Observance Daily What day is today, and why are we celebrating it?
National Caramel Apple Day is celebrated every year on 31 October, the same day as Halloween, in honour of the caramel apple, a classic autumn treat.
History: the popular story is that in the 1950s Kraft Foods employee Dan Walker, left with surplus caramel candies after Halloween, melted them down and dipped apples into the caramel, creating an instant autumn classic. Caramel itself dates back to around 1000 AD, and candy apples had already been popular, but the soft caramel coating became the Halloween version. Caramel apples quickly became the snack of hayrides, corn mazes and fall fairs. The day itself is an unofficial food observance, first traced in activity-professional magazines in the 2000s, and it is not a public holiday — offices, banks and schools keep normal hours.
How to celebrate: make caramel apples at home by melting caramels, dipping crisp apples such as Granny Smith or Jonathan, and rolling them in nuts, sprinkles or chocolate; buy one from a candy shop that coats its own; or serve sliced caramel apples with dip at a Halloween party.
Facts: in 1960 Vito Raimondi, with his uncle William Raimondi, invented and patented the first caramel apple machine; caramel apples are closely tied to the end of apple harvest in late October; a whole apple on Halloween night gets to count as candy, in the words of one modern guide.
Related: see also https://observancedaily.com/october-31