Grandma As Clothesline Taffy Food

GRANDMA A'S CLOTHESLINE TAFFY

Steps:

• 1. Butter 1 or 2 large jelly roll pans (something flat, but with sides) and set aside. Soften the gelatin in the cold water in a small bowl. Set aside.
• 2. In a large, heavy bottomed pot, stir sugar, milk, syrup, butter and paraffin together over medium high heat until it boils.
• 3. Add the softened gelatin, and continue to cook, stirring constantly, to the hard ball test in a small cup of cold water. (250°to 255°F)
• 4. Stir in nutmeats or flavorings and pour onto buttered pans to cool. Cool until you are able to hold your hand on the bottom of the pan.
• 5. Wash hands and butter them a little. Take a glob of the candy from the pan and pull it until stiff and white and glossy. (Keep hands buttered if it is sticky--Not too much butter) This is when it comes in handy to have several people to pull the taffy. Give each child their own small glob to pull (making sure it is cool enough for little buttered hands), and have the adults work in pairs to pull larger batches. Work hand over hand, pulling and stretching between partners until taffy becomes very hard to pull and white.
• 6. When the taffy has been pulled sufficiently,pull and form it into ropes about 3/4 to 1 inch diameter and lay them back on the buttered pans to cool completely. Try to keep them from touching each other by laying them out in a coiled or snake like pattern.
• 7. Let cool completely and crack into bite sized pieces with meat pounder, mallet, the back of a heavy knife, etc. Just hit it and it should crack easily. Wrap pieces in waxed paper and store in airtight container where it is cool and dry.

GRANDMA'S TAFFY

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Add the butter, salt, corn syrup and water; mix well. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to mix in butter. Heat to 275 degrees F (134 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped from a spoon forms hard but pliable threads.
• Remove from heat, and stir in the vanilla, flavored extract and food coloring. Pour into a greased 8x8 inch baking dish. When cooled enough to handle, remove candy from the pan, and pull until it loses its shine and becomes stiff. Pull into ropes, and use scissors to cut into 1 inch pieces. Wrap each piece in waxed paper.

OLD-FASHIONED TAFFY PULL

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Mix all ingredients except milk in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Stir often until sugar is completely dissolved. Increase heat and bring mixture to boiling. Slowly add the evaporated milk in a thin stream so boiling does not stop.
• Put a candy thermometer in pan; continue stirring. Cook and stir constantly until mixture reaches 248 F (firm ball stage). Dip the pastry brush in water and gently brush sides of the pan to wash crystals from sides of the pan. Do this a few times while candy is cooking.
• When candy has reached desired temperature, remove from heat, remove thermometer and without scraping sides and bottom of the pan, pour mixture onto a large platter which has been generously greased with margarine.
• Let the taffy mixture cool until it is cool enough to handle. Grease your hands with margarine; take a small portion of the candy and, using only the tips of your fingers, begin pulling. Candy should be white in color and no longer feel sticky when it has been pulled enough.
• Twist each pulled strip slightly and place on waxed paper. When all the candy is pulled, cut each strip into 1-inch pieces. Wrap each piece in waxed paper and twist ends. You can get a special colored paper for this. Store in a container with a tight-fitting cover.
• Serve and enjoy!