and I'll raise you a couple of fondant sugar mice. | 0:32:34 | 0:32:38 | |
Oh, lovely! | 0:32:38 | 0:32:40 | |
-Powdery. -Wow! -Thank you. | 0:32:41 | 0:32:43 | |
The definition's really nice. | 0:32:43 | 0:32:44 | |
-Thank you. -Can I eat the string? -No. -You did them green, though. | 0:32:44 | 0:32:50 | |
You've got icing all round your mouth, it's brilliant. | 0:32:51 | 0:32:55 | |
Sugar mice were a vital ingredient in another Christmas custom | 0:33:00 | 0:33:03 | |
popularised by Victorians - the Christmas stocking. | 0:33:03 | 0:33:08 | |
For centuries, European children | 0:33:09 | 0:33:11 | |
have received presents from Saint Nicholas in the days running up to | 0:33:11 | 0:33:14 | |
his saint's day, the 6th of December. | 0:33:14 | 0:33:16 | |
The hanging of stockings to be filled | 0:33:18 | 0:33:20 | |
with these gifts was inspired by a traditional tale. | 0:33:20 | 0:33:23 | |
According to the story, Saint Nicholas overheard a poor widower | 0:33:25 | 0:33:29 | |
lamenting the fact he had no dowry for his daughters. | 0:33:29 | 0:33:32 | |
As an act of charity, Saint Nicolas, | 0:33:32 | 0:33:34 | |
under cover of darkness, crept into the widower's home | 0:33:34 | 0:33:38 | |
and filled his daughter's stockings - that hung just above | 0:33:38 | 0:33:41 | |
the fireplace to dry - full of gold coins. | 0:33:41 | 0:33:44 | |
The Victorians embraced Saint Nicholas | 0:33:50 | 0:33:52 | |
and his stockings as a Christmas Eve tradition. | 0:33:52 | 0:33:55 | |
But it was an American illustrator, Thomas Nast, | 0:33:57 | 0:34:00 | |
who, in the 1880s, created the Father Christmas we recognise today. | 0:34:00 | 0:34:05 | |
Nast was inspired by the famous poem, A Visit From Saint Nicholas. | 0:34:05 | 0:34:09 | |
'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house | 0:34:10 | 0:34:14 | |
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse | 0:34:14 | 0:34:18 | |
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care | 0:34:18 | 0:34:21 | |
In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there | 0:34:21 | 0:34:25 | |
The children were nestled all snug in their beds | 0:34:25 | 0:34:28 | |
While visions of sugarplums danced in their heads. | 0:34:28 | 0:34:32 | |
It was an irresistible image. | 0:34:35 | 0:34:38 | |
The child's Christmas stocking stuffed with treats | 0:34:38 | 0:34:41 | |
was here to stay. | 0:34:41 | 0:34:43 | |
-They do look nice when they're brushed off. -They do, yeah. | 0:34:43 | 0:34:46 | |
And no stocking would be complete | 0:34:49 | 0:34:51 | |
without a handful of the confectioner's wares. | 0:34:51 | 0:34:54 | |
We really have got this down to a fine art, haven't we? | 0:34:56 | 0:34:58 | |
-It's quick. -You can really see how this starts to make sense. | 0:34:58 | 0:35:02 | |
At the beginning, I couldn't understand. | 0:35:02 | 0:35:04 | |
I thought, "How can they possibly sell it so cheap?" | 0:35:04 | 0:35:06 | |
But, actually, if you're making it this quickly... | 0:35:06 | 0:35:09 | |
If we had more of these, a full table full, | 0:35:09 | 0:35:12 | |
then we'd complete it in one hit. | 0:35:12 | 0:35:15 | |
Cheap as they were, | 0:35:17 | 0:35:18 | |
there are still many who could only dream of such sugary delights. | 0:35:18 | 0:35:22 | |
Those in the direst need depended on charity, particularly at Christmas. | 0:35:24 | 0:35:28 | |
And giving to workhouses and orphanages became | 0:35:29 | 0:35:31 | |
a Victorian Christmas tradition in itself. | 0:35:31 | 0:35:34 | |
Charitable donations funded Christmas trees, | 0:35:38 | 0:35:41 | |
toys, and, above all, sweet treats. | 0:35:41 | 0:35:43 | |
One orphanage in Bristol even set up a temporary sweet shop | 0:35:45 | 0:35:49 | |
where each child was given a few pennies to spend. | 0:35:49 | 0:35:52 | |
Sweets had become a crucial part of Christmas celebrations. | 0:35:54 | 0:35:58 | |
But alongside their basic wares, | 0:35:59 | 0:36:01 | |
our confectioners will still need to draw the crowds to their Victorian | 0:36:01 | 0:36:05 | |
stall with a spectacular centrepiece. | 0:36:05 | 0:36:08 | |
Hello, hello. How are our sugar pigs going? | 0:36:09 | 0:36:12 | |
Ooh, cake. | 0:36:12 | 0:36:13 | |
-More cakes. -Bit plain, isn't it? | 0:36:13 | 0:36:16 | |
Well, it is at the moment. But let us bear in mind | 0:36:16 | 0:36:19 | |
that you still may have a few wealthier customers | 0:36:19 | 0:36:22 | |
whose palates you want to titivate. | 0:36:22 | 0:36:24 | |
One of the really traditional | 0:36:24 | 0:36:27 | |
British Christmas dishes was the stuffed boar's head. | 0:36:27 | 0:36:31 | |
Queen Victoria used to have a boar's head on her table, | 0:36:31 | 0:36:34 | |
her Christmas sideboard, every single year. | 0:36:34 | 0:36:36 | |
Hers was a real boar. | 0:36:36 | 0:36:38 | |
But for those looking for a more interesting twist, | 0:36:38 | 0:36:41 | |
for those interestingly entrepreneurial Victorians | 0:36:41 | 0:36:45 | |
looking for old customs to appropriate and make into new ones, | 0:36:45 | 0:36:49 | |
Queen Victoria's chef proposed a slightly different idea. | 0:36:49 | 0:36:53 | |
Your face is just getting better and better and better. | 0:36:53 | 0:36:56 | |
Is that going to become a boar's head? | 0:36:56 | 0:36:58 | |
-Oh, yes. -Oh, my God! | 0:36:58 | 0:37:00 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:37:00 | 0:37:02 | |
The recipe for a boar's head cake - | 0:37:05 | 0:37:08 | |
an exact imitation of a real boar's head - | 0:37:08 | 0:37:10 | |
comes from a book by Queen Victoria's chef, Francatelli. | 0:37:10 | 0:37:16 | |
In medieval Britain, only the nobility were allowed to hunt | 0:37:16 | 0:37:19 | |
wild boar, and the Christmas boar's head was presented | 0:37:19 | 0:37:22 | |
with much ceremony. | 0:37:22 | 0:37:24 | |
Now it was yet another ancient Christmas tradition | 0:37:25 | 0:37:28 | |
that could be given a sweet spin. | 0:37:28 | 0:37:30 | |
Our sweet-makers will have to use all their talents to recreate | 0:37:32 | 0:37:36 | |
this Christmas spectacle. | 0:37:36 | 0:37:37 | |
What are you starting with, Andy? | 0:37:41 | 0:37:42 | |
-I'm going to make you some jelly first. -For the base? -Uh-huh. | 0:37:42 | 0:37:45 | |
While Cynthia is using her sculpting skills to carve the cake... | 0:37:47 | 0:37:51 | |
..Diana's chef training is put to use | 0:37:53 | 0:37:55 | |
to cook up a chocolate glaze which will cover the head. | 0:37:55 | 0:37:58 | |
Paul, do you want to come and look at this glaze? | 0:37:58 | 0:38:00 | |
As long as it reaches coating consistency... | 0:38:00 | 0:38:03 | |
Pop a little bit on there. | 0:38:03 | 0:38:04 | |
..we're going to be all right, aren't we? | 0:38:04 | 0:38:06 | |
It's a beautiful colour. That's it. It's a good consistency, look. | 0:38:06 | 0:38:10 | |
Even hot. | 0:38:10 | 0:38:11 | |
All the trimmings have to be made from scratch. | 0:38:13 | 0:38:16 | |
Look at that! Gorgeous orange jelly, it smells amazing. | 0:38:16 | 0:38:20 | |
Shall we have green or blue eyes, everyone? | 0:38:20 | 0:38:22 | |
-One of each. -One of each. -One of each? | 0:38:22 | 0:38:25 | |
Shall we try them? | 0:38:27 | 0:38:29 | |
That is too scary. That's too scary, isn't it? | 0:38:31 | 0:38:33 | |
I thought it was Christmas, not Halloween. | 0:38:33 | 0:38:36 | |
They're including some Christmas staples... | 0:38:36 | 0:38:39 | |
I'm just doing some candied orange peels | 0:38:39 | 0:38:41 | |
which we can use for decoration. | 0:38:41 | 0:38:43 | |
..and marzipan fruits. | 0:38:45 | 0:38:47 | |
That's it. Perfect. That's it. Perfect. Beautiful. | 0:38:50 | 0:38:54 | |
Look at the colour! | 0:38:54 | 0:38:56 | |
Oh, my goodness. It's beautiful. | 0:38:56 | 0:38:59 | |
-Any bubbles popped? -I have to remind myself this is not a real boar. | 0:38:59 | 0:39:02 | |
It looks like a real, glazed, savoury boar's head now. | 0:39:02 | 0:39:06 | |
-That's a good compromise. -Yeah. | 0:39:06 | 0:39:08 | |
Quite a lot of piping work on them, isn't there? | 0:39:11 | 0:39:13 | |
Sure is. | 0:39:13 | 0:39:15 | |
-VOICEOVER: -Much to Cynthia's relief, by the middle of the 19th century, | 0:39:15 | 0:39:18 | |
piping bags had been introduced to Britain. | 0:39:18 | 0:39:21 | |
-I don't like the font. -Ooh! | 0:39:22 | 0:39:24 | |
The finishing touch is to place the hatelet skewers. | 0:39:28 | 0:39:31 | |
These ornate silver spears were traditionally used in meat, | 0:39:31 | 0:39:34 | |
and held savoury delicacies like truffles and cockscombs. | 0:39:34 | 0:39:38 | |
Now they hold sweet equivalents. | 0:39:39 | 0:39:42 | |
That looks fantastic, doesn't it? | 0:39:42 | 0:39:43 | |
-That looks brilliant. -Ooh, this is the special moment, isn't it? | 0:39:43 | 0:39:48 | |
It is a moment, isn't it? | 0:39:48 | 0:39:49 | |
I'm a bit emotional about this. | 0:39:49 | 0:39:51 | |
A mere four hours from boring sponge to spectacular boar. | 0:39:52 | 0:39:58 | |
Look at that! | 0:39:58 | 0:40:01 | |
That's incredible. | 0:40:01 | 0:40:03 | |
That's the most bonkers thing we've ever made. | 0:40:03 | 0:40:07 | |
I never question what we can do but I didn't expect it to be that good. | 0:40:07 | 0:40:11 | |
Oh, my God! | 0:40:22 | 0:40:24 | |
Hi. He's handsome, isn't he? | 0:40:24 | 0:40:26 | |
It's unbelievable. | 0:40:26 | 0:40:29 | |
It's so realistic. | 0:40:29 | 0:40:30 | |
-Is that what you expected? -No, no, not at all. | 0:40:30 | 0:40:33 | |
It is so much better than anything I could have thought. | 0:40:33 | 0:40:36 | |
-Aw! -You're just... -We're pleased you love it. | 0:40:36 | 0:40:39 | |
We love it. | 0:40:39 | 0:40:41 | |
Can you imagine having this on your Christmas table? | 0:40:41 | 0:40:43 | |
ALL TALK AT ONCE | 0:40:43 | 0:40:45 | |
I mean... I keep looking at it | 0:40:45 | 0:40:47 | |
and seeing more and more details, as well. | 0:40:47 | 0:40:49 | |
The candied orange peel and the little mushrooms | 0:40:49 | 0:40:52 | |
and the holly in the ears. These are nougatine. | 0:40:52 | 0:40:54 | |
Oh, my goodness! This is just so perfect. | 0:40:54 | 0:40:58 | |
I want to give you all a huge hug. Group hug! | 0:40:58 | 0:41:05 | |
-Happy Christmas. -Happy Christmas to you. | 0:41:05 | 0:41:07 | |
# Wassail, wassail, all over the town | 0:41:07 | 0:41:11 | |
# Our toast it is white and our ale it is brown | 0:41:11 | 0:41:15 | |
# Our bowl it is made of the white maple tree | 0:41:15 | 0:41:19 | |
# With a wassailing bowl we'll drink to thee... # | 0:41:19 | 0:41:24 | |
At the Christmas fair, | 0:41:25 | 0:41:27 | |
the boar's head has pride of place on the confectioners' stall. | 0:41:27 | 0:41:30 | |
Their baskets are piled high with brightly coloured sweets, | 0:41:33 | 0:41:36 | |
aimed at Christmas's new consumers... | 0:41:36 | 0:41:37 | |
..the children. | 0:41:38 | 0:41:41 | |
Hello. How are you? | 0:41:41 | 0:41:42 | |
I have pink sugar mice, I have white sugar mice. | 0:41:42 | 0:41:46 | |
Victorian childhood favourites | 0:41:48 | 0:41:50 | |
have become enduring Christmas traditions. | 0:41:50 | 0:41:52 | |
And sugar mice... | 0:41:54 | 0:41:56 | |
Eight for a penny. There we go. | 0:41:56 | 0:41:58 | |
-Thank you very much. -And there you are. | 0:41:58 | 0:42:01 | |
-Enjoy. Happy Christmas. -Merry Christmas. | 0:42:01 | 0:42:03 | |
Looking at the faces of the children looking into the baskets, | 0:42:05 | 0:42:08 | |
you can tell they were shaking with excitement. | 0:42:08 | 0:42:12 | |
They don't know which one to take. It's brilliant. Perfect. | 0:42:12 | 0:42:14 | |
-Confectionery makes Christmas. -It does. -Sweet memories. | 0:42:14 | 0:42:18 | |
The magical child-centred Victorian Christmas, | 0:42:19 | 0:42:23 | |
which confectioners helped to dream up | 0:42:23 | 0:42:25 | |
with its tree hung with sweets and | 0:42:25 | 0:42:27 | |
stockings stuffed with treats is still with us today. | 0:42:27 | 0:42:30 | |
Everything a penny. | 0:42:32 | 0:42:33 | |
Our sweet-makers are entering a new era. | 0:42:48 | 0:42:51 | |
And they're going to have to work harder than ever. | 0:42:51 | 0:42:53 | |
Confectionery is now big business | 0:42:55 | 0:42:57 | |
and there's fierce competition for the Christmas market. | 0:42:57 | 0:43:00 | |
Welcome to the 1920s Christmas. | 0:43:05 | 0:43:08 | |
In your workshop now you have things such as electric light, | 0:43:08 | 0:43:12 | |
you've got lots of metalware. | 0:43:12 | 0:43:13 | |
You've got new and exciting moulds and ingredients. | 0:43:13 | 0:43:16 | |
In terms of confectionery and sweet-making, | 0:43:16 | 0:43:18 | |
the big story is that now it's a really huge industry, | 0:43:18 | 0:43:23 | |
so companies such as Rowntree's and Mackintosh's, Cadbury's and Terry's. | 0:43:23 | 0:43:27 | |
And one of the really important things | 0:43:27 | 0:43:29 | |
they're doing in terms of Christmas confectionery is they're producing | 0:43:29 | 0:43:33 | |
more and more chocolate. | 0:43:33 | 0:43:35 | |
For example, we have chocolate figurines. | 0:43:35 | 0:43:39 | |
CHEERING | 0:43:39 | 0:43:40 | |
Obviously, these are somewhat modern, | 0:43:40 | 0:43:42 | |
but this is where they come from. | 0:43:42 | 0:43:44 | |
-We love a bit of foiling. -One of the things I particularly wish you to be | 0:43:44 | 0:43:47 | |
inspired by is a very innovative product | 0:43:47 | 0:43:49 | |
which is being made by Terry's. | 0:43:49 | 0:43:51 | |
Terry's is very well-known for the chocolate orange, | 0:43:51 | 0:43:54 | |
but that's a little later - that's 1930s. | 0:43:54 | 0:43:57 | |
Because before the chocolate orange, there was... | 0:43:57 | 0:44:00 | |
..the chocolate apple. | 0:44:01 | 0:44:02 | |
-No! -No way! | 0:44:02 | 0:44:05 | |
Was it apple flavoured? | 0:44:05 | 0:44:08 | |
No, it was just plain chocolate. | 0:44:08 | 0:44:09 | |
Again, another reason the orange probably took off was because orange | 0:44:09 | 0:44:12 | |
flavouring is a lot easier to replicate than apple flavouring. | 0:44:12 | 0:44:15 | |
Also, orange has always had that association with sort of Christmas. | 0:44:15 | 0:44:20 | |
Yes, indeed. | 0:44:20 | 0:44:21 | |
Launched in 1926, | 0:44:26 | 0:44:27 | |
the chocolate apple was just one of a frenzy of new products trying to | 0:44:27 | 0:44:31 | |
capture the lucrative Christmas market. | 0:44:31 | 0:44:34 | |
Big firms were pouring money into | 0:44:39 | 0:44:41 | |
all sorts of new, shaped, flavoured and filled chocolates. | 0:44:41 | 0:44:46 | |
By the end of the period, Cadbury's alone | 0:44:46 | 0:44:49 | |
had 237 products on its price list. | 0:44:49 | 0:44:52 | |
-Right, we'd better get cracking, then. -Right, pans of water? | 0:44:56 | 0:44:59 | |
Yeah, you guys, bain maries, chopping chocolate. | 0:44:59 | 0:45:02 | |
Really small, please. | 0:45:02 | 0:45:03 | |
-Small as you can. -As small as we can. | 0:45:03 | 0:45:06 | |
All right. | 0:45:06 | 0:45:07 | |
Our sweet-makers are making their own versions | 0:45:09 | 0:45:11 | |
of some of the most popular Christmas chocolates of the day | 0:45:11 | 0:45:14 | |
to sell in their 1920s shop. | 0:45:14 | 0:45:16 | |
Small confectioners would buy | 0:45:18 | 0:45:20 | |
chocolate by the slab from wholesalers | 0:45:20 | 0:45:22 | |
and melt it down to create their own products. | 0:45:22 | 0:45:24 | |
OK, they're quite noisy now, aren't they? | 0:45:26 | 0:45:28 | |
Can we have... | 0:45:32 | 0:45:34 | |
Can we have less... | 0:45:36 | 0:45:37 | |
You have bits of paper in your chocolate fondant. | 0:45:37 | 0:45:40 | |
Oh! Right, OK. | 0:45:40 | 0:45:41 | |
Professional chocolatiers Diana and Paul are in their element. | 0:45:41 | 0:45:45 | |
This needs to melt for quite a while to get it really, really smooth. | 0:45:46 | 0:45:51 | |
Don't let the water boil, though, Andy, please. | 0:45:51 | 0:45:54 | |
-Don't let it boil. -Don't let it boil. Don't let it boil - | 0:45:54 | 0:45:56 | |
-it will bake the chocolate, it'll go grainy and solid. -OK. | 0:45:56 | 0:46:00 | |
What are you making? | 0:46:03 | 0:46:05 | |
So, we've got sugar, water, a bit of glucose into a syrup. | 0:46:05 | 0:46:09 | |
Pour it on to egg whites while whisking. | 0:46:09 | 0:46:12 | |
Don't look at me like that. It's only two of your eggs. | 0:46:12 | 0:46:15 | |
And it will volumise and create a cooked Italian meringue. | 0:46:15 | 0:46:18 | |
We'll pipe that into each chocolate. | 0:46:18 | 0:46:20 | |
-Like Walnut Whip. -Exactly like Walnut Whip. | 0:46:20 | 0:46:22 | |
The Walnut Whip, or whipped cream walnut | 0:46:26 | 0:46:29 | |
was first developed by a firm called Duncan's in 1910. | 0:46:29 | 0:46:33 | |
In 1927, Rowntree's bought the firm and added an extra walnut. | 0:46:33 | 0:46:37 | |
Using Paul's mixture, | 0:46:39 | 0:46:41 | |
Diana and Andy are making a handmade version of this Christmas classic. | 0:46:41 | 0:46:45 | |
You never eat a Walnut Whip the rest of the year but at Christmas time, | 0:46:48 | 0:46:51 | |
it's like, "Where's me Walnut Whips?" | 0:46:51 | 0:46:53 | |
Did you ever get mini selection packs | 0:46:53 | 0:46:54 | |
with all the different stuff in? | 0:46:54 | 0:46:55 | |
Yeah. My nanna used to get those for me. | 0:46:55 | 0:46:57 | |
My nanna who lived up in Grimsby. | 0:46:57 | 0:46:59 | |
Which bit did you save until the last? | 0:46:59 | 0:47:01 | |
-Which was your favourite? -It used to be the Mars Bar one. | 0:47:01 | 0:47:04 | |
-Oh, no. -I used to have a Mars. -The finger of fudge. | 0:47:04 | 0:47:06 | |
In fact, I used to go into my sister's selection pack and pinch | 0:47:06 | 0:47:09 | |
-her finger of fudge and put something in it I didn't like. -Oh! | 0:47:09 | 0:47:12 | |
In the early '20s, Rowntree's launched | 0:47:16 | 0:47:19 | |
their first Christmas selection box, | 0:47:19 | 0:47:21 | |
containing all sorts of treats | 0:47:21 | 0:47:23 | |
including sugared almonds and Walnut Whips. | 0:47:23 | 0:47:25 | |
Such was their popularity that from 1929 to 1935, | 0:47:30 | 0:47:35 | |
Rowntree's manufacture of fancy boxes increased twentyfold. | 0:47:35 | 0:47:39 | |
Found some walnuts. | 0:47:43 | 0:47:44 | |
CRACKING | 0:47:45 | 0:47:47 | |
I say. Did you just crack that with your hands? | 0:47:47 | 0:47:51 | |
-CRACKING -Whoa! Wow! | 0:47:51 | 0:47:54 | |
The Wigan nut-squasher. | 0:47:54 | 0:47:56 | |
Sounds like a wrestler! | 0:47:56 | 0:47:58 | |
Novelty was key to capturing the valuable festive market, | 0:47:59 | 0:48:03 | |
and confectioners drew on old Christmas traditions | 0:48:03 | 0:48:06 | |
to create new ones. | 0:48:06 | 0:48:08 | |
Where once a child might receive a coin in their stocking, | 0:48:10 | 0:48:13 | |
now they could have chocolate money. | 0:48:13 | 0:48:15 | |
Even ancient pagan customs were fair game for a sweet makeover. | 0:48:17 | 0:48:22 | |
Yuletide logs. | 0:48:22 | 0:48:24 | |
-Look at this! -I know. | 0:48:25 | 0:48:28 | |
-It's clever. -It's a tree stump. | 0:48:28 | 0:48:29 | |
Stump, yeah. | 0:48:29 | 0:48:31 | |
First sold in fashionable Parisian patisseries in the 19th century, | 0:48:31 | 0:48:36 | |
by the 1920s the bouche de Noel was Anglicised, | 0:48:36 | 0:48:40 | |
becoming the Yule log that we still know today. | 0:48:40 | 0:48:43 | |
They're really festive. | 0:48:43 | 0:48:44 | |
-Thank you. -It's made everything feel more Christmassy. | 0:48:44 | 0:48:46 | |
Ingredients associated with Christmas | 0:48:48 | 0:48:51 | |
were also given a new lease of life. | 0:48:51 | 0:48:53 | |
Pop an almond in each. | 0:48:53 | 0:48:55 | |
-An almond? -Pop an almond in, to give it crunch and flavour. | 0:48:55 | 0:48:58 | |
Ah, almond and pineapple. | 0:48:58 | 0:48:59 | |
Where 200 years ago, nuts turned into sugar plums, | 0:48:59 | 0:49:03 | |
now they were encased in chocolate. | 0:49:03 | 0:49:05 | |
This is where it gets really quick, once you've made the shell, | 0:49:06 | 0:49:09 | |
so your productivity goes up. | 0:49:09 | 0:49:11 | |
By the end of the 1920s, | 0:49:13 | 0:49:14 | |
confectioners had figured out how to flavour chocolate itself... | 0:49:14 | 0:49:17 | |
..so the traditional Christmas orange | 0:49:18 | 0:49:21 | |
could now be transformed into a sweet treat. | 0:49:21 | 0:49:24 | |
Launched in 1932, and still popular today, | 0:49:24 | 0:49:28 | |
it's said that at the height of their popularity | 0:49:28 | 0:49:30 | |
one in ten Christmas stockings had a Terry's Chocolate Orange in it. | 0:49:30 | 0:49:34 | |
Our sweet-makers are attempting an exotic alternative - | 0:49:36 | 0:49:39 | |
the chocolate pineapple. | 0:49:39 | 0:49:40 | |
Because, look, it's got... It's got gaps in it. | 0:49:40 | 0:49:42 | |
It does, but that's fine. | 0:49:42 | 0:49:43 | |
-The chocolate is going to be too thick to go through it. -Ah, I see. | 0:49:43 | 0:49:46 | |
-Shall we flavour our chocolate first? -Yes, please. | 0:49:46 | 0:49:48 | |
Stand that up. So pineapple, little bit of pineapple oil. | 0:49:48 | 0:49:52 | |
How much? Say when. | 0:49:52 | 0:49:54 | |
When. No, a bit more. | 0:49:54 | 0:49:56 | |
There we go. Any flavour has to be oil-based. | 0:49:56 | 0:49:59 | |
Yes. | 0:49:59 | 0:50:00 | |
OK. So it takes a lot of chocolate. | 0:50:02 | 0:50:04 | |
Mm-hm. | 0:50:04 | 0:50:06 | |
Right to the top. | 0:50:07 | 0:50:08 | |
Which is the bottom. | 0:50:09 | 0:50:11 | |
So, now, we're going to tip it up completely, | 0:50:11 | 0:50:13 | |
tip all the excess chocolate out. | 0:50:13 | 0:50:15 | |
-And give it a little shake as you go. -OK. | 0:50:15 | 0:50:18 | |
In the 1920s, chocolate production increased at an astonishing rate. | 0:50:22 | 0:50:26 | |
Chuck them in upside down. | 0:50:27 | 0:50:29 | |
Take your fork. Push on the leading edge and then tap it to the surface. | 0:50:29 | 0:50:34 | |
Cadbury's alone tripled their chocolate sales | 0:50:36 | 0:50:39 | |
from the early 1920s to the mid 1930s. | 0:50:39 | 0:50:42 | |
And at Christmas, all the big confectionery firms | 0:50:48 | 0:50:51 | |
competed to turn out as many attention-grabbing products | 0:50:51 | 0:50:54 | |
as possible. | 0:50:54 | 0:50:55 | |
-Oh! -Look! -How cool is that? | 0:50:59 | 0:51:02 | |
Got a little raspberry, strawberries. | 0:51:02 | 0:51:05 | |
It's like Christmas! | 0:51:05 | 0:51:06 | |
-I know, so clever! -How beautiful is that? -They look great. | 0:51:06 | 0:51:10 | |
They look fantastic. | 0:51:10 | 0:51:12 | |
Right, pineapple time. Drum roll. | 0:51:12 | 0:51:14 | |
OK, let's see if we can... | 0:51:16 | 0:51:18 | |
..prise off the first two. Ready? | 0:51:21 | 0:51:24 | |
-Ooh. -Ooh! -Ooh! | 0:51:24 | 0:51:27 | |
-Give it a tap. -Ooh, that was good. | 0:51:27 | 0:51:29 | |
-Ooh! -Ah. | 0:51:29 | 0:51:30 | |
Got... | 0:51:32 | 0:51:33 | |
Ohh! | 0:51:33 | 0:51:35 | |
-Ah. -Oh. -No! | 0:51:35 | 0:51:36 | |
-That's gone a bit... -Do you know what? We can repair everything. | 0:51:36 | 0:51:40 | |
Ooh, by 'eck! | 0:51:41 | 0:51:43 | |
I've never known a mould to be this... | 0:51:43 | 0:51:46 | |
..this bonded together. | 0:51:46 | 0:51:47 | |
-Well... -Ohh! | 0:51:48 | 0:51:50 | |
That's why. It's not going to be the new chocolate orange, then, is it? | 0:51:50 | 0:51:53 | |
It's not going to be the new chocolate orange, unfortunately. | 0:51:53 | 0:51:55 | |
It just needs a bit more product development. | 0:51:55 | 0:51:58 | |
Oh! Can you please peel off a nice big bit of foil, Cynthia? | 0:51:58 | 0:52:02 | |
Yes, that, that we can do. | 0:52:02 | 0:52:04 | |
What a shame. | 0:52:04 | 0:52:06 | |
We'll have a green top, look. | 0:52:06 | 0:52:07 | |
-Beautiful, isn't it? Look. -It is. | 0:52:09 | 0:52:10 | |
Andy. | 0:52:10 | 0:52:12 | |
I still think it looks like a hand grenade. | 0:52:12 | 0:52:14 | |
It's a triumph of packaging over product. | 0:52:14 | 0:52:17 | |
What do you think Christmas Santas are?! | 0:52:17 | 0:52:19 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:52:19 | 0:52:21 | |
In a crowded marketplace, to catch the eye of the Christmas shopper, | 0:52:21 | 0:52:25 | |
a product had to really stand out. | 0:52:25 | 0:52:27 | |
Even beautifully shaped chocolates were still brown, | 0:52:29 | 0:52:32 | |
so they needed some sparkle. | 0:52:32 | 0:52:33 | |
Wrapped in shiny foil and packaged in festive boxes, | 0:52:35 | 0:52:39 | |
they were transformed into Christmas magic. | 0:52:39 | 0:52:41 | |
And in 1936, Macintosh launched a new chocolate assortment | 0:52:46 | 0:52:50 | |
which did all of this with absolute brilliance. | 0:52:50 | 0:52:53 | |
Lovely. | 0:52:58 | 0:53:00 | |
-Hello. -Hello. | 0:53:00 | 0:53:01 | |
So, even though you're hard at work | 0:53:01 | 0:53:03 | |
and this looks absolutely delightful, | 0:53:03 | 0:53:05 | |
and incredibly festive, you have some stiff competition. | 0:53:05 | 0:53:09 | |
-Oh. -You might recognise... | 0:53:09 | 0:53:12 | |
-Macintosh's, it was Macintosh's. -It was, yeah. | 0:53:12 | 0:53:15 | |
-And how big is that tin? -I know. -That's a lot of chocolates. | 0:53:15 | 0:53:20 | |
A lot of effort has gone into the tin, has gone into the chocolates, | 0:53:20 | 0:53:24 | |
so this is really the age... | 0:53:24 | 0:53:25 | |
Do you know what I miss? | 0:53:27 | 0:53:29 | |
-This. -I know. -It's the lining paper. | 0:53:29 | 0:53:31 | |
And doing this as kids. | 0:53:31 | 0:53:32 | |
It was just the fun, like a ritual. | 0:53:34 | 0:53:37 | |
-Would you like one? -Oh, my favourite. | 0:53:37 | 0:53:39 | |
The green triangle. | 0:53:39 | 0:53:40 | |
This is eating my childhood memories. | 0:53:43 | 0:53:44 | |
This is the original Quality Street assortment, | 0:53:44 | 0:53:47 | |
so lots of them are the same but just these early drawings | 0:53:47 | 0:53:50 | |
-I think are...so lovely. -Names, Harrogate toffee. | 0:53:50 | 0:53:55 | |
-I know. -Almond toffee, vanilla toffee. | 0:53:55 | 0:53:58 | |
But there's still the ones we know today - toffee penny, toffee finger. | 0:53:58 | 0:54:01 | |
Now, I did wonder, because I always said that the purple one | 0:54:01 | 0:54:05 | |
that has the hazelnut in used to be Brazil nut, | 0:54:05 | 0:54:07 | |
because it was in a Brazil nut shape, the chocolate. | 0:54:07 | 0:54:10 | |
And it does say there... | 0:54:10 | 0:54:11 | |
..chocolate creme toffee Brazils. | 0:54:12 | 0:54:14 | |
-Brazils. -So that has changed. | 0:54:14 | 0:54:16 | |
Yes. So Lord Harold Macintosh had his eight-point plan. | 0:54:16 | 0:54:22 | |
-Want to have a little look? -So, plan for Quality Street, | 0:54:22 | 0:54:26 | |
shape and design of the tin, number one. | 0:54:26 | 0:54:28 | |
Now, that's really telling, isn't it? | 0:54:28 | 0:54:30 | |
Because normally we'd say product first | 0:54:30 | 0:54:32 | |
and then think about how you're | 0:54:32 | 0:54:33 | |
going to package it, but this was all about the packaging. | 0:54:33 | 0:54:36 | |
All those colours and the glistening | 0:54:36 | 0:54:38 | |
-and the light bouncing off them and the rustle. -The sound. | 0:54:38 | 0:54:41 | |
The noise. It really does say Christmas. | 0:54:41 | 0:54:43 | |
In a stroke of marketing genius, | 0:54:45 | 0:54:47 | |
Macintosh packaged Quality Street with a nostalgic Victorian image... | 0:54:47 | 0:54:51 | |
..selling customers the idea of a happy Christmas | 0:54:54 | 0:54:57 | |
in a tin of chocolates. | 0:54:57 | 0:54:58 | |
Our sweet-makers have taken their chocolate pineapple, | 0:55:06 | 0:55:08 | |
Walnut Whips and Yule logs to be displayed in their sweet shop. | 0:55:08 | 0:55:12 | |
I'm going to pop the pineapple right in the middle there. | 0:55:14 | 0:55:17 | |
With mass production and clever marketing, confectioners had managed | 0:55:19 | 0:55:22 | |
to inextricably link sweets and chocolates to the festive season. | 0:55:22 | 0:55:26 | |
-Beautiful. -How's it looking? | 0:55:27 | 0:55:31 | |
Looks fantastic. | 0:55:31 | 0:55:32 | |
Are you proud of your handiwork? | 0:55:32 | 0:55:34 | |
We are! | 0:55:34 | 0:55:36 | |
Very impressive. So I must say, you guys are looking fantastic, | 0:55:36 | 0:55:39 | |
given that you've been working for over 200 years. | 0:55:39 | 0:55:42 | |
-Have you enjoyed it? -Loved it! -Absolutely! | 0:55:42 | 0:55:44 | |
Is there anything you'd like to bring back that from now on you're | 0:55:44 | 0:55:47 | |
going to make part of your own Christmas traditions at home? | 0:55:47 | 0:55:49 | |
-Snapdragons. -Snapdragons. | 0:55:49 | 0:55:51 | |
Best game ever! | 0:55:51 | 0:55:53 | |
-Twelfth Cakes. -I loved the Twelfth Cakes, yes. | 0:55:53 | 0:55:55 | |
Twelfth Cakes, yeah, definitely. | 0:55:55 | 0:55:57 | |
-Twelfth Cake. -And the month's holiday. | 0:55:57 | 0:56:00 | |
LAUGHTER | 0:56:00 | 0:56:02 | |
In 1938, Mass Observation - a social survey of everyday life in Britain - | 0:56:19 | 0:56:24 | |
recorded that on Christmas Eve | 0:56:24 | 0:56:26 | |
some sweet shops stayed open until midnight | 0:56:26 | 0:56:28 | |
so their customers could shop until the very last minute. | 0:56:28 | 0:56:32 | |
Yes, thank you very much. | 0:56:35 | 0:56:37 | |
Anything else for you? | 0:56:38 | 0:56:39 | |
I like the way that Christmas has changed because in Georgian times | 0:56:40 | 0:56:43 | |
it was very much aimed at adults | 0:56:43 | 0:56:45 | |
and it's become much more child-friendly. | 0:56:45 | 0:56:48 | |
Now, you know, I suppose it's a time for everyone. | 0:56:48 | 0:56:51 | |
It's lovely. | 0:56:51 | 0:56:52 | |
From the spectacle of the shop window, | 0:56:52 | 0:56:54 | |
to treats for stockings, to today's bestsellers - for two centuries, | 0:56:54 | 0:56:58 | |
confectioners have been shaping the way we celebrate Christmas. | 0:56:58 | 0:57:02 | |
-Have a lovely Christmas, thank you very much. -All the best! | 0:57:02 | 0:57:04 | |
I've been super surprised about how confectioners have | 0:57:04 | 0:57:07 | |
moulded traditions, created traditions. | 0:57:07 | 0:57:10 | |
I would not be doing my job today without that, | 0:57:10 | 0:57:13 | |
and I wouldn't be generating other | 0:57:13 | 0:57:15 | |
people's traditions by making my take | 0:57:15 | 0:57:18 | |
on festive chocolates. | 0:57:18 | 0:57:19 | |
And that one's... That's a penny, please, | 0:57:19 | 0:57:22 | |
for the Yule log. Thank you very much. | 0:57:22 | 0:57:25 | |
To this day, it's the arrival of festive sweet treats | 0:57:28 | 0:57:31 | |
in the shops that lets us know that Christmas is coming. | 0:57:31 | 0:57:34 | |
How influential they were in shaping the things that we still do now, | 0:57:37 | 0:57:41 | |
honing their craft through the ages. | 0:57:41 | 0:57:43 | |
I feel really privileged, you know, to not only do what I do now, | 0:57:43 | 0:57:47 | |
but also to have discovered this. | 0:57:47 | 0:57:50 | |
Beautiful. That is 10p, | 0:57:50 | 0:57:51 | |
it's our most expensive item, but it is a one-off. | 0:57:51 | 0:57:54 | |
It doesn't surprise me that confectioners of the past shaped | 0:57:54 | 0:57:57 | |
Christmas, because I think that's what we do. | 0:57:57 | 0:57:59 | |
We create a little bit of | 0:57:59 | 0:58:01 | |
sweet magic and we make it accessible to everybody. | 0:58:01 | 0:58:05 | |
-Happy Christmas! -Happy Christmas. -Careful in that snow. | 0:58:05 | 0:58:09 | |
-Thank you. -Bye! | 0:58:10 | 0:58:12 | |
CHEERING | 0:58:15 | 0:58:17 | |
Christmas is a time of celebrations. | 0:58:17 | 0:58:20 | |
ALL: Merry Christmas! | 0:58:22 | 0:58:24 | |
And as we tuck into our festive sweet treats, | 0:58:24 | 0:58:27 | |
let's raise a glass to confectioners everywhere, past and present. | 0:58:27 | 0:58:32 |