Evangeline's Original Caramel Corn

New Hampshire, where I grew up, has plenty of small, local artisans and small batch gourmet food brands, such as Van Otis Chocolates.

Van Otis was started in 1935-ish by a woman, Evangeline Hasiotis, in Manchester, NH.  Her first real storefront didn't show up until 1958, when the company was also given its official name, Van Otis (which comes from a few letters of her first and last names).  Fudge is their specialty.  And while I do like chocolates, that alone wouldn't cause me to take any note of this company.  But they also have a second product line: Evangeline's Popcorn.  As you may know, I'm an avid snacker, and in particular, have a weakness for popcorn.

But Evangeline's Popcorn isn't actually their creation.  They purchased Hutchinson’s Candy in 2020, who was known for their popcorn line, and just rebranded it.  Anyway.

"Evangeline's Popcorn is a sweet treat sure to make life a little sweeter for kids of all ages!"

They make two styles of kettle corn (white chocolate covered or regular salted "seaside"), and two styles of caramel corn (original or maple).  I had only the original caramel corn, when it was in my Christmas stocking this year (thanks, Santa!).

Original Caramel Corn.

"Popped fresh in-house in New Hampshire at Van Otis Chocolates, this caramel popcorn features light, airy popcorn coated in sweet, buttery caramel. A classic treat made for easy snacking and sharing."

The popcorn pieces themselves were large, fluffy, and well popped.  No duds.

The popcorn is very classic butter toffee style caramel corn.  Incredibly sweet, and each piece is very well coated, so there is no escaping the sweet.  No partially coated pieces to give you a slight sweet break, should you want that.  The flavor is intensely buttery (in addition to the sweetness).  It tastes rich and decadent.

I liked it, but this is not a popcorn that I could accidentally devour the whole bag in just a few minutes, as it got to be too sweet for me.  I found myself wanting to mix it with some plain, salted, or even cheesy corn, or to at least have some peanuts in it, or even use it as an ice cream topping.  Good, but just a bit too much, although I don't necessarily consider it a bad thing that a bag lasted more than one sitting for me.

For this style of popcorn, it was quite good, but this isn't what I generally would pick as a top choice.  3/5 for me, although I can acknowledge that quality wise it is a 4/5.