![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
OK, bear in mind I'm an excellent cook. No, really. Ask ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jcortese.
But, my candy thermometer has either disappeared or -- if the murky mists of memory have cleared for the moment -- ah, yes. I broke it.
So, I can't heat a combination of ingredients to 234F, I have to cook until they reach "softball stage". Which I've only read about in the Joy of Cooking, because although I learned a great many cooking skills from one's esteemed mother, the clan was never big on homemade candy. We're more prone to pie, quickbreads, and let's not forget rhubarb sauce on Sunday's flapjacks.
Well, now that I've tried twice -- I didn't post about my first attempt here, but the first try is why there are no walnuts in my second try -- I think try #1 was cooked to the hardball stage, and that made the resulting fudge-candy too hard. Tasty, but, too hard, and with an interesting granularity to the texture that may or may not be a side effect of that stage.
This second attempt was made last night, and I cooked it[*] (by memory) to "what it was like before the time that I now think is the hardball stage", and therefore, presumably, the softball stage.
Mix in vanilla and chocolate, pour into buttered pan. Let cool. I had to race out of the house this morning, so I'm not sure...but it might be fudge.
We'll know when it's sampled tonight.
[*] This bizarre concoction of marshmallow fluff, butter, sugar, salt, and evaporated milk. Or, sugar, butter, sugar, salt, and sugared milk. Would you like some more sugar with that?
jcortese. But, my candy thermometer has either disappeared or -- if the murky mists of memory have cleared for the moment -- ah, yes. I broke it.
So, I can't heat a combination of ingredients to 234F, I have to cook until they reach "softball stage". Which I've only read about in the Joy of Cooking, because although I learned a great many cooking skills from one's esteemed mother, the clan was never big on homemade candy. We're more prone to pie, quickbreads, and let's not forget rhubarb sauce on Sunday's flapjacks.
Well, now that I've tried twice -- I didn't post about my first attempt here, but the first try is why there are no walnuts in my second try -- I think try #1 was cooked to the hardball stage, and that made the resulting fudge-candy too hard. Tasty, but, too hard, and with an interesting granularity to the texture that may or may not be a side effect of that stage.
This second attempt was made last night, and I cooked it[*] (by memory) to "what it was like before the time that I now think is the hardball stage", and therefore, presumably, the softball stage.
Mix in vanilla and chocolate, pour into buttered pan. Let cool. I had to race out of the house this morning, so I'm not sure...but it might be fudge.
We'll know when it's sampled tonight.
[*] This bizarre concoction of marshmallow fluff, butter, sugar, salt, and evaporated milk. Or, sugar, butter, sugar, salt, and sugared milk. Would you like some more sugar with that?