They’re chalky, they’re heart-shaped, and they’re emblazoned with short and sweet mottos like “Be Mine” and “I’m Your Man.”  They’re Conversation Hearts, part of nearly every American childhood.

This classic Valentine’s Day candy has been around in some form since 1860, though it reaches further back in history for its inspiration.  Europeans had etched messages on handmade candy as Valentine gifts for many years, and American colonists continued the tradition.  In the 19th century, Oliver Chase founded the New England Confectionary Company (NECCO), and introduced the chalky round wafers that would become synonymous with the company name.  Chase’s brother Daniel, looking for a novelty, invented a way to inscribe text on the hard surface of the candies, and created a line of cockle-shell shaped wafers, individually wrapped and highlighted with a romantic message.  In 1900, the company introduced Sweet Hearts, with the inscribed candies cut and pressed into shapes.  Hearts were not the only form.  Horseshoes, baseballs, banners and other shapes allowed long messages or even short mushy verse to be printed.

Eventually, the tiny heart with a brief, to-the-point saying became the standard, and the little pink box with a cellophane window made its way to American icon status.

NECCO remains a family-owned and -run operation, and Conversation Hearts are still produced on the original equipment, carefully maintained and able to stamp and cut the candy dough before sending the little hearts to a dryer, where they take on their hard, cracking consistency.

Walter Marshall is the writer currently responsible for updating the messages every year, often with the input of his own grandchildren.  Classic phrases like “Cutie Pie” and “Kiss Me” remain in circulation, joined by more modern messages like “Fax Me” and “Get Real.”

Conversation Hearts are well suited to schoolyard flirting.  Giving an entire box is nice, of course, but you can drive somebody mad by simply offering one heart, and letting the recipient wonder just what you mean by it.  A popular variation involves dumping out an entire box, sorting through the messages, and distributing them to all of your classmates, deciding which sayings are best suited to each person.  The lovelorn can also play an edible “she loves me, she loves me not” version by reaching into a box, pulling a heart at random, and deeming the resulting message to be a reflection of how the object of one’s affection feels.

Almost no one seeks out these little red, blue, white, pink, purple and green chunks of sugar for their taste.  Though the flavors vaguely suggest mint, wintergreen or cinnamon, eating them is a secondary consideration, pleasurable in a passive way.  The crunchy, flaking texture is unique, however, and delivers a sensory jolt of instant nostalgia to anyone who ever handed out Valentines in the second grade.