Caramel and crunch plus a dash of childhood nostalgia makes caramel corn a fun, festive treat any time of year. Whether it’s out of a bowl, a bag or a small box with a prize inside, it’s a sweet-salty indulgence.
Caramel corn — essentially popped kernels of corn coated in candy — has deep roots in the snack world. It was reportedly invented by a pair of Germans in the 1870s. Two decades later — in 1896 — they added peanuts to the mix and introduced it to the world as Cracker Jack. Through the years, the snack has taken on many iterations, including the addition of ingredients such as almonds or cashews, white or dark chocolate, pumpkin spices, even cheese. For this taste test, we focused on basic caramel corn, with or without nuts.
Two kernels into the tasting, we realized that flavor differences between brands are huge and range from buttery to molasses-forward. The best caramel corn is a masterful nugget of salty, sweet, crunchy deliciousness. It delivers an impressive hit of rich, homemade caramel flavor with just enough salt to tame the sugar. Bad caramel corn is too sweet, too salty or entirely lacking in caramel flavor. The worst is little more than sugar poured on stale popcorn.
Here’s the scoop on the caramel-coated nibbles to enjoy, and the sugary, ho-hum bites that aren’t worth the calories or the money. Nutrition info refers to 1 ounce, roughly ½ a cup.While this doesn’t hit the deep notes of kettle-cooked caramel, the kernels are covered in light caramel that tastes exactly like a Werther’s caramel. It’s crunchy, sweet and entirely tasty. 140 calories, 4.5 g fat, 150 mg sodium, 14 g sugar, 1 g protein. $2.98 for 5.29 ounces at Walmart.