On the chilly Monday morning of Dec. 4, 2023, Jeremy Spindler, owner and founder of Spindler Confections, was mixing a batch of caramel over the stove, a typical part of his daily candy-making process. With careful detail, he described the ingredients chosen to make the signature Spindler caramel.

“We have some products like the caramels we’re [making] now that are boiled in big batches on the stove. What’s in those pots are sugar, butter, corn syrup — light corn syrup, not high fructose corn syrup — there is a chemical difference — vanilla … and heavy cream,” Spindler said.

The mixture in the pot was a golden amber and smelled delectably sweet. With a swirl of his wooden spoon, he mixed the ingredients together in a large metal pot and continued explaining the process.