Candy shops in Mahoning, Shenango valleys in high gear
Valentine's Day Treats
Chocolate and Valentine’s Day go hand in hand. Chocolatiers at Daffin’s Candies, Giannios Candy Company Inc., Gorant Chocolatiers, and Philadelphia Candies share their stories about the holiday.
YOUNGSTOWN
Warm, melted chocolate folds and fills a heart mold.
As chocolate is poured into a mold to form a heart-shaped treat, John Giannios recalls the history of the Giannios Candy Co. factory on Youngstown-Poland Road.
The chocolate filling this heart mold is the same recipe John’s grandfather, Gus
Giannios, used to make his candy when he started the company in 1910.
Since then, the company has filled many heart molds with chocolate and, in doing so, many human hearts with love.
Love — for whatever reason — is connected to chocolate, especially on Valentine’s Day.
“One of the chocolate companies equated it to love, so when you give chocolate, it’s sweets for the sweets,” John said.
The National Retail Federation says consumers will spend $18.2 billion on all gifts this Valentine’s Day, down from last year’s $19.78 billion. Consumers plan to spend the most on jewelry at $4.3 billion. Candy follows after dinner, flowers and clothing with expected spending of $1.7 billion.
But about 50 percent of 7,591 consumers surveyed plan to spend money on candy on Valentine’s Day.
Candy shops in the Mahoning and Shenango valleys all say Valentine’s Day sales fall behind holiday and Easter sales, but are still important. So, after the holiday season, they work to fill molds, tins and heart boxes in preparation for the holiday of love.
The history of Valentine’s Day is a bit strange and surrounded in mystery. For a long time, February has been celebrated as a month of romance, according to The History Channel.
The Catholic Church recognizes three saints named Valentine. All of the saints were martyrs.
St. Valentine’s Day was created to remember the anniversary of their deaths, some say, and it originated as a holiday in the middle of month when Christians decided to Christianize the pagan February fertility festival known as Lupercalia.
At the end of the fifth century, Feb. 14 was declared St. Valentine’s Day by Pope Gelasius I.
The day didn’t become connected to love until much later. Greetings and gifts for Valentine’s Day started as far back as the Middle Ages.
The exchange of Valentines in the states began in the early 1700s.
Chocolate has long been known as a food of love. It was a luxury item to the Mayans and Aztecs, according to the Smithsonian. In fact, cacao beans, a main ingredient in chocolate, were as valuable as gold, and were even used to pay taxes.
Chocolate eventually became a more popular, accessible treat, and it did so as the popularity of Valentine’s Day celebrations rose.
Then along came Richard Cadbury, a British manufacturer of chocolate. Cadbury had the brilliant idea to package his chocolates with cupids, rosebuds and in heart-shaped boxes in 1861. Cadbury marketed that the boxes could be reused to hold love letters after the chocolates were eaten, according to the Smithsonian.
In 1907, Hershey took to marketing for love with its tear-dropped shaped “kisses.”
Local chocolatiers have followed suit, packing heart boxes with chocolates, making solid chocolate hearts and dipping fresh strawberries in chocolate every year for the holiday.
Giannios, Gorant Chocolatier, Daffin’s Chocolate Candies and Philadelphia Candies start to prepare for Valentine’s Day soon after the Christmas season.
At Giannios, 6-pound tins are filled for the Home Shopping Network orders the company receives. Another big seller are the 5-pound chocolate bars.
“Flavor wise, we make about 40 different flavors of chocolates,” John said. “Our biggest seller is the marshmallow. Marshmallow has never slipped down off of first place.”
At Gorant’s, which was founded in 1949, customers can fill their own heart boxes. Typical picks include pecan toodles and English almond toffee chocolates. Gorant’s has area locations in Boardman, Canfield, Austintown and Howland. There are also locations in Alliance and New Philadelphia. The stores are bursting with red, pink, purple and other warm colors to represent the holiday of love. The company has 376 pounds of strawberries ordered for the holiday and will sell them through Valentine’s Day.
“I think that [chocolate] is just a great treat that everyone seems to enjoy,” said Jeff Thacker, retail coordinator for Gorant’s. “You can give it to a close friend or a loved one.”
The almost 100-year-old Philadelphia Candies in Hermitage, Pa., has 120 chocolates available for customers to fill heart boxes at both their Boardman and Hermitage stores.
“Older adults like our creams,” said John Macris, business developer for Philadelphia Candies, founded in 1919.
“Most adults of all age groups like our strawberries. Kids like our chocolate-covered cookies and potato chips. It’s something people enjoy in good times or bad. On Valentine’s Day, it makes people happy.”
Across the border in the Shenango Valley, Daffin’s in Sharon, Pa., makes edible hearts, and the chocolates that fill them can come in hundreds of different types of creams, nuts, caramels, melt-a-ways and nougats. The company, founded by Paul Daffin in 1949, has added new offerings for Valentine’s Day, but also stuck with the original heart-shaped, chocolate-filled boxes. People also line up for the chocolate-covered strawberries.
“It’s all about the love,” said Connie Leon, retail manager for Daffin’s. “What better way to show your love than to give delicious chocolates.”