Oh Fudge has been located in the Wolfeboro railroad station since the summer of 1969 and has become one of the standards in summer enjoyment for tourists and locals alike. A visit to Wolfeboro just isn't complete without stopping at Oh Fudge for a taste of our fine homemade candies.
Our recipes were handed down from my uncle, Russell Stiles, of Sudbury, Massachusetts to the Chase family and have withstood the test and tastes of time. Rus Stiles worked in the candy business his entire life. As a young man in the early 1900's he made his living working for the New England Confectionery Company. Our molasses popcorn recipe was his creation and the product, molasses popcorn bars, could be found near the cash register of a famous orange roofed chain restaurant wrapped up in bright yellow cellophane . He also owned and operated the Wayside Candy Store in Sudbury, Massachusetts located not far from the entrance to the Wayside Inn that Longfellow made famous.
The candies that were made by Rus Stiles came to New Hampshire in 1967 when Rus Chase, my father, started a small fudge business in hopes of bringing people into a store created primarily for the display and sale of crafts made by the retired people of the Wolfeboro area. The rest of the story is, as they say, "history". In two short summers Oh Fudge had become very popular and we were forced to move into the front of the Wolfeboro railroad station. The crafts eventually moved to another location and Oh Fudge occupied half of the station by itself. I took over the copper kettle and wooden paddle in 1975 and have been at it ever since.
In the past we have seen volumes of candy sold
that exceeded 6 tons. That's not for the year but for the short 10 week
season that we are open every summer. Over 12,000 lbs. of fudge alone.
There must be something about it that's good. Over the years we have added
more flavors of
fudge and have explored Rus Stiles' secret recipe book to add caramel, toffee,
and buttercrunch to our list of homemade candies. We use only the finest
ingredients available - fresh dairy cream, bakers chocolate and pure vanilla
extract - to name a few.
There are signs everywhere that proclaim fresh fudge is on the premises but candy lovers know that none compare with Chase's Oh Fudge, except maybe grandma's and I'm not about to argue with that.