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Freeze Chocolate Without Risking Bloom
Posted By RCI, Tuesday, June 15, 2021
Updated: Friday, August 20, 2021

 

Here's some fun ideas for the Fourth of July! Transform your favorite sweets into your festive treats by adding a whole lot of red, white and ooooh!

 

Plum Crazy
Credit: Plum Crazy

 

Patriotic Pretzels

This sweet and salty treat will be hard to pass up with the addition of colored confectioners coating and sprinkles to resemble the American flag.

 


Credit: I Wash You Dry

 

Pop Rocks® Popcorn

Offer a package of Pop Rocks® as an add-on to your festive white chocolate coated popcorn (or really add popcorn treat) for a little unexpected fun this Fourth of July. Click here to read our past blog post with more inspiration, plus a helpful tip for working with Pop Rocks® in confections.

 


Credit: Delish

 

Freedom Bark

Swirls of red, white and blue are a beautiful sight and make for a sweetly patriotic treat. Consider adding dried blueberries, cherries, cranberries or coconut for added flavor and texture while staying true to the color scheme.

 


Credit: Taste and Tell Blog

 

Fourth of July Tie-Dye Fudge

Transform classic white chocolate fudge into a summer holiday hero! Consider a mash-up of blueberry and strawberry flavors to give it a fresh mixed berry vibe!

This Fourth of July will certainly be one to remember! We hope this offers some inspiration for your holiday celebration.

Crave more? If you like what you read here, look for the "Subscribe now" box on the right to enter your email address and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's Tip of the Week blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices.

Tags:  4th of July  Bark  Fudge  Popcorn  Pretzels 

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Tips for Making Caramel Stick to Apples + Summer Inspiration
Posted By RCI, Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Updated: Thursday, July 30, 2020

 

Have you ever experienced problems with caramel slipping off your caramel apples? The wax on your apple may be the culprit. By simply wiping each apple with a damp cloth prior to dipping, you can remove the waxy residue that rests on the apples.

An apple naturally produces a waxy film to protect itself, however, in some instances additional food-grade wax is added by suppliers to further increase an apple’s shelf life. For this reason, it could save you time and effort to request unwaxed apples from your supplier, if they do add wax to their apples.

If that doesn’t help, consider adding white compound to your caramel at a 5 to 1 ratio to help it better adhere to the apple.

If you can’t wait to test this out, here’s a few summer-inspired caramel apples ideas to try too!

 

 

Patriotic Caramel Apples
Show your patriotic stripes with drizzles of red and blue over a white chocolate coated caramel apple.

Zesty Coconut Caramel Apples
Think tropical by adding a generous helping of toasted coconut and a little lime zest to your caramel apples.

Wormy Caramel Apple
Turn shoppers heads with these fun, wormy caramel apples!

 

 

S’mores Caramel Apples
Transform your caramel apples into a s’mores lover’s dream by adding layers of graham crackers, marshmallows and drizzled chocolate. 

Was this tip helpful? If so, let us know in the comments below.

Crave more? If you like what you read here, look for the "Subscribe now" box on the right to enter your email address and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's Tip of the Week blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices.

Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.

Tags:  4th of July  Apple  Candy Hacks  Caramel  Caramel Apple  Caramel Apples  Caramels  Coconut  Idea Sharing  Inspiration  Problem Candy  S'mores  Something on a Stick Day  Summer 

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Festive Treats for Fourth of July
Posted By RCI, Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Updated: Thursday, July 30, 2020

 

Here's some fun ideas for the Fourth of July! Transform your favorite sweets into your festive treats by adding a whole lot of red, white and ooooh!

 

Plum Crazy

 

Patriotic Pretzels

This sweet and salty treat will be hard to pass up with the addition of colored confectioners coating and sprinkles to resemble the American flag.

 

 

Pop Rocks® Popcorn

Offer a package of Pop Rocks® as an add-on to your festive white chocolate coated popcorn (or really add popcorn treat) for a little unexpected fun this Fourth of July. Click here to read our past blog post with more inspiration, plus a helpful tip for working with Pop Rocks® in confections.

 

 

Freedom Bark

Swirls of red, white and blue are a beautiful sight and make for a sweetly patriotic treat. Consider adding dried blueberries, cherries, cranberries or coconut for added flavor and texture while staying true to the color scheme.

 

 

Fourth of July Tie-Dye Fudge

Transform classic white chocolate fudge into a summer holiday hero! Consider a mash-up of blueberry and strawberry flavors to give it a fresh mixed berry vibe!

This Fourth of July will certainly be one to remember! We hope this offers some inspiration for your holiday celebration.

Crave more? If you like what you read here, look for the "Subscribe now" box on the right to enter your email address and start receiving weekly tips, like this, delivered straight to your email inbox. RCI's Tip of the Week blog is just one of the many resources we offer to help candy makers refine their craft and build upon their business and marketing practices.

Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.


Tags:  4th of July  Bark  Candy Holidays  Celebrations  Colors  Fudge  Holidays  Inspiration  Labor Day  Memorial Day  Patriotic  Popcorn  Seasonal 

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Candy Hack: Avoid This Salty Situation
Posted By RCI, Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Updated: Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Image courtesy of Flickr andVegan FeastCatering
The combination of salty and sweet makes chocolate-covered pretzels a popular treat any time of the year. Save yourself from creating a salty mess in your chocolate and in your cooling tunnel. Before enrobing pretzels in chocolate, dump them on a cooling rack, placed over a tray, to catch the excess salt. This simple tip will save time and money from extra cleaning needed for your equipment as well as the need to replace salty chocolate.
Photo courtesy ofPinkCakePlate.com

Encourage seasonal interest by adding nonpareils or colored coatings to tie in with a merchandising display or holiday theme. Add a punch of patriotism for 4th of July and Labor Day with red, white and blue sprinkles and colorful striping with red and blue confectionery coatings.


Photo courtesy ofMakeBakeCelebrate.com
Just as easy as changing the colors of your sprinkles, you can switch gears for fall by incorporating these chocolate-covered pumpkin pretzels into your product lineup. These festive pretzels are almost too cute to eat!

Looking for more inspiration for your chocolate-covered pretzels? Try HalfBakedHarvest.com’s recipe for Chocolate-Covered Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels and take salty and sweet next level! However delicious it may be, you will definitely want to use this week’s tip on this recipe!

Stay connected with RCI through Facebook for more tips and inspiration dedicated to the retail candy maker. Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.

Tags:  4th of July  Candy Hacks  Chocolate  Fall  Halloween  Patriotic  Recipe 

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Tip # 192: Make your Favorite Summer Treats Pop!
Posted By RCI, Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Updated: Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Pop Rocks TrufflesfromLove & Olive Oil, Patrotic Strawberries fromOur Best Bites,
Firecracker Bark fromNot Your Momma's Cookie
Get things poppin’ this summer with the surprising addition of Pop Rocks® to your favorite summer recipes! Put a little unexpected zing into your truffles or sprinkle on top of chocolate-covered potato chips, chocolate-covered strawberries, barks or really anything, by incorporating this fun and festive candy into your Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day celebrations! The fun nature of the Pop Rocks makes these products great to sample during busy traffic days or promote on social media.
 
Keep in mind, Pop Rocks may react to the water content found in heavy cream or other ingredients used in the above recipes. To avoid this, simply coat the Pop Rocks in cocoa butter to protect the “pop” until it hits consumer’s mouths!

Pop Rocks® is a registered trademark of Zeta Espacial SA.
Stay connected with RCI through Facebook for more tips and inspiration dedicated to the retail candy maker. Not a member? Click here to learn how RCI can help you build your sweet business.

Tags:  4th of July  Bark  Candy Holidays  Candy Making  Holidays  Ideas  Labor Day  Memorial Day  Patriotic  Strawberries  Truffles 

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