Amalia Erikson

Inventor of the Peppermint stick. Amalia works as a maid when she moves to Gränna. Here she meets Anders Eriksson, whom she marries. Amalia becomes pregnant and gives birth to twin girls. Unfortunately, one of the daughters is dead at birth, and her husband Anders becomes seriously ill shortly afterwards and pass away as well.

At this time, it is possible for poor and single women to get permission to start their own business, and Amalia decides to open a sugar bakery. The red-and-white-striped peppermint caramel probably already exists when Amalia starts her production, but the first time the word “polka gris” (which literally translates to polka pig) is found in writing is on her permit from the town’s magistrate. Amalia both bakes and sells her caramels at home. She makes both “grisar” (which means pigs in swedish), the long candy bars that are her specialty, and “pluttar”, which look like small pillows.

Amalia is probably the first person to make peppermint sticks in Sweden. When Amalia is 91 years old, her daughter Ida takes over the production. Business has gone very well and Amalia has made a small fortune from her bakery. During her years in Gränna, Amalia lived at various addresses, including Brahegatan 2.