Polkagris is a Swedish stick candy that was invented in 1859 by Amalia Eriksson in the town of Gränna, Sweden. It remains a well-known albeit old-fashioned candy in Sweden, often sold at fairs, Christmas markets, and the like. It is still closely associated with Gränna. The traditional polkagris candy stick is white and red, and is peppermint-flavoured.
Polkagris
The traditional red and white polkagris
Lena Lervik: Amalia Eriksson – the mother of the polkagris. This statue is located in Gränna, Sweden.
Part of making the polkagris involves stretching the heated sugar before the red stripe is added and the candy is rolled and cut
Stick candy is a long, cylindrical variety of hard candy, usually four to seven inches in length and 1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter, but in some extraordinary cases up to 14 inches in length and two inches in diameter. Like candy canes, they usually have at least two different colors swirled together in a spiral pattern, resembling a barber's pole.
A variety of flavored stick candy in a store display
Stick candy can be bent when hardening, making candy canes