Candy apples, also known as toffee apples outside of North America, are whole apples covered in a hard sugar candy coating. While the topping varies from place to place, they are almost always served with a stick of sorts in the middle making them easier to eat. Toffee apples are a common treat at autumn festivals in Western culture in the Northern Hemisphere, such as Halloween and Guy Fawkes Night because these festivals fall in the wake of the annual apple harvest.[1] Although candy apples and caramel apples may seem similar, they are made using distinctly different processes.
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According to the Newark Evening News 1964:
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.[2]
Candy apple is made by coating an apple with a sugar layer.
The most common sugar coating is made from sugar, corn syrup, water, cinnamon and red food coloring. The sugar syrup is created by boiling the ingredients in a saucepan. The liquid should reach about 300 °F (150 °C) on a candy thermometer. Dip the apple with the sugar in the "hard crack" stage. The sugar will harden within an hour.
Humid weather prevents the sugar from hardening.[3]
Jelly apples, found in New York's Coney Island area, are related but have a soft candy ("jelly") coating and a cherry flavor, not cinnamon. Some have sprinkles on them or coconut.
Candy apples are one of the more popular items given out to children during Halloween. During the 1960s and 1970s, news reports about candy apples given to children during Halloween spread hysteria. Many parents feared that candy apples contained pins and razor blades. During the hysteria, hospitals offered free X-rays to detect foreign objects in the candy apples.[4]
In England, toffee apples are more commonly eaten on November 5 (also known as Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Night), and are eaten in Scotland and Ireland at Halloween. In Latin American countries, candy apples are popular throughout those countries' extended holiday season. In Brazil, candy apples, named as in other Lusophone countries Portuguese: maçã-do-amor (as in French, it means "apple of the love") are common in the festivities in honour of John the Apostle. In Germany they are most often associated with the Christmas season. They are also sometimes sold at carnivals and fairs. In China, a similar treat called Tanghulu is made by coating small fruits (traditionally hawthorns) with hard sugar syrup. Candy apples, grapes, strawberries and tangerines are commonly available at Japanese festivals[5]. In France, those candies are called French: Pommes d'amour (literally: Apples of love). In Canada, they are very popular and usually eaten at fairs or carnivals. In Israel, they are almost solely sold in cities' squares on Yom Ha'atzmaut eve (Israel Independence Day) as part of the street celebrations.