Why is Mackinac Island fudge famous?
Three reasons, all of which have echoes in the Frankenmuth experience. Chicken dinners weren’t the only thing newly liberated travelers discovered in the early 1900s. Vacationers — the first tourists — discovered a pristine island in the strait between Michigan’s two peninsulas. And merchants on the island discovered them. At first, they could sell them anything. You’ve been there; you know what it’s like. Soon, though, the market was saturated. How many T-shirts (or the early 1900s equivalent) does a tourist need? Henry Murdick, hoping something different would attract customers, decided to sell them candy. Brilliant idea, because he could sell them more every day. Bad idea, because people didn’t buy candy 100 years ago; they made their own. But Murdick’s fudge was better than homemade. He probably didn’t intend to make better fudge, and it’s likely he didn’t even know why his was better. It turns out sugary candies, such as fudge or salt-water taffy, have different physical and che
