 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
Old-Fashioned Taffy Pull Party--How to Host Your Own
Want a unique party idea for your child's birthday-or even her next weekend sleepover with friends? Try hosting your own taffy pull. It can get pretty messy, but kids absolutely love it. Just follow these steps to minimize the mess . . . and maximize the fun! 1. Stock up on supplies. If you don't already own basic candymaking tools, stocking up is pretty easy. You'll need a medium-size saucepan (3 or 4 quarts) with a heavy bottom and straight sides. You'll also need a long-handled wooden spoon, a pastry brush (used to brush off any crystals that might form), and a good candy thermometer with a metal clamp that attaches to the side of your saucepan. Next, go shopping for taffy ingredients. For the recipe in this article, you'll need to pick up the following: sugar, corn syrup, salt, unsalted butter, flavoring extracts (vanilla, raspberry, and lemon), food coloring (red and yellow work nicely), flour, wax paper, and candy wrappers. 2. Prepare your kitchen. If you resign yourself to the fact that this party is going to get messy, you'll be in the right mindset to just relax and let the kids have fun. Still, there are a few simple steps you can take to minimize the mess. First, lay down several painter's cloths, taping the edges to protect every inch of your floor. Next, sprinkle a light layer of flour over the painter's cloths-this will help keep everyone's shoes from sticking to the cloths when the inevitable spills occur. Finally, tape down some wax paper over the table or countertop where you plan to start your taffy pull. 3. Make your favorite taffy recipe. The process of making taffy can be a little tricky for young ones. I suggest making the taffy yourself, and after the candy has cooled, call in the kids to start the pulling. Here's a classic recipe for saltwater taffy. Try it! 3/4 cup water Measure 2 cups sugar, l 1/4 cups corn syrup, 3/4 cup water, 1 teaspoon salt into a saucepan and blend well with a wooden spoon. Place over low heat until sugar has dissolved, stirring continuously. Increase the heat and do not stir during the rest of the cooking. Wash the sides of the pan with a brush or fork covered with muslin and dipped in water, using an upward motion. This will prevent the formation of crystals which might cause the candy to sugar. After the syrup boils put in the candy thermometer, and when the thermometer registers 265 degrees, remove candy from heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter and stir very gently. Divide the taffy into three parts; you'll add different flavors and coloring to each one during the pulling process. 4. Prepare the little ones. First, have everyone wash his or her hands with lots of soap and warm water. Then, let them grease their hands generously with a stick of unsalted butter to prevent the fresh taffy from sticking to fingers. Don't use vegetable oil or margarine for this step-the flavor when mixed with taffy isn't nearly as good as real butter. 5. Let the pulling begin! Once the taffy has cooled enough to handle, it's time to start pulling. Instruct your partygoers to use only their fingertips to lift the edges of the warm, flowing candy up, and then to pull out about 12 inches. Then, they'll quickly fold the taffy back from the one hand to the other, catching the center, and then pulling again. If you're adding food coloring and flavoring, pause briefly after a few pulls to add a drop or two to the mixture, folding the mixture over on the color and flavor. Try using raspberry flavor with red coloring, lemon flavor with yellow coloring, and vanilla flavor with no coloring. Continue to pull until the color and flavor are thoroughly mixed in. 6. Wrap it up. When your taffy is very hard to pull and holds its shape when laid out on a platter, it's ready to cut into pieces. Rub a pair of kitchen scissors with unsalted butter, and then cut the hardened taffy into bite-size pieces. Have the kids wrap the pieces in candy wrappers, twisting each end. (You can also use wax paper or colored plastic wrap.) Now you can fill small baggies with the taffy, and send each child home with their own homemade party favor! *********************************************************** http://www.CandyMakingSecrets.com/
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Better Breakfasts Ideas Nutritionists tell us that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. With breakfast, we are replenishing our bodies from the night before and charging them for the day ahead. Barbequing, a Fun and Convenient Way to Make Dinner "There's nothing more enjoyable than having friends and family gathered around amidst the wonderful smells of charcoal-grilled prawns, vegetables and selected favorites. Barbecuing is one of those time- honored rituals that go hand in hand with summertime. Gourmet Sauces, Rubs and Marinades - Give Your BBQ a Gourmet Kick Many individuals agree that the sauce on barbecued meat is like the icing on a cake. Gourmet barbecue sauces, rubs and marinades are commonly served on (or on the side of) the finished dish. Solving The 7 Most Common Whole Wheat Bread Baking Mistakes Let's face it EVERY cook makes mistakes (yes, even us professional bakers make boo boo's).I'm going to list here, the 7 most common whole wheat bread baking mistakes that you're probably making, or might make if you're not forewarned, and what you can do about them. Reductions: Proving Less is More Any liquid can be reduced just by heating it - but why would you want to do that?The answer comes back to two of our old friends, flavor and consistency (texture).By reducing any flavored liquid you intensify its flavor and at the same time thicken it. Troubleshooting Cookies If your cookies are too tough . . How to Care for Your Cast Iron Skillet (includes recipes) Some of the best meals I've ever eaten were made by my grandmothers in their cast iron skillets. Tender, flaky catfish; finger-lickin' chicken; and mouth watering cornbread were the traditional scrumptious fare. Save Time in the Kitchen - Cook Pasta the Way Restaurant Chefs Do Have you ever wondered how a restaurant can get a dish of pasta to your table in about four minutes when you know it takes ten minutes just to cook the pasta? Does the water on their stoves boil at a higher temperature than the water on yours? Do they know a trick that you don't? As a matter of fact, they do.They parboil, or partially pre-cook their pasta; so when an order comes in to the kitchen, a cook can turn out a dish of perfectly 'al dente' pasta in a minute or two. Unique Cake Decorating With Flowers Flowers as a Cake Decoration, unique and easy to place on every one of your cake creations.Flowers, both real and artificial are relatively simple to use. What Are Scoville Units? To understand what a Scoville Unit is, one must understand what they measure. All hot peppers contain capsaicinoids, natural substances that produce a burning sensation in the mouth, causing the eyes to water and the nose to run, and even induce perspiration. Foods That Freeze Well "Can I freeze it?" is a question often asked in our homes, and for good reason. Probably most of us, at some point or another, have attempted to freeze a particular food only to find out that it did not freeze well and either spoiled or became inedible. Garlic: A Quick Guide Garlic, there's nothing like the smell of garlic. It's great in soups and sauces, roasted with meats or on it's own, and it's wonderful mixed with butter and slathered on bread and then baked. Buying, Storing, and Preparing Apricots When buying apricots, always look for those that are firm, plump orange fruit that gives slightly when you press with your thumb. Bruised apricots should be avoided. Fine Tuning Bread Machine Mixes Sometimes bread machines can be tricky. We were trying to help a customer whose bread did not rise enough. Baking Bread and Your Freezer There's a lot of bread in our freezer. In our exuberance, we often bake more bread than we can eat in a day or two. Better Baking Technique: Is it Done Yet? Are my breads, cookies, or cakes baked and ready to come out of the oven yet?The ability to tell when products are baked seems to cause more consternation than almost any other phase of baking. And of course, it is important. How to Peel Almost Anything The great English cook Prue Leith once famously remarked "life's too short to stuff a mushroom". I feel pretty much the same way about peeling a grape. Low-Budget Meals In a Minute Ever go home and look in the fridge only to find it sadly, echoingly empty? Well, look again my friend.. Cooking -- What You Need To Know From ancient times till the nineteenth century cooking was basically a survival skill. The nineteenth century marked the division of cooking into two main categories. How to Make a Cajun Roux The process of preparing Cajun food is in no way hurried and involves a layering of flavors which allows each ingredient to maintain its own identity.The foundation of preparing authentic Cajun dishes like gumbo, sauce piquant and etouffee is the Cajun roux (pronounced 'rue').
|
|
|
 |
 |
