More Reviews of Carolyn's Handmade

Reviews

World Famous Taste Spread By Word Of Mouth There's nothing on the market today like Carolyn's original spiced nuts. They are crunchy, lightly spiced and sugared and salty-sweet pecans to which food lovers of all ages are becoming addicted. But don't just take our word for it. Look at what customers and critics have to say about this taste sensation:

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GIFTS THEY'LL BE NUTS ABOUT Belmont and Concord Shops Offer Tasty Idea

Looking for a gift for your favorite gourmet? Or seeking an alternative to flowers and chocolates as offerings to holiday hostesses? Consider the nut. Nuts are such seasonal standbys that we take them for granted, but two local companies have perfected the art of transforming the humble nut into elegant and scrumptious gifts.

Suppose you don't like nuts? Tell Hans van Putten that you don't like pecans and he will bet you a bottle of champagne that you'll like his.

Since taking over Carolyn's Pecans in West Concord earlier this year, Dutch-born van Putten and his English wife Tracey have learned a lot about nuts, pecans in particular. Like the fact that pecans are highly sensitive to weather, and that Carolyn's classic sweet and salty variety makes a knockout combination with blue cheese.

Savoring the after-taste of a mouth-watering orange-flavored pecan, van Putten says "Razors and razor blades you can't eat," a reference to his former life as an executive with Gillette International. Now the challenge he sets himself is to add to the company's range of products by introducing new flavors to pecans, and adapting Carolyn's secret spice-coating process to other nut varieties.

Although Carolyn's Pecans is tucked away down a back street, there is a steady stream of customers in the tiny shop with sunshine yellow walls. Carole Bourne of Marbehead is a first-time buyer who says she will be back for more. She bought a tin of sweet and salty pecans for a friend and thinks them "a great hostess gift, especially around the holidays."

"These are delicious. These are to die for," says Natalie Friberg of Concord, who has just stocked up for Thanksgiving.

Pecan fans and their generous friends can choose nuts in three flavors - sweet and salty, tangy orange and no-salt-in attractive packaging ranging from an 8-ounce burlap sack to the 2-pound Pecan Lover's Addiction Jar. A best-selling gift item is the 11-ounce clear box, and the chocoholics there's the 6-ounce round gift box with a mix of dark- and milk-chocolate-coated nuts. All kinds except the chocolate-coated are certified Kosher.

Van Putten plans to develop Carolyn's as a center for gourmet food in West Concord. He has already added Dutch "Stroopwafels"-crisp syrup-filled waffle cookies-to the shop's range, and sells a box of local specialty food items under the label "Tastes of Concord."

So do yourself a favor when you shop at Carolyn's. Buy gifts for friends by all means, but treat yourself to a little quality assurance first.

- Jane Whitehead, Correspondent, Holiday Gift Guide, 11/26/98

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LOVABLE NUTS Sweet, Salty, and Sublime

Carolyn's Pecans, Inc. has been cooking up delicious spiced pecans since 1991 (actually, owner Carolyn Schaefer perfected the recipe and sold her pecans independently several years before that). Fresh from the company kitchen in West Concord, these all-natural, featherweight treats have a sweet-and-salty zing that will bring out the nut in anyone. Elegantly packaged, Carolyn's Spiced Pecans make a gratifying gift and a snazzy snack.

- Stephanie Lipka - The Boston Phoenix, 4/8/94