Times were tough for most orchardists in 1918, so Mark Balaban and Armen Tertsagian 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. A few years later Cotlets®, made from apr...
Times were tough for most orchardists in 1918, so Mark Balaban and Armen Tertsagian 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. 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. In 1962, the Century 21 World's Fair came to Seattle. Hundreds of thousands of people from outside the Northwest were introduced to Aplets & Cotlets, which led to a huge increase in sales. In 1974, Grapelets® were introduced to the growing lineup of Liberty Orchards confections and became the "official candy of Expo 74". Today Liberty Orchards has grown to be a genuine Northwest tradition. Each year the orchards welcome 80,000 visitors to tour our Candy Kitchens and visit our Country Store. And when they do, they don't find a large, impersonal factory... they find townfolks making and packing Aplets & Cotlets much the same as Mark and Armen did all so many years ago.
