Popcorn Balls and other fun ways to use our harvest

[Worth1]

All I did was bring up the idea of using cane syrup to sweeten tomato jam.

Worth

[Deborah]

Glad to see that I'm not alone in being guilty of hijacking !

[coronabarb]

And voila...carry on.

[SharonRossy]

So now that we have our own thread, so to speak, yes, I do remember those little coke bottles and drinking that gross liquid, which was delicious. My parents got into a whole lot of trouble with the tax man because they never asked for tax on candies and stuff like that especially if kids came in. One day they got audited and bam, they had to pay a whole lot of tax. Half the time they didn't even charge the kids for pretzel sticks and such.
Speaking of making your own stuff and selling it, my mom was famous for her lentil soup and corned beef, (even if we weren't Irish, Lol!) and she would make it and sell it in our grocery store. It was a huge hit for many years until the health department came and shut that down. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted!

[SharonRossy]

Super Elastic Bubble Plastic - Anyone remember that one? Obviously not to eat - I loved playing with that stuff. I can still smell it! Oh, yea, I am dating myself.....

[Worth1]

The Irish dont eat that much corned beef and is mostly sold to tourists.
Even though they made it they couldn't afford to eat it.
Sort of like people making things in other countries today that are sold here and in Europe.
Much of the candy of yesterday was healthier than it is today.
Much of it was based around nuts.

If you are working hard two bags of peanuts and a bottle of coke are a better lunch than a Big Mac.

I didn't get to have many of the toys some of the kids got and had to make sling shots with a forked stick old shoe leather and inner tubes.
If I wanted an exotic pet I had to go out and catch it and hope it didn't eat me alive before I got it tamed.

Water wiggles and slip and slides were out because it would pump the well dry.
Our slip and slide was the mud bank at the creek.
Many of the toys today and even back then required a side walk or they were worthless.
Try a sidewalk surfboard or roller skates on a gravel road.
The apothecary and drug store down town here still sells a lot of the old school candy.
Like the hard flavored sticks in the plastic wrapper about 6 inches long.
Horehound root beer and so on.

You go in the place and it is from the past even the stuff they keep things in are old like the 1800's.

We have a place here that has been around for years called the sugar shack.
The sell everything.
Take a look at what all they sell.
http://www.sugarshackbastrop.com/candy.html


Worth

[coronabarb]

Bit o' Honey, Big Hunk and Abbazabba...yum. But I can't eat those anymore. Want to keep my teeth :v

[SharonRossy]

Oh yeah, all that candy! Every parent's nightmare

[twilightrose]

Originally Posted by SharonRossy

I just realized when I checked out Steen's syrup, that my mother would always make popcorn balls at Halloween, and she must have used that. I grew up in Syracuse, NY. Of course, today you could never make those and give them away, they'd end up in the garbage for fear of being poisoned! Oh how I loved those popcorn balls!

My mom made pop corn balls for years, until one year, the neighbor kids, who were our playmates admitted they always threw them away. That was sometime in the mid 80's. Mom never made them again, it was heartbreaking. I was born in Syracuse, raised in Rochester, must be a regional thing. Good to meet you SharonRossy Thanks for putting pop corn balls into my head, I'm going to have to ask for her recipe now and make some.

[SharonRossy]

Hi twilightrose, ok so you are from my neck of the woods, but definitely younger, much younger! Wish I could ask her for the recipe, but I don't have psychic powers, lol! Wonder if the kids threw them away when my mom made them. Hope not, she put so much time and effort into it. Oh well, it's a different world today.
Good to meet you too! Gee, we both left Syracuse for decidedly different climates! Let me know if you make those popcorn balls!
Tonight we leave for Italy for 2 weeks, so I'll just have to work my way through pasta and prosciutto, . Could be worse, lol!
So where in Syracuse did you grow up? I lived on the west side, Bellevue and Rider Ave.

[greyghost]

I just got a mailing from www.vermontcountrystore.com They carry a lot
of the old fashioned candy as well as toiletries , cosmetics from way back when.
Free shipping over $65.00. That'd buy a lot of fireballs, etc.

Have a great time in Italy, Sharon!

[SharonRossy]

Greyghost, thanks,and I'll have to check that out when I get back!!! Looks like my kind of store, a trip down memory lane!

[Father'sDaughter]

We visit the Vermont Country Store at least once a year. It's a wonderful trip down memory lane!

[SharonRossy]

I'm pretty sure my mom made caramel popcorn balls and used condensed milk and brown sugar and butter, don't think she used corn syrup. Wish I had the recipe, it would be fun to make for my grandchildren, just a few as a trial run. Oh well, I'll just have to struggle to eat my way thru Italy for the moment! lol

[coronabarb]

I'm sure you could find a recipe or two online. We have so much at our fingertips these days.