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Peppermint Pigs and Horse Puddles By Sandra Scott |
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When most people think of Saratoga, New York,
they think of horses. But when we went to Saratoga we were thinking
of a pig. Not an ordinary pig but a Peppermint Pig that has been
The tradition, like so many others, faded away until Saratoga Sweets revived it. Today they make thousands of holiday Peppermint Pigs. And, having fun doing it! There are pigs everywhere in the shops. But we noticed that besides pigging out there is a lot of horsing around! Horses, the other Saratoga tradition are everywhere. Chocolate, of course. Besides individual chocolate horses, there are fancy chocolate carousel horse lollipops with a striped “pole,” colorful ribbons, and a jingling bell. There are horse-shaped lollipops with a dark chocolate mane, “so you can race to a sweet finish over and over again.” Part of the Peppermint Pig tradition has to do with good luck and prosperity but also lucky is the person who gets milk chocolate “Saratoga” horseshoes. But our favorite is horse item is the horse “puddle!” I wasn’t surprised because I had already bought “pig poop” and “pig puddles”! But the horse puddle is the kind of puddle you want to pick up and eat! It is made of milk chocolate and whole roasted almonds. “Seem like there is a lot horsing around going on at Saratoga Sweets,” John commented to Mike Fitzgerald, the owner. “Yes, but the most fun we had ‘horsing around’ was when Funny Cide, the Saratoga-born longshot winner of the 2003 Kentucky Derby, was running and we made chocolate to celebrate and commemorate every phase of his career. But, we do have Sea Biscuits, to pay tribute to the ‘little horse that could.’ They are chocolate covered and decorate Oreos.”
“Right over here.” Mike pulled a tray out of the display case. “This is our crunchy take on George Crum’s famous invention, the potato chip. We dip them in chocolate. They are so good—they’re Crum-y!” No doubt about it there is a lot of horsing around and it is easy to pig out at Saratoga Sweets. From poop to plops to puddles, from Crum-y chips to Sea Biscuits there a lot of fun and sweetness at Saratoga Sweets. Visit www.saratogasweets.com. |
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associated with Saratoga holidays as long as the horses. During the
Victorian era, the people of Saratoga had a wonderful holiday
tradition. At holiday time, the family received a pink pig made of
solid peppermint. It came with a little brass hammer. After the
holiday meal, with everyone sitting around the table, the peppermint
pig was cracked into many pieces with the hammer. One at a time,
each family member picked up a peppermint piece, and told about
something nice that happened to them in the past year and their wish
for the coming year. I just had to have a Peppermint Pig. 
“How about Saratoga’s other claim to fame as
home of the potato chip?” I asked.