Pioneer Taffy Food

TAFFY

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, place all the ingredients except extracts, and gently stir them to combine. Place a candy thermometer on the side of the pan and bring to a boil, stirring only to prevent burning. Cook to hardball stage (265 to 270 degrees), remove from the heat, stir in the extracts, and pour onto a silpat-lined sheet pan or buttered sheet pan. Let it cool enough to handle then start rolling it into a log and stretching or pulling the taffy to work air in and make it white and opaque. Keep pulling and twisting until it hardens. Form long ropes of taffy, then cut them into pieces.
• Some tips when making taffy: Oil the top 1-inch of the saucepan's wall to keep the sugar from boiling over. Always use a pan bigger than you think you need to prevent boiling over. Always use a burner as big or bigger than your pan's bottom. Never scrape the bottom of the pan at the end, just pour out the syrup. Wash down the sides of the pan with a clean wet pastry brush to avoid crystallization.

TAFFY

Steps:

• Put all the ingredients in a large saucepan and gently stir them to combine. Place a candy thermometer on the side of the pan and bring to a boil, stirring only to prevent burning. Cook to the "firm ball" or "hard ball" stage (255 degrees F), and remove from the heat. Stir in the extracts and pour onto a silicone baking mat-lined sheet pan. Let it cool enough to handle then start rolling it into a log and stretching or pulling the taffy to work air in, and make it white and opaque. Keep pulling and twisting until it hardens. You'll finish with long ropes of taffy. Cut it into pieces or shape into figures and animals.
• Some tips when making taffy:
• Oil the top 1-inch of the saucepans wall to keep the sugar from boiling over.
• Always use a pan bigger than you think you need to prevent boiling over.
• Always use a burner as big or bigger than your pans bottom.
• Never scrape the bottom of the pan at the end, just pour out the syrup.
• Wash down the sides of the pan with a clean wet pastry brush to avoid crystallization.

PIONEER TAFFY!

Steps:

• 1. Place all ingredients but the vanilla and butter into a heavy sauce pan. You can find glycerin at most pharmacies. It is a very important ingredient. The taffy will not turn out well without it.
• 2. Bring your taffy to a boil over medium high heat. Let it keep on a boiling until your candy thermometer reaches 258 degrees. This should take about 35-40 minutes.
• 3. I like to check the temperature of the taffy by dipping a spoon into the pan and then running cold water from the tap over the top of it. See how the taffy is kind of stiff looking...that means it is ready to go. If you cook it much past this stage you it will be really hard when you pull it. If you under cook it...you may have a sticky mess. This water trick really helps. However, you can rely on your candy thermometer as well.
• 4. When your taffy is cooked take it off the heat and pour in your vanilla.
• 5. Add your butter to the pot and give the bubbling beauty a good round of stirring. Stir until the butter is all melted.
• 6. Butter a large cookie sheet.
• 7. Pour the taffy onto the sheet.
• 8. Let the taffy cool for about 5 minutes, or until it is cool enough to handle. The edges will start to set up a bit faster than the middle.
• 9. Pinch the taffy into 12 separate pieces.
• 10. When the taffy is cool enough to pick up, hand out a piece to each lucky participant. Then you can start to pull the taffy. The trick is the stretch it out......
• and then fold it back together. Stretch and fold, stretch and fold until your taffy turns a beautiful white color. Or if some of your pullers are 3 years old, until they get tired of pulling. It still tastes mighty good, even if you don't pull it long enough for it to turn white.
• 11. Stretch the taffy into a long rope shape and set on a piece of wax paper. You can break the taffy into pieces by holding it in the palm of your hand and tapping it with the handle of a butter knife.