Candy apple


Candy apples are whole apples covered in a sugar candy coating, with a stick inserted as a handle. These are a common treat at fall festivals in Western culture in the Northern Hemisphere, such as Halloween and Guy Fawkes Night because these festivals occur in the wake of annual apple harvests. Although candy apples and caramel apples may seem similar, they are made using distinctly different processes.

History

According to one source, American William W. Kolb invented the red candy apple.

Kolb, a veteran Newark candy-maker, produced his first batch of candied apples in 1908. While experimenting in his candy shop with red cinnamon candy for the Christmas trade, he dipped some apples into the mixture and put them in the windows for display. He sold the whole first batch for 5 cents each and later sold thousands yearly. Soon candied apples were being sold along the Jersey Shore, at the circus and in candy shops across the country, according to the Newark News in 1948.

Ingredients and method

Candy apples are made by coating an apple with a layer of sugar that has been heated to hard crack stage. The most common sugar coating is made from sugar, corn syrup, water, cinnamon and red food coloring. Humid weather can prevent the sugar from hardening.

Regional traditions

During the 1960s and 1970s, news reports about children supposedly receiving candy apples with pins and razor blades in them, created concern during Halloween in the United States. Hospitals offered free x-rays to detect foreign objects in the candy apples. To date, the stories have never been substantiated and fall into the category of urban legend.