Aplets: An American Candy Inspired by Turkish Delight

Candies made by thickening fruit juice or puree have been made for centuries. These included fruit pastes, pâtes de fruits and lokum, also known as Turkish Delight, Traditionally these depended on the natural pectin in fruit or added starch served as the thickening agents. In mid-19th century gelatin in sheets or powdered came on the market and recipes for Turkish Delight thickened by gelatin began to appear late in the late 19th century. 

My first encounter with this kind of candy came in the form of Aplets and Cotlets, produced by Liberty Orchards in Cashmere, Washington. The Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State gives a good summary of Aplets. 

Armen Tertsagian immigrated from Armenia to Seattle in 1906. Mark (Marcar) Balaban came from Turkey to Seattle in 1913. In 1915 the two men purchased an apple orchard in Cashmere, Washington. 

According to the article: “Sometime around 1920, Balaban and Tertsagian hit upon the idea of using excess apples to make locum rahat, a confection both had enjoyed as children and which was not widely produced commercially in the United States. Using their own home kitchens, the partners developed a recipe made from apples and walnuts, and began marketing it throughout the Pacific Northwest under the trademarked name Aplets. On February 23, 1921, an ad in The Seattle Times for the Augustine & Kyer grocery chain . . . touted Aplets as "A new confection, made in Cashmere, from the finest Washington apples and honey and walnuts" 

Recently I’ve been digitizing the cookbook of M. Louise Brown. Brown began her cookbook in 1900 when she was a young teacher in Pittsfield, New Hamshire. She and her husband moved across the country to Seattle in 1908. Her cookbook contains two undated recipes for aplets.

Aplets Soak 2 Tbs granulated sugar gelatin in 1/2 c cold apple juice (fresher the juice the better the candy will be) for 10 min. 3/4 c apple juice in sauce pan, add 2 c white sugar Bring to a boil, add gelatin and boil 15 minutes. Remove from fire, and let stand until it starts to set, stir in a generous 1 c broken nut meats 1 ts vanilla When set cut and roll in powdered sugar

Aplets 2 c sugar 1 c apple pulp Boil 5 minutes, simmer 15 then add 2 Tb gelatin which has been soaked 5 min. in 5 Tb cold water, then simmer 15 min more 1/8 ts salt, rose geranium flavor 3/4 c nuts 

 If you’d like to try these recipes, I recommend the one using apple pulp. You can cook the apples and puree them yourself, or just used store-bought applesauce. The recipe I’ve been using for several years (and the one pictured in the photo at the top): 

Soften and let stand for 10 minutes.
3 envelopes Knox powdered gelatin (.75 oz)
1/2 cup applesauce
Add:
3/4 applesauce
2 cups sugar
Bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes.
Remove from heat and add 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 cups chopped walnuts. Put into a buttered 9x9 inch pan and refrigerate for 24 hours. Cut into squares and roll in powdered sugar. Store in a non-airtight container at room temperature.