That evening after all was cleared away, Dad popped two kettlefuls of lovely corn and we sugared one and put taffy over the other. We heaped a large platter with balls till Dad said, “Oh, that’s enough,” for he wanted some left to eat. Well, I sent him off to the living room to eat and read. Ina Dobson, January 13, 1935
My dad loved caramel corn. Occasionally of a Friday or Saturday evening, he would pop corn, prepare the caramel mixture in a heavy iron skillet, then pour the syrup over the popcorn. He was always tweaking the recipe, never entirely satisfied, always trying to improve it. Once, much to my embarrassment, he asked the lady at the KarmelKorn counter to give him the recipe. She declined, apparently none to politely. Of course, things are different today. That recipe -- or a very close imitation -- is now available online if you care to search.
VANCE'S CARAMEL CORNFor a double recipe:
2 cups sugar
1 cup white Karo syrup
1/3 cup Grandma's Molasses
1/2 cup margarine
1 1/2 tsps soda
Combine ingredients except soda in a heavy skillet. Boil to 250 degrees. Dissolve soda in one tablespoon hot water and add to syrup. Pour over two large containers of popped corn, about 5 quarts each. Spread on cookie sheets and bake at 200 degrees until crisp.
When the syrup was ready to pour, Daddy would call for immediate assistance, and Mother would grab two forks and work quickly to toss the popcorn with the syrup as Daddy poured. It will set up quickly. We didn't always crisp it in the oven, and I prefer not to.
Apparently "sugared" or "candied" popcorn was a holiday treat in Grandma Ina's home, but I was disappointed that I couldn't find her recipe. The Christmas card on this page was one of my dad's that wasn't sent. Note the strange little house. The roof line is the same as those on yesterday's card.
And here's a picture apparently taken just for fun -- a rare thing indeed. I suppose it's Julian and Ina, though I can't say for sure. Note the photographer's shadow.
8 comments:
That's pretty fancy how Grandpa had the cards printed up with his name on them.
Is that the toboggan sled referenced earlier?
Mary Engelbreit often draws houses of that type; from what I've read, it was a popular house style in the twenties and maybe thirties. I have several of her embroidery cards and have embroidered a Christmas house very similar to the ones on the Christmas cards.
I LOVE caramel corn. It's another thing I don't make it anymore because Dan's not a lover. I could easily eat a whole batch by myself in no time, so I just don't have it around. But it sure sounds good!!
My mother often had our names printed on the cards. When you're sending a lot of cards, it's helpful. My parents maintained separate Christmas card lists, writing to their own friends.
There's a house of that type on 11th Avenue in Lewiston -- on a corner a block or so east of 8th Street. In past years its owner played up the fairy tale, magical appearance.
I hear you on the caramel corn, Chris. And the peanut brittle, and the fudge, and the etc., etc., etc.
Hallie, that's a sleigh, isn't it? And I think the sleigh Aunt Shirley mentioned belonged to someone else.
Steeply sloped roofs such as the one in this card are necessary in places where Winter is hard and snow is frequent. A roof can't collapse if the snow slides off! Think Switzerland and Austria with ski resorts in the Alps. Also, the A frame ski lodges in the U.S. are suited to places with heavy snow.
Interesting that Leah should mention that sloped roof. While driving through MOST of Idaho last summer we saw many trailer homes with sturdy, sloped "car port" structures built above them. Apparently, that's exactly the reason--to protect the trailer from the heavy snow.
I know you're right about those steep roofs, Leah, but isn't it strange that these renditions show the roof clad in snow nevertheless?
Of course there's snow on the roofs. It's a Christmas card and the artist can take artistic license whenever she/he sees fit. And think about the fact that there would have been more snow on the roof if it hadn't been sloped!
Hi Hallie. Glad to meet you.
What I'm really nostalgic about when Christmas cards come to mind is the cost of stamps in the 1930's and 40's.
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