The Science of Candy Canes with Dan Kohler of Home and Family

By Omid Vojdani
Edible Skinny Health & Wellness Editor

When I tell people I am a health nut, their gut reaction is to think that I always eat tons of vegetables and never touch sugar. While half of that is true, that isn’t necessarily my goal, especially as a coach. My goal is always to get people to have a better understanding of what food does for us, so we may all have an easier time enjoying food, and releasing us from guilt. In other words, I eat all my vegetables and eat well so I can eat sugar guilt free, and flab free! That’s why I was so excited to learn about Home and Family.

Home and Family, a two hour daily show on the Hallmark Channel which airs weekdays at 10amET/PT, is aimed to help viewers improve their home lives. They cover a wide range of topics; from sewing and decorating, to home repair, to lifestyle, to even gardening. But my personal favorites are their food segments with family member Dan Kohler.  When he talks about food, he makes sure to get into the science (yay science!) and history of some of my favorite treats.

In one episode, former Blue Man and founder of RenegadeKitchen.com, Dan Kohler teaches the family all about the history and science of one of my favorite holiday treats, the candy cane. For example, Dan explains, this peppermint treat is so popular that over 1.7 billion candy canes were sold in 2014 alone. Dan also explains all about how sugar can be manipulated with simple ingredients and heat to make delicious candy. Like a great coach, he does give a small warning that working with hot sugar is something that should be done only with supervision, but can be an enjoyable family activity.

Just like any great cooking show, they show the whole process from start to finish, including playing with a ball of molten sugar and forming it into the famous cane shape, making it simple and easy to understand. They also provide the recipe on the website to make shopping a breeze.

After watching this, I naturally looked into other recipes that Dan talks about, such as dry ice soft serve ice cream, and even making your own colorful rock candy! I learned so much in such a short time watching, and I highly encourage all of our readers to do the same.

Healthy eating is not always about avoiding sugar at all costs. For me, and my clients, it is always about knowing more about your food, cooking at home, and enjoying what you put into your body.

To help you learn more, check out more from family member Dan Kohler on Home and Family, and try some recipes at home yourself!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m about to go science up some candy canes of my own.