Oct 26, 2015

Candy is a family affair for Paul Wockenfuss, owner and president of Wockenfuss Candies. Over a dozen of his family members are employed making chocolate confections and selling candy in eight stores in Maryland. It’s been Paul’s family’s livelihood for 100 years and five generations. In 1915, Wockenfuss’ grandfather Herman Charles opened the first store under the name “Wockenfuss Candy Company.” The company is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Read all about it here.

: Paul Wockenfuss, president and third generation family owner of Wockenfuss Candies, he holds a tray of Monster Pecan Apples.

: Christina Rucker (left) and Julia Dopkowski make Monster Pecan Apples at Wockenfuss Candies on Harford Road.

: The Monster Pecan Apple made at the Wockenfuss Candies store on Harford Road.

: Paul Wockenfuss, president and third generation family owner of Wockenfuss Candies at the factory and store on Harford Road.

: Some of the many varieties of chocolates that are made at Wockenfuss Candies.

: Jean Anderson, production worker, breaks up large clusters of cashews, one of the early steps in creating chocolate-covered cashew patties. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: In the production facility at Wockenfuss Candies on Harford Rd., caramel is injected onto nuts before they are coated in chocolate to make chocolate-covered cashew patties. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Trays stacked with caramel-covered cashews await the next step in the candy-making process: a coating of chocolate at Wockenfuss Candies on Harford Rd. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Donna Winters, left, and Jean Anderson, production workers, break off the excess cashew nuts with caramel before they will be covered in chocolate. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Nuts with caramel move on a conveyor belt on their way to be dipped in chocolate. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: The enrobing machine in the production facility covers cashews and caramel in a “waterfall” of chocolate. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: A production worker picks up pecan caramel patties from the conveyor belt to place them in boxes to be sold. The delicate string design on the top identifies them as patties with pecan nuts – as opposed to another kind of nut. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Wockenfuss Candies uses Peter’s Chocolate from Lititz, Pa., to make their candy. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Paul Wockenfuss, owner and president of Wockenfuss Candies, is pictured next to a vat of chocolate that is constantly stirred by a mechanical arm to prevent clumping. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Paul Wockenfuss, president and owner of Wockenfuss Candies, holds a tray of pecans with caramel. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Jennifer Leaf, left, and Amy Bortner box and bag candy for customers. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: The arm within the cylinder continually rotates to prevent the chocolate from clumping. This is the chocolate candy-making process at Wockenfuss Candies on Harford Rd. The company has eight locations in Maryland. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Gregory Butler, grandson to Wockenfuss Candies owner Paul Wockenfuss, inspects candy on the conveyor belt. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Sponge candies purchased by Wockenfuss Candies remain in bags to keep out the moisture until they are covered in chocolate at the candy-making facility. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Paul Wockenfuss, president and owner of Wockenfuss Candies, looks at a box of Peter’s Chocolate from Lititz, Pa. The box in the foreground right holds 1800 pounds of chocolate. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Christina Rucker decorates caramel-dipped apples with strings of brown and white chocolate. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: Apples coated with caramel and drizzled with white and brown chocolate are ready for sale. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: A photo of the infamous candy-making scene from the sitcom “I Love Lucy” is tacked onto a cabinet in the middle of the production facility. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

: These Heavenly Rocky Road candies are packaged and ready for sale. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)

Paul remembers candy being a part of his life since he was a child living in Gardenville in Northeast Baltimore – at the same address where the candy facility was located up to one and a half years ago. “We lived in a row house and my father (Herman Lee) made candy in the basement,” he said. “Those days, you came home from school and you pitched in to help pack up the day’s production.” His favorite candy is the cordial cherry.

Supplied with chocolate from Peter’s Chocolate in Lititz, Pa., Wockenfuss says the staff at the Harford Road location whips up about “seventy kinds” of chocolate treats: chocolate-covered marshmallows; fudge; chocolate- and caramel-coated apples, and dozens more delights. The large nonpareils at 1-3/4″ are the company’s top seller. A variety of sweets not made at the factory, including lollipops, jelly beans, licorice, hard candy, and dog treats, are also sold in the stores.

In the 12,000 square-foot production facility adjacent to the retail store, liquid chocolate rolls through the enrober. The machine creates a small “waterfall” of chocolate under which nuts fused with melted caramel pass on a moving belt to create cashew or pecan caramel patties. A “stringing machine” puts a thin wavy chocolate string atop the candy to identify it as either a pecan or cashew treat.

For Paul Wockenfuss, confections are both business and pleasure. “I love candy, I’ve always loved candy,” he said. “It’s never too early, and it’s never too late for a piece of candy.”

Wockenfuss, the candy family

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