Friday, February 17, 2012

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Advice on Praline Pecan Candy Making at Home

!±8± Advice on Praline Pecan Candy Making at Home

Most people believe that anyone can make delicious candies with constant practice. Of course, that includes praline candy making. There may be people believe that its hard but once you get use to making it the right way, you will absolutely get it perfect. With the help of taking the advice to your daily practice it will not be impossible to produce a sweet delicious candy.

There are common ingredients to your praline pecan candy, caramel, fudge, marshmallows, chocolate covered cherries, nut brittle, candied fruit and fruit rinds, spiced candied nuts, divinity, chocolate covered pretzels, caramel popcorn, and many others. In handling those ingredients with care will keep you make tasty candies. The following are few tips to do it.

Sweeteners Tips:
We are talking about candies so it is expected that we will use a sweetener as our main ingredient. Sweeteners may point out to honey, molasses, maple sugar, corn sugar, and corn syrup. However, most of the time we are instructed to use sugar as stated in the recipe. Once it is stated there, you should use white, crystalline sugar called sucrose. The one you use everyday which also called table sugar. It is from sugar cane or sugar beets.

Always, use newly purchased and unopened package of sugar. This is done for the purpose of making sure that there will be no infectivity of other ingredients in the kitchen like flour and salt. For corn syrup, always use the light one if not mentioned in the recipe. It is because if you use dark, you will have a molasses taste and odor. Otherwise, you should follow the instructions to get the desired result.

Never use a brown sugar instead of refined granulated sugar if you are not an expert candy maker. Never let brown sugar to exceed half of the amount of sugar. The brown sugar acts as one of the flavor agents and if you do not follow the advice you will have "Penuche". Secondly, you can never substitute unrefined sugar to granulated sugar. The same way goes with substituting powdered sugar instead of refined sugar. In short, just use granulated sugar.

Water tips:
The tap water just works fine with the recipe.

Butter and Fats tips:
You should always use unsalted stick butter and not margarine. As stated that Margarine contains lot of water and different amounts of fat that will turn your candy inconsistent. The butter gives delicious taste. Never use vegetable oil spreads or tub products to maintain the brittle texture of the candy.

Acids tips:
It could be tartar, lemon juice, or vinegar. It is the stabilizer. You can freely substitute lemon juice instead of it. Always use a newly squeezed lemon. It has more effect to your recipe if use the recipe. For vinegar, you can use that distilled white vinegar.

Cream tips:
Use the heavy cream for it has a higher butterfat which will give you a mouth feel and smooth texture. You cannot substitute evaporated milk for sweetened condensed milk. It might give your chocolate a semi-sweet taste.

Flavoring tips:
The most preferred flavoring for candy is the candy oils. It gives a lasting flavor even mixed during cooking for they are oil-based. Unlike extracts, they are only added after cooking.

Coloring tips:

The most common being used is the food coloring. It is just the best liquid form that gives color to your candies and other foods. However, it is only for mixtures that do not combine readily with liquid.

These advices are just right in trying your own praline pecan candy at home. Just a few drops of information about the recipes and their characteristics then you are ready for trying one by your self.


Advice on Praline Pecan Candy Making at Home

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Monday, October 17, 2011

Grief: Remember Your Loved One With a Memory Cook Book

!±8± Grief: Remember Your Loved One With a Memory Cook Book

After the death of a loved one some families make quilts from their loved one's clothes. Other families compile memory books. I did something different for my family; I made a memory cook book. After my mother-in-law died my sister-in-law and I looked through her old recipe box. Actually, there were four boxes, and the recipes inside were grouped loosely into categories.

There were hand-written recipes, lots of newspaper and magazine clippings, and many duplicates. We threw out the duplicate recipes and saved family favorites - recipes that grandchildren and great grandchildren would enjoy. Reading the recipes brought back memories of family picnics, holiday dinners, and snacks Nana prepared for her three growing boys.

I typed the recipes (one per page) and compiled them in a three-ring notebook. The title of the book: "Favorite Recipes From Nana's Recipe Boxes." For the cover I used holiday stationery with a candy cane border. Each cover had a photo of Nana on it. To protect the recipes from splatters and drips I put them in plastic notebook sleeves. There were only 25 recipes so I didn't index them. However, I did write a short introduction and it contained a story that is still clear in my mind.

Nana served Sunday dinner at 1 p.m. After one dinner she announced that supper would be cake and ice cream. I laughed because I thought Nana was kidding. But Nana, the only person I have ever known who would eat cold butter rolled in sugar, had a sweet tooth, and supper was just as advertised. We had huge bowls of French vanilla ice cream and hefty slices of yellow cake with Penuche frosting. What a memory.

Because the cook book was a glimpse of family history, I typed the recipes as Nana wrote them, including abbreviations such as "refrig" for refrigerator, and references to family members and friends. I grouped the pages into sets, put the pages in the notebooks, and tucked rubber spatulas inside. Then I wrapped the books in holiday paper and ribbon, and tied measuring spoons to each one.

So much love had gone into the cook books that I could hardly wait to give them to family members on Christmas morning. A few fancy gifts were exchanged , but my homemade gifts were the hit of the day. Family members told Nana stories as they paged through their cook books. If you are looking for a meaningful way to remember a loved one, think about compiling a memory cook book.

Your cook book will spark stories about the meals you have shared, and link the older generation with the younger. I didn't have time to put more photos in the books, but a photo on each page would make the cook book extra special. Now you are probably wondering about the recipes. My favorite recipe is the one for fudge. Though I don't make fudge, I love the ending. Here is the recipe, just as Nana wrote it so many years ago.

NANA'S FUDGE 1920

2 c. sugar

3/4 c. milk

2 sq. chocolate

1/2 t. salt

1 T. butter

1 t (teaspoon) vanilla
nuts

Mix and cook all ingredients except vanilla & nuts. When it boils up once lower the heat to a slow boil. After 5 min. begin testing for the soft ballstage (1/2 4sp. fudge in a saucer of ice water.)

When you can pick up a soft ball in 3 fingers it's ready. Cook it 1 minute more. Remove from stove and cool completely before stirring. Add vanilla and nuts and beat until it looks [like] it's glass and begins to set. Pour into a small square cake pan.

Cut when hard. (If it gets too hard add a few drops of cream at the end of beating.) Cut, enjoy. Save some for mother and dad. Be a good scout and clean up the kitchen afterwards.

Copyright 2006 by Harriet Hodgson


Grief: Remember Your Loved One With a Memory Cook Book

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