It’s good to see the American entrepreneurial spirit still alive and well. I got an email recently from Pete of Pete’s Caramels offering to send me a batch of his caramels to try. Never being one to pass up free candy, I said “Sure! Send them on!”
Here’s the story in a nutshell: Pete’s a senior in high school who loves to cook. He’s been perfecting his caramel recipe for years and he thinks he finally got it right so he started his own business making and selling the caramels. They’re made with all natural ingredients and no preservatives. He even takes orders for custom flavored caramels and you can get a sample of his caramels for a measly buck. Sounds like a good business plan.
So, I got my batch of caramels in the mail and couldn’t wait to try them out. They are hand-wrapped in wax paper though he said he may be switching to or offering cellophane wrap soon. The caramels were very soft – much softer than those Kraft caramel cubes we all know.
How do they taste? They’re awesome. Sweet, buttery, creamy – all the things you want in a caramel candy. My wife said it’s the best caramel she’s ever had and I agree. Fantastic. Pete suggests trying them melted on things like ice cream and cake even. My wife sliced up an apple to eat the next day and a light bulb went off in my head – caramel apple! I threw two caramels in a ramekin and popped it in the microwave for 20 seconds (10 seconds twice). Then we dipped the apple slices into the caramel – heaven!
He also sent us a single Raspberry Caramel and a single Maple Caramel. The Raspberry Caramel looked only slightly pinkish so I figured it would be a subtle raspberry flavor and it was. Very nice. The raspberry flavor nicely compliments the caramel but doesn’t overpower it. The maple flavor was very faint, which is good because maple can be overpowering. It’s nice and subtle and in the background. Not bad at all, but I prefer the plain or raspberry caramels.
These caramels are amazingly good. They’re pretty sweet though – I couldn’t eat more than two in a sitting. They are definitely good enough to earn the Candy Addict Awesomely Addictive Candy Award. Congrats, Pete! I predict sweet success for you!
Thanks, Brian! I can’t tell you how neat it is to be on my favorite candy blog! I look forward to making some caramels for fellow candy addicts.
August 25th, 2006 at 10:09 amPeter is the MAN. Everyone buy his candies!!!! I’m buying some soon.
August 25th, 2006 at 11:23 pmHey, what\’s up with your website, Pete? I went to buy some carmels today (9/11/06) and your site wouldn\’t come up.
RESPONSE: Looks like it\’s working now – try again! :)
September 11th, 2006 at 7:53 pm–Brian
[...] Our buddy Pete from Pete’s Caramels was recently interviewed for a NY Times article on young entrepreneurs and he mentioned us in the interview! (Thanks, Pete!) It’s an interesting article about how kids are coming up with business ideas and making money and a few paragraphs are devoted to Pete and his candy business. Give it a read and stop by Pete’s Caramels if you haven’t already – good stuff! [...]
January 27th, 2007 at 10:48 am