Yes, you read it right folks! There is a day dedicated for Caramel Apple and it is TODAY. 31st Oct, is celebrated as National Caramel Day people along with Halloween, bet not many know that right? As if October 31 wasn’t awesome enough, think costumes and candy, ghouls and fools.
Caramel apples and Halloween go together like ghosts, goblins, tricks, and treats. The tradition stretches back decades to the day a creative Kraft confectioner invented the wonderfully simple recipe while trying to figure out what to do with a bunch of excess Halloween caramels.
Let’s dig up some history about this:
1000 AD
There’s no consensus as to the origins of caramel, but some experts say a hard, crunchy version of caramel was first concocted by Arabs.
6500 BC
According to some historians, apple trees were the first trees to be cultivated by humans. In fact, experts argue, the origin of all modern-day varieties of apples was in Anatolia (near present-day Turkey).
The 1800s
Halloween became a bonafide holiday celebration due to the influence of Irish and Scottish immigrants. By 1900, many Americans celebrated the spooky holiday, which ultimately grew into a cultural phenomenon — from sea to “The Shining” sea.
The 1950s
According to legend, a Kraft Foods employee named Dan Walker invented the first caramel apple one day during the 1950s when he was trying to figure out what to do with a bunch of extra caramel candies. Good thinkin’, Dan!
The 1970s
Kraft Foods introduced “Wrapples” (with commercials featuring “Johnny Wrappleseed”). These were small slices of caramel that could be wrapped over apples to make quick-and-easy caramel apples at home.
Do you need reasons to love this day? Here are some:
1) Caramel apples are golden AND delicious
Apples are perfectly tasty on their own, of course. But the addition of a caramel coating turns the whole apple-eating experience into something extra yummy.
2) Golden, delicious caramel is Apple-friendly
There’s just something sweet and special about the way melted caramel coats the outside of a bright red apple. It’s like they were made for each other.
3) Caramel apples keep your hands clean
Caramel apples are delectable treats — and with the clever addition of a stick, you don’t have to go up your hands while you’re eating one, unless you want to, of course. Stick-less caramel apple-eaters unite!