Changing seasons at Mary Sue Candies
Spring may have officially begun over a week ago, but at Mary Sue Candies, it is already summer. The chocolate eggs coming off the line today will be used in this weekend’s Bunny BonanZOO, but the bulk of the Easter treats were made by Valentine’s Day.
- Mary Sue Candies vanilla butter cream eggs recently enrobed with chocolate move on a belt. These are among the millions of eggs the company, founded in 1948, has produced this season. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
- Blanca Gomez gives egg shaped vanilla butter cream room on a belt as Michael Wetzel runs the extruder. The soon to be chocolate enrobed eggs will be used in the Mary Sue Candies Bunny BonanZoo at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
- Carina Hernandez, left, and Venessa Cruz, right, string chocolate on the tops of Mary Sue Candies vanilla cream eggs. (Kim Hairston/ Baltimore Sun)
- Towanda Parker and Samantha Morales put vanilla cream eggs into trays at the Mary Sue Candies plant. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
- Mary Sue Candies vanilla butter cream eggs are transported through the flow wrap machine before being boxed. These are among the millions of eggs the company, founded in 1948, has produced this season. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
- Jacoba Garcia, left, and Juan Flores pour taffy onto cooling tables in the Mary Sue Candies kitchen. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
- After cooking in copper kettles, salt water taffy is poured onto a cold table to cool. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
- Juan Flores, a taffy maker at Mary Sue Candies, works with the candy on the cold table after the molten poured from copper kettles. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
- Norman Boyd monitors Winter and summer meet inside Mary Sue Candies as production of cream eggs winds down and salt water taffy is turned out. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
- William Buppert, president of Mary Sue Candies, mixes up multi colored salt water taffy kisses. Production of the warm weather treat began on February 18 and Buppert says this is the beginning of summer vacation in the factory. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
The attention of the candy makers then turned to the next seasonal treat, salt water taffy. And that, according to William Buppert, president, signals thoughts of warmer weather. “It’s summer time for us when we switch over to taffy.”
Whatever the weather, the confections created by the company, founded in 1948, are handmade.