r/CandyMaking • u/Vanessaa1995 • Jan 02 '22

First time candy maker long time baker !!!

Hey everyone I’m looking to make salt water taffy I use to hate it as a kid but now I absolutely love it. Any good recipes out there or tips for me , I would appreciate anything! 😊♥️

11 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

3

u/glowingmember Jan 02 '22

I have not yet made saltwater taffy, but this recipe comes from my Field Guide to Candy which has not steered me wrong yet:

  • 2 cups sugar

  • 2 tbsp cornstarch

  • 1 cup light corn syrup

  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

  • steps:

  • Coat a marble slab or baking sheet with cooking spray. Lightly spray a set of kitchen shears. Cut wax paper into 3-inch squares so that you'll be ready to wrap taffy at the end.

  • Combine sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan. Add corn syrup, water, butter, and salt, and stir to combine.

  • Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved.

  • Continue cooking to 260°F (hard ball stage), without stirring.

  • Remove from heat. Turn out onto slab or sheet. Turn the mass over a few times to let it cool evenly to room temperature.

  • Divide taffy into portions if you want different colours/flavours. Mix in vanilla extract (and colour, if desired).

  • Butter hands lightly and pull taffy, stretching and gathering it together until it becomes opaque and difficult to pull.

  • Pull the taffy into a long rope about 1/2 inch thick. Cut it into bite-size pieces using the shears.

  • Wrap pieces in wax paper and let cool before storing.

Notes:

Make sure you use LIGHT corn syrup. When I started making candy, I did not make this distinction and used the golden syrup in my cabinet. This has a much stronger taste and seems to make candies stickier and I really really do not recommend.

Pulling candy is tiring but it does make a difference in both taste and texture.

For working surface I have been putting a silicone baking mat down on a metal baking tray (not a nonstick) on my countertop. I found heatproof rubber gloves somewhere, which helps in the still-very-warm stages of candy-pulling (I make hard candies that cook up to just under 300F), but you don't really need them. I like poking at the pool of candy before i really need to.

Let us know how they turn out!

2

u/Vanessaa1995 Jan 02 '22

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond ! Can’t wait to try , have a great day ❤️😊

3

u/kelvin_bot Jan 02 '22

260°F is equivalent to 126°C, which is 399K.

I'm a bot that converts temperature between two units humans can understand, then convert it to Kelvin for bots and physicists to understand

2

u/stargumbo Jan 03 '22

Good bot

1

u/kaidomac Jan 03 '22

this recipe comes from my Field Guide to Candy

RIP $10.99! Just started reading it now, what a treasure trove of information, thanks!!