Halloween Candy

[EddMarkStarr]

I can remember when candy was waay more than just chocolate.

Here's a 1960's TV spot featuring actor Frank Nelson, directed by Stan Freberg:

 

[NotHardUp1]

I was just browsing YouTube videos on making honey taffy, as I plan to make some to give to co-workers to give their kids (no trick or treaters on my street.)

It is almost shocking how many idiots make videos about stuff they don't know anything about.

The first one was some redneck making it in a dimly lit kitchen that was nonetheless light enough to see filth and grime on his black smoothtop range. He mumbled around vague food terms as he cooked which indicated he knew nothing about cooking or candy making. He took the honey to the wrong temp and it failed, of course, but he acted like it was the recipe, despite storing it in the fridge to hold shape. Somewhat horrificly, he poured 280 F candy into a plastic-wrap lined dish, which means it outgassed into the candy as it cooled, because it's not rated to go over 180 F.

The second video was a doddering grandmother teaching her teenage granddaughter while the son/father filmed. She kept bragging about how she liked the crunch of taffy. That's right. She had been making brittle for over 50 years, calling it taffy. She also kept making vague references to cooking and candy terms, mentioning altitude affected it, as it certainly does, but it was clear she didn't know that it lowered the temperature necessary.

A third video featured a nature boy about 45 with a final product he took one bite of and immediately admitted he had taken it too high and he could not chew it. Why do these people make videos of them failing without showing it right? Is this some kind of cooking aversion therapy?

The fourth one featured a host who was maybe 20 and was making a homemade Bit-O-Honey candy. He failed at two or three stages of the process, the worst of which, he poured it into a plastic bowl when it was 280 F. The bowl didn't melt, but it was never designed to withstand that temp. Then he stirred in powdered milk of an indefinite amount until he literally had too much to be absorbed, and then transferred it to an 8" x 8" brownie pan he had lined with foil. He immediately messed up and began crumpling the foil and had to jettison it. As he poured it, he literally told the viewer to "try not to get the extra milk" into the pan.

Yet another showed a pair of oafish hands adding the ingredients to a non-stick saucepan that had been scraped down to bare metal at the bottom, and was still being used. Sure enough, you could plainly see black flecks of the coating in her candy at the end. Just kill me.

We don't need Artificial Intelligence. We can get misinformation directly from the hoi polloi.

 

[EddMarkStarr]

One of the joys of eating a Bit-O-Honey bar is not chewing but just let the taffy melt in your mouth. It really takes time to eat the whole bar and it falls in the category of long lasting candies that didn't cost a lot of money. As a child, a nickel or a dime would buy a nice haul of candy. For a quarter, you could buy a whole bag filled with candy!

Candy making is less like cooking and more like chemistry. My cousin, in 1968, performed a candy making experiment as a class science project. All utensils and cooking surfaces had to be spotless. Measurements and temperatures had to be accurate and no cross contamination was allowed. All that hard work resulted in an "A" grade for my cousin and lots of wonderful candy for everyone.

The rise of commercial candies resulted a flood of sweets, but only a few were based on chocolate. I miss all the old variety.

 

[EddMarkStarr]

Here's a novelty for that special Trick 'r Treater!

 

[Thad1527]

Clark bars were another of Pittsburgh's gifts to the universe.
I regret consolidation of the candy industry. Jacqueline Mars made enough to be the richest woman in New Jersey. She has moved. She's now the richest woman in Virginia.

 

[Maklaar13]

About ten years ago we had a lot of trick or treaters and were running out of candy. I remember that I had brought back some great candy from Iceland. I added it to the mix and handed it to the children. The next weekend we had some friends over and after dinner we put the leftover candy out as dessert. Our friends pointed out that the yummy candy had some interesting wrappers. The pictures on the candy wrappers were of cartoon fruits depicting the Kama Sutra. We were first horrified, then could not stop laughing at the situation.

 

[me203]

Here's a 1960's TV spot featuring actor Frank Nelson, directed by Stan Freberg:

I love that ad!

It's funny, because I was just thinking of Frank Nelson a few days ago

This is off topic, but here is a short clip for those who don't remember Frank Nelson. I only remember him because of how much old TV I've watched. The way he'd turn and say yes was part of many, many performances over the years.

 

[rareboy]

We used to get a lot of really terrible post-war shit candies.

Including kisses and other little things wrapped in wax paper that tasted like wax paper.

When we gave out treats, they were premium quality but we only ever had a handful of kids come out to the farm in the early days so we ended up having days of snacks for ourselves.

 

[EddMarkStarr]

We used to get a lot of really terrible post-war shit candies.

Including kisses and other little things wrapped in wax paper that tasted like wax paper.

When we gave out treats, they were premium quality but we only ever had a handful of kids come out to the farm in the early days so we ended up having days of snacks for ourselves.

Reminds me of Necco Wafers, one of the oldest candies in the USA, goes back to the 1800's.
The day after Halloween, the kids in my school would bring all their Necco Wafers to give away - to that one kid who liked them! (it wasn't me).

 

[rareboy]

omg...these still exist. I would toilet paper your house if you gave me these as a kid.

 

[FrodoTX]

don't get me started on this "peanut butter" shit

 

[Franco Verum]

I try to pass off my Halloween candy corn as Christmas edible witch shoes. No one figures it out.