Carmelcorn Shop - Easton, PA

Posted By Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle on December 27, 2007 5:16 PM

Are you someone who looks through a bag of potato chips to find the darkest ones? Is your favorite part of the pizza the slightly burnt edge of the crust? Do you keep the toaster down until it starts to smoke? If so, we have a treat for you. Dark-roasted peanuts, as made in Easton's Carmelcorn Shop, are regular peanuts that are left in the roaster extra-long, resulting in a pecan-hued nut with a serious crunch. They are well-salted, with a slightly bitter background note, and as you chew them they crumble into little bits, rather than turn to peanut butter as do regular roasted peanuts. We love 'em. Normal peanuts are also available, as well as just about any other kind of roasted nut you can think of.

We've always been attracted to the ancient nut/candy/popcorn shops in America's downtowns. Most are long gone, but a few stalwarts remain, such as M & D-R-Nuts a little further north in Binghamton, and the Carmelcorn Shop here in Easton. Open since 1931, the Carmelcorn Shop is a modest store on the square in Easton. A fire in their building closed them down at the end of '06, but they have since reopened and are as good as new! They, of course, make caramel corn. We often find ourselves with a big can of toothachingly sweet fundraiser candied popcorn around the holidays, purchased from a co-worker's tots. The stuff made at Carmelcorn couldn't be more different: the corn is freshly popped, and the result is the lightest caramel corn we've ever had. The taste is more of corn than candy.

When we next pass through we plan to try the homemade coconut candies they're also known for, including a coconut brittle that intrigues us.

Overall Rating

19 out of 19 people found the review helpful. Was it helpful to you?

No Yes

Posted By c on August 26, 2012 8:33 AM

Ridiculous place. Went on Saturday while the Farmers Market was in full operation. Ordered caramel corn. They ran out the day before. No one knew how to make the popcorn! This is the reason small businesses fail. I won't take the time to drive there again. Certainly do not drive out of your way.

Overall Rating

Carmelcorn

0 out of 0 people found the review helpful. Was it helpful to you?

No Yes

Posted By Rick Hageman on March 12, 2007 10:33 AM

Well, Easton's Carmelcorn Shop has finally reopened! Although the fire last fall took its toll, it's totally new inside... but still the same old place... GREAT!

Imagine my surprise on the re-opening day, having driven down from the Poconos, to find that they had not made my favorite: Carmelcorn! I did get a small box of nonpareils, at a rather pricey $11.50 per pound. When I asked the young lady (the owner's daughter?) how much per pound she could only say, "It depends on how much it weighs; I have to weigh the box to let you know." Finally, after the third time of trying to get my point across, I gave up and said, "Just give me $5 worth."

However, I did return the next day; they had already sold four batches of carmelcorn. I was glad to wait 10 minutes to get a large bag from batch number five. It's got to be the best carmelcorn I've ever tasted, bar none! So, having said all of that... make certain you visit this shop when traveling near Easton, PA. You'll be glad you stopped!

Overall Rating

6 out of 6 people found the review helpful. Was it helpful to you?

No Yes

Posted By Charles Sporn on August 21, 2005 11:43 PM

We did a day trip to Easton last year for the annual garden tour in the College Hill neighborhood, and stumbled into this place when we poked around Easton's very distinctive downtown. What a wonderful shop. This place brought back memories of trips with my parents to New York City, which used to be filled with nut and candy shops, but few now remain. Easton looks like it is making a comeback, and I hope the Carmelcorn stays around.

Overall Rating

3 out of 3 people found the review helpful. Was it helpful to you?

No Yes