Christmas Day and fond old memories start to flood into my mind as if they had a life of their own.
Have you ever just sat back in a chair , not doing anything in particular? Sure there are people moving about. And yes, the TV or the radio are turned on. But you are not there, you are not in the here and now . . . you seem to have traveled to a time and place that is very far away from the space you are occupying now.
It is a fifth dimension beyond those known to man. It is a dimension vast as space and timeless as infinity. It is the middle g round between light and shadow, between the pit of your fears and the summit of your knowledge. It is the dimension of imagination. It is an area called the Twilight Zone
Well folks, I am there right at this moment! Daydreaming about the best Fudge every made in the United States of America, or anywhere else in the world for that matter.
My Grandmother, on my mother's side, Anita Grace Stewart Knight was an amazing individual. A world class Confectioner and Chef. You may not know her by name but you have most probably tried one of her confectionery treats, at least once.
There was an Armenian gentleman by the name of Peter Paul Halajian who retailed candy in New Haven Connecticut after the turn of the century. Well one of the candies he retailed was a bite sized coconut creme creation covered in dark chocolate made by Knights Knifty Knibbles in Piscataway New Jersey (this was the name of my Granny's candy kitchen). He sold other of her candies, including her fudges, but the chocolate covered coconut cremes were the top sellers.
Now Peter Paul wanted into the manufacturing end of the business and pestered my Grandmother for years to buy her catalog of recipes, but she wouldn't sell. But then a series of events happened to change her mind on the subject, at least in part. In 1919 my Grandfather had a stroke which nearly killed him.It left him partially paralyzed on his left side and unable to speak at most times, but not always.(His doctors gave him six to eight months to live and at this time he was in his forties.Well he was a stubborn man, outlived his doctors and made it well into his eighties . . .but that's another story). The Depression of 1920 had just started and Peter Paul and some Armenian investors had formed the Peter Paul Candy Manufacturing Co
Now my Grandmother needed some ready cash to get through the hard times so she sold Peter Paul the one recipe that was to become the Peter Paul Mounds. She kept the other recipes and the company name of Knight's Knifty Knibbles which operated up until WWII (shortages made supplies and raw materials hard to come by). The monies from the sale of that recipe kept the family going through some pretty rough years.
I own the recipes and my cousin owns the company name passed to him from Grandma Knight.
Every time I pass by the candy counter in any convenience store or bodega, or down the candy isle in any grocery or department store, there right next to the Hershey Bars, Kit-Kats and M&Ms sit the Mounds, and I can't help but to smile!
In future blogs, I will share some of the fudge recipes and give you a little more on family history.
