One day a century ago, in 1923, what would appear to be a minor transaction was made in a “tiny New Orleans confectionary shop specializing in homemade candies.” The name of the shop is lost to history like a doubloon bouncing into a drain, but the implication of the transaction is like gold. On that day the fledgling Elmer Candy Company bought the candy shop’s recipe for a popular local confection called “Heavenly Hash,” a mixture of marshmallow with chocolate topped by almonds. At the time, Heavenly Hash was sold in slabs but the Elmer folks had another idea—to form the mixture into a chocolate Easter egg. If I may offer an editorial opinion, this is the greatest Easter candy ever. Getting to that point began in 1855 when a local pastry chef, Christopher Henry Miller, used his experience to create the Miller Candy Company. His son-in-law Augustus Elmer eventually joined him and then, by 1914, Elmer’s sons became part of what would become the Elmer Candy Company. During the 1960s, the confectionary side of the business was purchased by businessman Roy Nelson and moved to Ponchatoula. That’s when a new strategy was developed. The Elmer Company would concentrate on seasonal products rather than everyday candy and snacks. Today Elmer’s claims to be, behind only Russell-Stover, the second largest heart box candy manufacturer in the country.
So, if a company is going to make Valentine’s chocolates why not look ahead a month and do Easter too? Beside Heavenly Hash Eggs (remember, introduced in 1923) Elmer’s also began marketing the lovable Gold Brick egg (1926) and the pecan egg. Last year the company, like the rest of the world, faced supply shortages so production was down. Things are better this year, and the company is planning to have produced 3 million Heavenly Hashes. Combined with the Gold Bricks and Pecan Eggs, that will be a supply of roughly 6.2 million eggs. But, it is the Heavenly Hash which is being celebrated this year. For that, we share this secret of how they are made: First there is a special liquid marshmallow which is deposited into a Heavenly Hash egg shaped corn starch mold. That sits overnight so that the moisture is drawn out to create the flowy marshmallow egg. The eggs are then topped with almonds, then covered with dark chocolate. Next, they get wrapped in the familiar blue, gold and yellow foil. Elmer Chocolate is the oldest family-owned chocolate company in the country. Today the Elmer Company is the largest employer in Ponchatoula with more than 400 associates. It all started with the confection store owner who agreed to sell the recipe. He should be honored this centennial year. We hear Heavenly Hash goes well with Champagne.
