National Fudge Day

The story

The history of National Fudge Day is a bit mysterious, just like the origins of fudge itself. Nevertheless, fudge's beginnings can be traced back to the late 19th century, with its popularity soaring in the early 20th century in the United States. Female students at Vassar College in New York provided the first written records of fudge around 1880.

The word ”fudge“ had existed before the candy, originally signifying nonsense or deception, which adds a delightful layer to the story. One widely accepted theory about the creation of fudge involves a Baltimore confectioner's ”fudged“ batch of French caramels during Valentine's Day in 1886. This accident gave birth to the fudge we now cherish.

Why National Fudge Day falls on June 16th remains a mystery, with its origins still shrouded in obscurity. Fudge's history is intertwined with the late 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly within the walls of women's colleges like Vassar, Wellesley, and Smith. It was in these academic settings that fudge recipes spread like wildfire, with one ambitious student even producing an astounding 30 pounds of the confection for the Vassar Senior Auction in 1890!