I have already written about the glorious toffee apple and posted recipes for them. But here they are again, a worthy second mention. Who can forget unwrapping them from their cellophane, vowing to lick that toffee off but always caving and biting into it after just a few licks. Hearing that familiar crack of the toffee as we bite into it and getting a mouthful of sweet toffee combined with (hopefully) a slightly tart tasting apple.
Toffee apples to me always transport me back to either a fairground, with all the whizzing rides, the bright lights and loud music or to a small house in our village in Wales, where an old lady always had them on display for sale in her front window.
As a professional chef, I have used the principle of a toffee apple many times; my two favourites are
- making them and then blitzing them and using it to then flavour ice cream
- replacing the apple with a cherry tomato, the stick with a toothpick and coating the toffee sea salt crystals. These I serve as part of an amuse bouche or as a cocktail savoury
candy floss
If we are talking fairgrounds and food, then top of the list with toffee apples has to be candy floss. I have never been a candy floss enthusiast, I can eat it and appreciate it but I would go for a toffee apple everytime if asked.
Every kid in the UK will have fond memories of seeing it for sale at the seaside resorts, often sold in bags, but for a true enficienado it must be freshly spun and served on a stick. Stood there watching the vendor turn the machine on, and swirling it around and around the stick. Seaside holidays are aroma memories of toffee apples, cockles, fish and chips and candy floss being made.
Anyone else remember growing up in Plymouth, and every year, 'the fair would come to town' and set up on the fields down at Laira? The dodgems, the ferris wheel and the Walters? All with the music of Gary Glitter or Slade pounding out!
popcorn
Unlike the US, popcorn was not a great favourite in the UK until probably the late 70's early 80's. maybe there was vendors out there at the afore mentioned fairgrounds but not to my memory. Nor, unlike today, did every cinema have a popcorn machine.
If we were to have popcorn it came pre-made in bags from a manufacturer. There was rainbow popcorn, that came in a multitude of colours but was neither candied or salted, but just slightly sweet.
Or there was the luxury Butterkist popcorn, that was caramel coated that you may got as a special treat at the cinema.
As an adult, I love popcorn. All to easy to make these days with the microwave packets, but give me a large saucepan and a lid any day to make it fresh with. That way I can make it the way I want; candied, lightly coated with icing sugar, lightly salted, heavily buttered or my personal favourite bacon flavoured! recipe - bacon popcorn
001 cup popping corn
008 pc rashers of streaky bacon
recipe - method of production
Grill or fry the bacon until crisp (reserving the rendered fat) Allow the bacon to cool and go extra crisp, and then pulse to a powder (not to fine) in a food processor. Place the rendered fat into an over-sized saucepan and heat until quite hot, pour in the popcorn, place on a tight fitting lid and pop away. Shake pan from time to time to settle the un-popped corn the the bottom. When the last of the corn has been popped, remove lid, sprinkle over the bacon powder and shake pan to coat evenly. Enjoy!
hanky panky
At some stage the manufacturer Pascall's, put out a product called Hanky Panky
Clusters of toffee coated popcorn that from memory also had peanuts in them?
I remember the comic brilliance of Arthur Lowe was used to advertise them
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amvW0OTn9Xc
But am told that Adam and the Ants were also used, though I don't remember that, maybe someone out there knows a link to the advert? As a side issue, I used to 'hang' with Stuart (Adam) and also appeared in one of his pop videos (and no I am not going to tell you which one, search for yourself ;-)
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