Vinegar 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.

OLD FASHIONED VINEGAR TAFFY

Steps:

• Mix sugar, vinegar, and water in a medium saucepan; stir well before putting on the stove. Cook over low heat about 8 to 10 minutes until it reaches (228F) the softball stage.
• Add butter or margarine and vanilla.
• Pour the mixture into a buttered platter and let it cool enough so you can handle it. Butter your hands well (important! keep enough butter on your hands otherwise you'll stick), pick up the blob and begin to pull it. The more you pull the whiter it gets.
• When it has reached the right consistency, cut into small pieces with a pair of scissors (easier to use for this than a knife.)

VINEGAR TAFFY

Steps:

• Butter a baking dish and set aside.
• In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar, vinegar, butter, cream of tartar, and salt. Heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar is melted. Do not stir once mixture comes to a boil.
• Cook candy until mixture reaches 250 to 265 degrees F (121 to 129 degrees C) on a candy thermometer, or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a rigid ball. Remove from heat and pour into prepared dish.
• Pull taffy by stretching out into a rope with buttered hands, folding the candy over and repeating, until taffy is white and porous and becomes too stiff to pull. Cut into 1-inch pieces with buttered kitchen shears. Wrap taffy pieces in waxed paper and store in an airtight container.

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.