Milk-based taffy

[Darienne]

Anita Chu (Pastrygirl) has a recipe for Chinese Milk Candy in her new book Field Guide to Candy: How to Identify and Make Virtually Every Candy Imaginable. The tiny photo of the candy shows that the candy is definitely pale in color, if not quite white.

It's not as white as the commercial White Rabbit candy, but still pale.

I made some of Chu's recipe yesterday. Yummy...but definitely not white. Why isn't my candy white? It just looks like any other butterscotchy candy.

ps. Sorry, should have posted the ingredients: 2 cups sugar; 1 cup light corn syrup; 1 cup milk; 2 T unsalted butter & 1/2 t vanilla. All used accordingly.

Edited March 1, 2010 by Darienne (log)

[Lisa Shock]

My guess is that it's related to temperature. You got some caramelization or maillard reaction because of relatively high heat.

A lot of factory-made candies get some texture from being pulled, and drying a bit, on long machine lines that are warm due to friction but not too hot.

I stopped eating White Rabbit after the first Chinese tainted milk scandal, and honestly, I don't trust that it doesn't have some sort of optical whitener in it -or other, worse ingredients off-label.

[Chocolot]

I'm guessing you cooked it too slowly. Pot might have been too small and you cooked too slow to avoid boiling over?

[Darienne]

My guess is that it's related to temperature. You got some caramelization or maillard reaction because of relatively high heat.

A lot of factory-made candies get some texture from being pulled, and drying a bit, on long machine lines that are warm due to friction but not too hot.

I stopped eating White Rabbit after the first Chinese tainted milk scandal, and honestly, I don't trust that it doesn't have some sort of optical whitener in it -or other, worse ingredients off-label.

My DH, Ed, helped me to pull it...I don't have the hands any more...and all went quite well...except for the color.

[Darienne]

I'm guessing you cooked it too slowly. Pot might have been too small and you cooked too slow to avoid boiling over?

Hi Ruth,

Lisa says perhaps it was too hot and you suggest that perhaps it was too slow, aka heat too low I would guess???

OK. The heat was medium-high and the pot was not at all too small. 4 cups of sugar, syrup & milk in a 3-quart pot. I did not time the cooking, but it did not seem overly quick or slow, but somehow I did get the caramelization.

Wondering what to try a second time. Thanks.

ps. Went to PastryGirl's website and found that I could email her and so I did. I'll report back.

Edited March 1, 2010 by Darienne (log)

[Lisa Shock]

This is the sort of situation where a thermometer is very useful.

[Darienne]

I was using a thermometer and took the pot off the stove at exactly the correct temperature.

[Kerry Beal]

I was using a thermometer and took the pot off the stove at exactly the correct temperature.

And what was the temperature that the toffee had to reach?

[Lisa Shock]

Also, did you shock the pan once you pulled it off the heat?

[Darienne]

The temperature was 250 degrees.

I did not shock the pan. I'll have to look that one up. The instructions said: remove from heat. Turn out onto the prepared surface and cool to room temperature. I did turn it out onto oiled marble. The candy was already butterscotch color.

OK. Got 'shock the pan'. But the color was already set. Don't understand how it fits here.

Thanks for the help.