Food and drinks are some of the easiest ways — and the most fun— to vicariously experience another culture. When you add a great book to the mix, you've got the makings of a perfect evening. In Food+Fiction, we recommend a delicious read and a related recipe so you can try the taste of different destinations in your own kitchen.

This post is part of our Food+Fiction series.

Maine’s primary claim to culinary fame might be lobster rolls and clambakes on the beach. But don’t sleep on its contribution to the confectionary arts: tender handmade candy bars made from starchy potatoes, sweet coconut, and dark chocolate.

The novel Almost, Maine by John Cariani is the literary equivalent of a luscious bonbon. It’s sweet, complex, homey, and even better when shared with your favorite people. The novel tells the story of people falling into and out of love — sometimes literally — on a particular Friday night in winter when the temperature’s not too cold, and the sky is alight with dancing Northern Lights. It’s the kind of book that makes you want to be cozy, devour it in a sitting, then press it into the hands of someone else so you can talk about it. Possibly with a box of chocolates on the side.

The tale of the candy called Needhams is far less romantic, but it makes for a good yarn. Buckle up! The origin story of this old-timey candy features potato farming, tattooed buccaneers, potential cannibalism, and a tent revival circuit preacher.

It begins in 1846 in Ireland.

That’s the year that future preacher George C. Needham was born. According to lore (and his 1902 obituary in The New York Times), when Needham was 10 years old, he was loaded onto a ship bound for South America. During the long trans-Atlantic voyage, he was tortured by the captain and tattooed against his will. When he was finally taken ashore in Patagonia, he was captured by ‘cannibal Indians’ who intended to ‘make a feast of him.’ But those tattoos he hadn’t wanted? When his captors saw his fresh ink, they chose something else for dinner — and he eventually made his return to Ireland.

Back home, Needham became a preacher, then emigrated to Boston in 1868; we can only assume there were no nonconsensual tattoos on that crossing. He gained some fame as the ‘boy preacher’ and married a woman named Elizabeth. The two took their show on the road, traveling around the eastern United States to promote faith healing. He eventually wrote six books, toured Japan and China, and then expired in 1902 in Pennsylvania.

We probably wouldn’t know much about Needham now, were it not for one John Seavey, candy entrepreneur.

In the late 1800s, John owned Seavey’s Sweets in Portland, Maine. Or was it Auburn? Historians can’t be sure. What they do know is that in 1872, a cook at Seavey’s combined potatoes — in a nod to Maine’s status as the number-one producer of potatoes in the United States at the time — with coconut, sugar, and chocolate to create a silky-smooth square of happiness.

When Seavey tried the new treat, he apparently said, ‘Let’s call ‘em Needhams!’ in honor of the preacher. Or perhaps in a misguided tribute to Irish potatoes? Or in remembrance of a good time he had at a tent revival? Again, the details are lost to time.

But that new recipe was a hit. Eventually, Mainers started to make the candy at home, using potatoes left over from dinner. The popularity of homemade Needhams soared during the Great Depression when potatoes were cheap and plentiful, and a little something nice was sorely needed.

These candies are easy to make, even if you have zero candy-making experience. They’re traditionally made square, and this recipe gives you the option for two sizes: large (1 1/2-inch squares) or small (3/4-inch squares). Smaller candies take twice as long to coat with chocolate, but you finish with twice as many to share! You do you.

Needhams Potato Candy

Makes 18 large or 36 small.

There is a place in northern Maine that is so far north, it’s almost not in the United States. It’s almost in Canada. But not quite. Not many people live there. Not much seems to happen there. And the things that do happen there seem pretty ordinary. Especially to the people who live there.

But some extraordinary things did happen there once — on a Friday in the middle of the winter, not too long ago. Or maybe it was a long time ago. No one quite remembers.

Actually, no one is even sure that the extraordinary things even happened. And no one is even sure that the place actually exists.

But it’s somewhere we’ve all been.

It’s a place called Almost.’ — John Cariani

This magical story of one special night (352 pages) was published in January of 2023 by Square Fish. The book takes you to rural Maine. Melissa read Almost, Maine and loved it; it wouldn't be on our site if she didn't recommend it.

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