This week’s Escape Plan challenge (aka our Tip of the Week) is #37: Tastes Like Childhood: Eat or drink something today that brings back childhood memories.
It’s ironic that today is the first day of fall (my favorite season!) This time of year elicits a plethora of childhood memories associated with food… candy corn, apple cider, pumpkin bars, and my ultimate favorite fall treat- homemade caramel apples. Mmm!
As a yearly tradition, my mom would pick up a bag of caramels and some apples from the store. My sisters and I would spend what seemed like hours unwrapping each individual caramel (smart mom, to delegate!). While my mom melted them on the stove, we’d go digging in the drawers looking for recycled popsicle sticks. This was before the sticks came with the caramels. We’d each take turns one-on-one with mom, stabbing an apple with a stick and dipping it into the pan of hot caramel. Mmm… I can still smell the sweet sugary caramel and tart apples now. The worst part was waiting a while for them to harden. Of course, I always wanted to dig in right away. The best part was that inevitable blob of caramel that would drip on the wax paper!
It’s amazing how the simple smells and tastes of food can so easily whisk you back to childhood. What culinary creation takes you back? Share with us in the comments on the Escape Plan Blog.
Caramel apples was one of my favorites as a kid too, although they were called Taffy Apples and they were rolled in peanuts. We made them occasionally, but usually just bought them in the store. I hadn’t had one for years and right as my mom was declining into Alzheimer’s but was still out and about a bit, she bought one for me as a surprise. I’m tearing up now thinking about it. Thanks for the memory!