Caramel apples or toffee apples are whole apples covered in a layer of caramel. They are created by dipping or rolling -on-a-stick in hot caramel, sometimes then rolling them in nuts or other small savories or confections, and allowing them to cool. When these additional ingredients, such as nut toppings, are added, the caramel apple can be called a taffy apple.
In recent years, it has become increasingly popular to decorate caramel apples for holidays like Halloween. Methods used to do this include applying sugar or salt to softened caramel, dipping cooled, hardened apples in white or milk chocolate, or painting designs onto finished caramel apples with white chocolate colored with food coloring.
Classically, the preferred apples for use in caramel apples are tart-tasting apples with a crisp texture such as Granny Smith.
In 1948, the Kastrup family founded The Affy Tapple Company in Chicago. The recipe for their caramel apples came from Edna Kastrup and is still used today for their "The Original Caramel Apple" line
In 1960, Vito Raimondi patented the first automatic caramel apple making machine, replacing much of the process that involved production by hand.
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