Candy & Lollies

Hard lollies — known as boiled sweets in some circles — are one of the oldest and simplest forms of confectionery. Made primarily from sugar cooked to high temperatures, they’re designed to be sucked rather than chewed, slowly dissolving to release their flavour.

The category covers an enormous range: fruit drops, barley sugar, humbugs, butterscotch, toffees, candy canes, lollipops, and countless novelty shapes and flavours. Australian classics include Clinkers (though those have a soft centre), fruit tingles, and old-fashioned mixed lollies sold by the bag at corner shops and milk bars.

While mass-produced varieties dominate, there’s a tradition of artisan boiled sweet making that continues in small confectioneries, where sugar is pulled, twisted, and shaped by hand into intricate designs.