The Caramel Corn

As near as I can determine, Martha considered the creation of an excellent caramel corn recipe to be a matter of considerable importance. The journals contain page after page of notes, revisions, calculations, and observations, many of them concerning her efforts to accommodate Mortimer’s notoriously fussy digestion without compromising flavor.

Her persistence was rewarded. Handcrafted in small batches and kissed by buttery caramel, the resulting recipe remains deliciously different to this day. It happens to be vegan and is made without gluten, dairy, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, or sesame. Martha, however, appears to have considered accommodation and flavor equally nonnegotiable.

She was likewise meticulous about what went into the recipe. The ingredient list is deliberately simple, and unnecessary additions appear to have been regarded with suspicion.

The present-day Mortimer & Martha remains particular about a few things Martha herself did not have to consider. Packaging is chosen thoughtfully, with an ongoing goal of reducing plastic wherever practical.

Some standards, apparently, survive their creators.