The final installment in this Three-Day Series.
This is so very sweet. And here we go.
From the mystery of who made the first s’more to the dentists who invented a popular carnival snack.
• Ice Cream Sandwich
Of all places. The ice cream sandwich originated on the streets of New York.
Before those clangy ice cream trucks drove through Manhattan streets, there were hokey-pokey vendors on every street corner. Those people sold single slabs of ice cream between pieces of paper in the late 1800s.
Eventually, someone had the brilliant idea to put the ice cream between two wafers to make it easier to eat and carry. Marvelous. And then, they became those good, gooey chocolate wafers on either side of vanilla ice. And here they are. Still today.
• Salt Water Taffy
Atlantic City’s most famous treat wasn’t just an accident. It was a disaster.
Legend has it that when a candy store flooded after a storm in 1883, its entire stock of taffy was ruined. Or so the owner thought.
A little girl bought the so-called “salt water taffy” anyway and loved the sweet and salty combination. Soon after, adults and children alike started requesting it.
Who knows if it is true or not?
But one thing is for sure. Enoch James and Joseph Fralinger claimed to have invented it. In the 1920s, another man named John R. Edmiston trademarked salt water taffy and tried to sue other candy companies using the term. The Supreme Court ruled against him.
• Caramel Apples
And finally. Caramel apples came from an enterprising Kraft employee.
The sugar-coated candy apple is said to have originated in Newark, New Jersey. Dang, with New Jersey again. Anyway, a candy shop there claimed to have started the whole thing in 1908. The crunchy candy kind.
But the softer, gooier caramel version is credited to Dan Walker, a Kraft Foods employee. He was looking for uses for leftover Halloween caramel. So he melted them down, stuck a stick in an apple, and dipped it in. Magic.
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“Candy is childhood, the best and bright moments you wish could have lasted forever.” — Dylan Lauren
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“Never underestimate the power of a cookie.” — Charles M. Schulz
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“Sweetness is not just a flavor—it’s a way of life.” — James Freed
