Caramel Apple inventor and Halloween Hero Dan Walker


Caramel apples are one of my all time favorite fright-fest foods. I never really took the time to look up the origins of how such a delicious confection combining the delicious burnt sugar of caramel with the amazing tartness of a nice green or red apple.  I have enjoyed making and eating this tasty treat for as long as I can remember.

caramel apple

We should all thank one Dan Walker for his efforts in the late 1950’s. A Kraft Foods sales representative at the time, Dan is credited with inventing this sweet wonder.  Walker said he discovered the recipe when experimenting with excess caramels from Halloween sales. He simply melted them down and added apples, and the rest is history. While these seminal Halloween treats were made by hand for the first decade or so of their existence, Vito Raimondi of Chicago, Illinois made and patented the first automated caramel apple machine in 1960.  Later, making caramel apples got a lot easier because in 1977 Kraft Foods introduced its wrapples kit. Wrapples came with sheets of caramel that can be wrapped over fresh apples and then a popsicle stick stuck through the top. Thank you Dan and my children thank you too!  Now go make some!

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About JayCooper

Puzzled WebWizard from Mount Juliet Tennessee. Married for 25+ years to a wonderful wife with three grown sons.

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