Beyond the windows, you can see where the candy gets made. It is New England after all so lobster gummy candies seems apropos. There's a small sample of ribbon candy on the right so you can see what this machine makes. Really cool to see these antique hand-turned candy machines. I saw horehound and other old-fashioned candies as I entered. There was basically only room to enter, walk around the center table, choosing wares along the way, exiting after a loop. October's high season in Salem meant a very packed store. The left side of the building is where the candy is still made by hand today. The fourth generation of Burkinshaws still operate the candy shop today.
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Pepper's son, George, took over until selling his business at the turn of the 20th century to George and Alice Burkinshaw, who were, respectively, assistant candy maker and candy packers for Ye Olde Pepper Companie. Thomas and Pepper had worked together to create Black Jacks, molasses stick candy that would appeal to more masculine tastes to contrast with the feminine Gibralters. After she passed away in 1835, her son, Thomas, took over the business, but shortly afterward, he inherited a title in England and sold the business to fellow confectioner, John Pepper. She first sold her candies on the steps of church and then with a horse and carriage. She made lemon and peppermint Gibralters, which are initially hard but then soften after several weeks and taste like an after-dinner mint. Her neighbors donated supplies, including a barrel of sugar when they found out she was a confectioner. A chance to get some edible souvenirs with a side of history? Can't pass that up!Īccording to their website, Ye Olde Pepper Companie began after Mary Spencer sailed from England to Salem and was left destitute by a shipwreck. After a spin around the House of the Seven Gables and the house in which Nathaniel Hawthorne was born, we headed across the street to Ye Olde Pepper Companie, which opened in 1806 and is America's oldest candy company.
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After grabbing a quick breakfast at Red Line Cafe - Salem - Massachusetts, second-oldest nephew and his friend and I headed to the waterfront.