Yum. The Sweet History of Fudge Will Make You Yearn for Summer on Mackinac Island

Watching the chocolatiers making fudge at Mackinac Island's numerous fudge shops is almost as sweet as eating it. Almost. Let's take a look at the history of fudge on the island.

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The Recipe Got Fudged Up

Fudge, as we know it today, is based on a recipe for chocolate caramels that dates back to the late 19th century. Food historian Joyce White spoke to CBS Sunday Morning as the show recently put the spotlight on Murdick's Fudge on Mackinac Island.

"What probably happened is that there was someone in Baltimore, messed it up, or 'fadged' it," she said. "Fadge is a word that means you messed up. I fadged it, or I fudged it. Nowadays, we use a different F-word to say that, right?"

White went on to say that by about 1888, that recipe had been passed along to a student at Vassar College, which was an all-women school in Poughkeepsie, New York.

"Women would make fudge in their dorm rooms," said White, "doing something against the rules, in the late evenings and trying to get away with something not condoned in the rulebook."

White says the Vassar Fudge recipe got passed along to other women's colleges around the country.

500 Pounds of Fudge Per Day

In the video below, CBS spoke with Bob Benser, the owner of Murdick's Fudge. He says there are more than a dozen fudge shops on Mackinac Island and each one can make up to 500 pounds per day.

White notes that the recipe for fudge really has changed much in the last 100 years.