Foods Mentioned in Christmas Songs That You've Probably Never Eaten

Today's food mentioned in a Christmas carol that you've probably never eaten is sugar plums.  Actually, they are not mentioned on a Christmas song, but in "Twas the Night Before Christmas", as in "visions of sugar plums danced in their heads" or in The Nutcracker's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy."

If you could hazard a guess as to what sugar plums were, you'd likely probably guess that they're those purple pieces of gummy candy or sugared plums (the actual fruit)—but you'd be wrong. Sugar plums are not plums, but they are sugar. The now obsolete term refers to a type of candy called "dragee" or "comfit," according to The Oxford English Dictionary. It's a sweet made from layers of sugar hardened around a central seed, nut, or kernel—like a modern-day jawbreaker. Traditionally, sugar plums would be made with either an almond or a caraway or cardamom seed at the center. The "plum" part of the candy likely refers to the fact that the sweet was a similar size and shape of the fruit.