kurozato/kokuto

[Blether]

Hmmm. It's rather reassuring to see a Brit having problems with toffee!

It's been a while

What is the Hanamasa mizu-ame made from?

Edit: I see on a Japanese site that somebody was grumbling about how thin the Hanamasa mizu-ame is...stays runny even in the fridge. It is true that usually refrigerated mizu-ame is so stiff it's hard to get a spoon into it.

Proportions: I see everything from 60-75% sugar : 40-25% mizu-ame, don't know if there is a "perfect" proportion.

It says でん粉 - so corn syrup, I think. It is thin compared to brand mizuame - it's even thinner than Lyle's Golden Syrup. Which is fine by me, it makes it easy to measure. Of course it makes weight-by-weight price comparison difficult, but it was about JPY300 for the 600g jar.

I'm shooting for less mizuame next time (I'll try half, i.e. 2oz to the half kilo of kurozato). It was just too ungodly glossy, and the flavour beginning to be noticeably thinner.

Edited February 1, 2010 by Blether (log)

[Blether]

Try taking it to 121ºC.

Hi, Kerry. You may just have saved me from the trial at 118C. I'm hoping for firm but chewy - not as hard as Walker's toffee; about the same as a 'penny chew'

What kind of toffee will I get at 121C ?

Edited February 1, 2010 by Blether (log)

[Blether]

I have a very simple question (sorry if it sounds so stupid): Why didn't you break up all the rocks of black sugar before boiling?

That's a good question, and I'll give a simple amswer: those suckers are hard. I think it would mean using a sturdy bag and beating them with a rolling pin, at least. Easier to let the gas do most of the work.

Edited February 1, 2010 by Blether (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Try taking it to 121ºC.

Hi, Kerry. You may just have saved me from the trial at 118C. I'm hoping for firm but chewy - not as hard as Walker's toffee; about the same as a 'penny chew'

What kind of toffee will I get at 121C ?

Should get you closer to chewy - some slight flow over time. I have some caramels I take to 123º C.

Re the hardness, I find if I put some hard sugars (like palm sugar) in the microwave for a few seconds, I can get it to soften a bit.