Nuts for Nuts: Baby Ruth

A vintage Baby Ruth Candy Bar advertisement from when the company was owned by Curtis Candy Company

Sharability: 3 Denture Danger: 9 Convenience: 5 Novelty: 9 Overall: 8 As a kid, candies with nuts in them always detracted me. I don’t know if I thought nuts were too healthy to be in candy, or if I didn’t like crunch, but all I know now is that with my maturing taste buds I can’t complain about peanuts in my candy. As described on the wrapper, each Baby Ruth is “bursting with peanuts, rich caramel, and chewy nougat.” A bite of a Baby Ruth is definitely a mouth full. In my experience, the caramel is described as rich not because the caramel has a rich flavor, but because this candy bar is rich with caramel. I’d describe this candy as a long chunk of caramel, a little bit of that chewy nougat, both covered in a thin layer of chocolate, and yes, bursting with peanuts. I actually had trouble finding the nougat physically and in taste but I only assume the ultra chewiness is enhanced by the “chewy nougat.” Otto Schnering founded the Curtis Candy Company in Chicago in 1916. He used his mother’s maiden name for the company because he didn’t want his candy stigmatized by his German sounding name. The Curtis Company introduced the Baby Ruth in 1921. Curtis Company was transferred to the hands of Nabisco, and then to the current holder, Nestlé. Baby Ruth’s name is commonly believed to have been influenced by the famous baseball player known as Babe Ruth—and this may in fact be true—but the Curtis Candy Company wants us to believe that the Baby Ruth was named after President Grover Cleveland’s daughter, Ruth, nicknamed “Baby Ruth.” I do find it a bit suspicious; the Baby Ruth came out as Babe Ruth’s fame was growing over twenty years after Grover Cleveland was out of office and 17 years after “Baby Ruth’s” death. I have reason to believe that the Curtis Company used Cleveland’s daughter as a loophole in order to avoid paying Babe Ruth any royalties. Not to mention that Baby Ruth has followed a baseball theme in its advertising campaign… Well, I don’t know if the true influence of the name will ever be known, or if the answer even lies in one of these two theories. Regardless of name origin, Baby Ruth’s will be sure to add a crunch to your chew and a crumb to your lap. Fun Fact: (I had to put this one in for a shout out to the city of champions): In 1923, thousands of Baby Ruth bars parachuted out of a plane (with the help of Otto Schnering) to fall over the city of Pittsburgh. (Yes each candy bar had a mini parachute attached to it). Sources:

• http://www.babyruth.com/
• http://www.snopes.com/business/names/babyruth.asp
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Ruth