Mother-daughter team form Sweets of Eden to produce artisanal caramels.

By day, Susanne McBride does accounting for a local petroleum company – an important function, certainly, though nothing like her nights and weekends. That’s when the Salinas resident and her daughter, Kate Brown, get together in Spreckels to make small-batch, hand-wrapped artisanal caramels.

Sweets of Eden (sweetsofeden.net) began in 2016, although McBride has been treating her friends and family to caramels for decades. The company turns out just 20 pounds a week, and they go quickly at pop-ups and events.

Weekly: From accounting to caramels – that’s quite a stretch.

McBride: My mom used to make them. That’s where I got the love for them. But then we lost the recipe.

How did that happen?

She had a drawer that was very big and a little piece of paper. We thought when they moved we’d find it, but we never did. But one day in the late ’80s, a friend gave me a bag of caramels she made. I thought, “Wow – that’s it.” I asked for her recipe and tweaked it from there. I was happy. So was my family.

Well, who doesn’t love caramel?

There are a few. But caramels just kind of look at you and go “ooooh.” They put you in a happy place.

You make different flavors, but licorice?

The licorice is awesome – if you like black licorice. It’s a subtle flavor that melts in your mouth. I was surprised. I’m trying to do beer.

Must be fun testing that recipe.

Yes [laughs]. I make them in tiny batches to try to get it right – the right type of beer, the right texture. It’s a process.

Are you working on other candies?

You bet! I want to make a caramel sauce so you can pour over ice cream or in coffee. I want to make meringue, just for fun.