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Saltwater taffy is a candy and an upper-body workout all in
one. To give it its light but chewy texture, you’ll be
pulling it, and pulling it, and pulling it for up to 15 minutes.
Still want to make it? Here’s a recipe!
More
about taffy
.
Makes
about 50 1-inch pieces
Recipe
Conversions
(
note:
recipe annotations will appear in a new window)
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CAUTION
When
making candy, the syrup gets
very
hot. Kids, don’t
try this without the help of an adult!
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What
Do I Need?
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2
cups sugar
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Tip
Visit the
candy links page
to find places to buy candy making supplies online, including
molds, flavoring, and coloring.
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2
tablespoons cornstarch
Why
do I add cornstarch?
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1
cup light corn syrup
Why
do I add corn syrup?
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2
teaspoons glycerin (optional)
What
is glycerin?
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3/4
cup water
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2
tablespoons butter
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1
teaspoon salt
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1/4
to 1 teaspoon flavoring (such as vanilla, lemon, maple, or mint)
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3
drops food coloring (optional)
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a
large (3- to 4-quart) saucepan
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a
wooden spoon
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a
candy thermometer
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a
pastry brush
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waxed
paper or plastic wrap
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a
marble slab or cookie sheet
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greased
scissors or butter knife
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What
Do I Do?
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Tip
Don’t try to make taffy on a rainy or humid day.
About candy making and the weather.
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1.
Mix
together sugar and cornstarch in the saucepan.
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2.
Use
a wooden spoon to stir in the corn syrup, glycerin, water,
butter, and salt. Place the saucepan over medium heat and
stir until the sugar dissolves.
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3.
Continue
stirring until mixture begins to boil, then let cook, undisturbed,
until it reaches about 270° F or the soft-crack stage.
Wash down the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped
in warm water while the syrup cooks.
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Why
do I need to
stop
stirring
after the syrup begins to boil?
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What is the
soft-crack
stage
and how can I tell when I’ve reached it?
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Why do I
wash
down
the sides of the pan?
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Did
You Know?
Molasses taffy was one of the first kinds of homemade candy
in the United States. (
A
recipe for molasses taffy
)
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3.
Remove
the saucepan from the heat and add food coloring and flavoring.
Stir gently, then pour onto a greased marble slab or into
a shallow greased cookie sheet to cool.
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4.
When
the taffy is cool enough to handle, grease your hands with
oil or butter and pull the taffy until it's light in color
and has a satiny gloss. You can have a friend help with this
step, which should take about 10 minutes.
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Why do I need to
pull
the taffy
?
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5.
Roll
the pulled taffy into a long rope, about 1/2 inch in diameter,
and cut it with greased scissors or a butter knife into 1-inch-long
pieces. Let the pieces sit for about half an hour before wrapping
them in wax paper or plastic wrap and twisting the ends of
the wrapper.
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What
Else Can I Try?
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Try leaving out the corn syrup and see what happens! When
we tried this, we ended up with a crystallized candy with
a melt-in-your-mouth texture very similar to after-dinner
mints.
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Try
not
pulling some of the taffy—what is the
texture of the resulting candy?
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Try adding 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda before pouring out
the syrup. This will create many tiny bubbles that should
result in a lighter, chewier texture.
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Try twisting together taffy ropes of different colors or flavors
for fun new combinations.
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Share
& Discuss
Share
your taffy experiment results.
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