Old Fashioned Taffy?

[dhardy123]

I have a sample of some old fashioned taffy that was purchased at a fall festival. It is quite hard but it does have small air bubbles throughout. It is kind of like a sponge toffee but with significantly less air bubbles. I'm not sure if baking soda is used or not. They come in different flavors and when broken, it breaks cleanly (not like sponge toffee). It is not sticky and takes awhile to melt in your mouth. It is too hard to bite into. I have included a couple of pics of it. Can anyone determine what or how this is made?

TIA

Edited October 15, 2011 by dhardy123 (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Almost looks like a pulled candy - a little like the one in the picture here - but you are right it kind of looks like some soda might have been added to the part that you pull to make it white.

[minas6907]

Yeah, theres a possibility there may be baking soda in it, but its not absolutely necessary to get those little air holes. So far, I like this recipe for taffy: http://www.almanac.com/recipe/cape-cod-salt-water-taffy

That recipe produces a nice taffy that is very similar to what you'd find at a fair. After I made this, I took a piece and cut straight through it with a knife, and there were a series of air holes, just like your picture. The only thing I dont like about it is the self life seems sort of short, after a few weeks it shows signs of crystallizing, and gets rather crumbly.

As far as hardness, though, in a recipe, take the taffy up a few degrees in the boiling stage, and you will certainly have a candy you can snap cleanly.

On a reference here: http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/recipe-taffy.html They say down at the bottom to add a small amount of baking soda before pouring out, and it will result in a candy with a lighter chew. I haven't tried this yet, but as I write this, I'd like to use Grewelings recipe for taffy (because his has the longest shelf life) and add a little bit of baking soda, and see the combination.

Also, if you do make the taffy, wrap it in cellophane wrap, not wax paper, I have had no success with wax paper, it LOVES sticking, but the cello wrap is wonderful (and you can more clearly see the pattern and colors). Have fun.

Edited October 15, 2011 by minas6907 (log)