Candy cane maker has a sweet job | News

SARASOTA, Fla. -- More than 100 years ago, Peter Vrinois' grandfather started a confectionery in Illinois. Today, he is continuing the family trade and doing a sweet job making candy canes in Sarasota.

This week, Vrinois has been making his candy canes at Gillian's Deli & Specialty Ice Cream at St. Armands Circle. He says it takes him about two hours to make a batch of roughly 125, 7-inch long canes. He says everything is done by hand.

"We stretch (the candy) when a lot of people use a taffy puller and then we pull it by hand when a lot of people pull it with a roller," he said.

Vrinois sells his canes for $5 each and makes nine different flavors ranging from peppermint and wintergreen to cinnamon and cotton candy.

According to the website ehow.com, an estimated 1.76 billion candy canes are produced during the holiday season.

To see how Vrinois makes his candy canes, which the video posted above.