rants & recipes

We recently bought a spiffy new thermocouple thermometer. And a really long, type-J thermocouple to go with it - regular candy thermometers don't go up high enough to make them good for deep fat frying and even with candy, I was always worried about the probe touching the bottom of the pan and getting ruined by too much heat. Our new thermocouple can read up to something like 2000 degrees, so no more worries about getting too hot!

I've used it twice, now, for candy. A few weeks ago, I made caramel for turtles - that turned out really good. (In fact, I'm now reminded of the caramel I have in the freezer - need to find out 1) if caramel freezes ok and 2) if so, something else yummy to make with it.)

Yesterday, I decided to try some brittle. I tried this recipe, but used roasted pistachios that I added at the end - the result was ok, but not quite as "buttery" as I had in mind. It reached 296 degrees, but maybe I should have cooked it a little longer? It also didn't foam up as much as I was expecting, when I added the baking soda - maybe I'll try a different recipe next time. (And something less expensive than $10 pistachios!)

Brittle Candy

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tbsp margarine
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 cups nuts of your choice

Instructions:

• Combine sugar, syrup water and salt in a medium stock pot. (I used a 4 quart, though 2 quart would have worked, especially since it didn't foam very much, at the end.)
• Cook until mixture reaches 296 degrees.
• Add nuts, margarine, vanilla and baking soda. Stir until combined, about 30 seconds.
• Pour out to cool on a cookie sheet.
• When cool, break into pieces.