Every Time You Eat A Tootsie Roll You Get A Bit Of The Original 1896 Version: Here's How

All the way back in 1896, Leo Hirshfield invented one of the original penny candies in New York City and named it after his daughter. Thus, the famous Tootsie Roll was born. Chewy Tootsie Rolls are a bit of true Americana with a creamy, cocoa-forward flavor. Each fresh batch of Tootsie Rolls incorporates some of the previous day's mixture, meaning there's a bit of the original candy that carries on, kind of like a historic sourdough starter living on in each new loaf of bread.

Tootsie Rolls' ingredients include corn syrup, oil, condensed milk, and cocoa, which are heated, mixed together, cooled, and rolled into the candies we all grew up eating. Amazingly, Tootsie Rolls have been popular for over 100 years, and were even included in soldier's rations during World War II. Famous Rat Pack singer Frank Sinatra also went so far as to specify that miniature Tootsie Rolls were always in his dressing room before a performance.

Tootsie Rolls likely carry on due to their pleasing taste and ooey gooey texture. Although they've been around longer than throwback candies such as Mary Janes or Chuckles, they seem to hold more popular appeal. Today, you might be most familiar with Tootsie Rolls as a filler candy in your kids' Halloween haul. Perhaps they remain a candy fixture because they are so woven into pop culture, even inspiring a catchy 1990s dance song.

Whether Tootsie Rolls strike a chord of nostalgia harkening back to a memorable TV commercial featuring a wise owl in search of the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie pop, or simply satisfy based on their familiar brown-and-white wrapping and comforting taste and chew, it's nice to know some things don't change. This couldn't be more true for Tootsie Roll candies, which not only embrace the same recipe, but are also a literal link back to the original treats.