Another little town on the Cascade Loop–Cashmere

After visiting Leavenworth, we decided we needed to check out a more typical Washington small town. So we drove just a few miles back down US 2 to the town of Cashmere. Cashmere is the home of ‘Aplets and Cotlets Candy’. I had no idea what aplets were, but I was sure willing to find out. First however, was a stop at a fruit market to buy more cherries…yum, and then to the Apple Cider Mill for tastings and an apple butter milkshake. The tastings were great, but they were all out of ice cream so no milkshake today!

A stop at the ‘Best Bite Restaurant’ did indeed prove to be the best bite of hamburger we have had in a long time! The restaurant was small but very lovely inside and all ingredients were very fresh. In fact they grind their own meat every morning! The big yellow thing below is cheddar cheese on the hamburger. The only down side to the hamburger was the tomato …. they still aren’t in season here so it was a hot house tomato.

Then off to the candy tour. Lee’s real cute in his hair net! I didn’t allow a picture of me!

A little history lesson from the website of Aplets and Cotlets:

The Early Days of Liberty Orchards...

Just after the turn of the century, a young Armenian named Armen Tertsagian emigrated from the Near East to the United States, working his way from Ellis Island across the rugged continent to the infant city of Seattle. There he met Mark Balaban, another young Armenian who was visiting from England. It wasn't long before the two became fast friends and decided to venture into business together.
But life in Seattle was far from easy. Their initial business ventures-- a yogurt factory and an Armenian restaurant-- were both ahead of their time. And the gray, wet winters were difficult for people used to the balmy eastern Mediterranean climate.
So Mark and Armen packed up and headed for Eastern Washington. On the far side of Stevens Pass, nestled at the foot of the Cascade Mountains they found a valley carpeted with fruit orchards. It was here, in the fertile Vale of Cashmere that they settled, purchasing an apple farm which they named Liberty Orchards in honor of their new homeland.
Times were tough for most orchardists in 1918, so Mark and Armen searched for new ways to make use of their surplus fruit. Apple dehydration seemed a logical first move and, coinciding with the onset of World War I, Northwest Evaporating was born. This new enterprise not only assisted the local farmers, but helped the war effort by providing "an apple a day" for the boys "over there". Other successes for Liberty Orchards included "Applum"- a delicious jam made from apples and plums, and a local cannery named Wenatchee Valley Foods.

The cannery, Mark & Armen's main business in the 1930's and 1940's, grew so rapidly that Mark's nephew, John Chakirian, was invited to join the company. During that same period, another use for surplus fruit occurred to Mark and Armen. Why not use apples to make Rahat Locoum, the popular near eastern candy they had loved as children? After much "research and development" on the kitchen stove, they perfected a delicious apple and walnut recipe. The candy was an immediate success, and soon Armen began traveling throughout the Pacific Northwest selling the "Confection of the Fairies," also known as Aplets®.
A few years later Cotlets®, made from apricots and walnuts , was introduced. Before long, people were sending Aplets & Cotlets to faraway friends and relatives as gifts from the Pacific Northwest. Gift recipients, unable to find the candy in local stores, began writing to Liberty Orchards to order more. A thriving Mail Order Department was born which continues to this day.
During World War II, sugar was a rationed commodity and Aplets & Cotlets became a "batch here, batch there" operation. But since food was a big part of the war effort, Mark and Armen concentrated on canning. When wartime hostilities ended in 1945, the cannery was sold so that Liberty Orchards could concentrate on the candy business.

Of course we sampled and bought! The candy is yummy and has now become a favorite of mine.

Just an example of another American success story and small town treasure!