Sugar Bones
Author:
Shane Mitchell
photograph by Mary Ellen Bartley In 1921 four brothers by the name of Haritatos from Cephalonia, Greece, pooled their money and opened a restaurant in Rome, New York. They called it Candyland and, along with burgers and other soda-fountain fare, sold handmade candies—including a unique confection known as Turkey Bones. Developed in 1919 by the brothers’ uncle, Syracuse-based confectioner Harry Haritatos, and named for their uncanny resemblance to real poultry bones, these knobby sticks of chocolate and brazil nuts, encased in a silvery sugar shell, became Turkey Joints in 1949. (“Turkey Bones” was trademarked to another, unrelated, product.) Their texture, brittle on the outside, creamy on the inside, and their unusual flavor (thanks in part to the rich brazil nuts) puts treats like Peanut M&Ms to shame. Candyland closed in 1972, but Turkey Joints—still made—remain a Rome tradition.
Tasos Haritatos, who joined his older brothers at the restaurant in the 1950s, bought the rights to Turkey Joints in 1974, and set up a candy kitchen at his house in Rome (where he also repaired lawn mowers). At first he made the confection only during the holidays—but after five years he became a full-time candy man. Today Tasos’s son, Spero, runs the shop with his wife, Sharon. “People want to just flip a switch these days,” laments Sharon, “but we still make candy the old way, on the same equipment that was used at Candyland.” The family recipe, a combination of hard and ribbon candy-making, is—of course—a secret. From Rome’s Griffiss Air Force Base (inactive since 1995), flyboys with a sweet tooth helped to disseminate Turkey Joints as far as Alaska and Japan. Now orders come in from all over the country, and it takes 70,000 pounds of chocolate a year just to keep up with demand—which still peaks during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Original (right), chocolate-coated, peanut butter, and coconut-almond varieties are available ($14.40 for 16 to 20 pieces, plus shipping; 888/544-8224).
