Holiday Desserts

This is technically thread necromancy, Angelus, but I will let it slide since the holidays are approaching once more. Just be mindful of resurrecting old topics without a damned good reason.

And for the record, I'm into peanut brittle. I usually make several batches each year and have begun experimenting with different recipes like peppermint molasses, banana nut, and cashew-pear. You need to be careful though, since the introduction of different ingredients can seriously affect the crystallization properties of cracked sugar. I've had some pretty bad outcomes with stuff like cocoa powder and dried cherries.

But it's my hope that I'll eventually perfect the process enough to have a dozen quality recipes that I can consider marketing in the future. I don't think anyone has cornered the market on brittle yet.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I didn't give him an infraction, since I was aware of the thread's visibility. He just got a small warning to be careful about it.

Christ, I'm not Styphon.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I don't know, honestly. It's a definite possibility, though it does depend upon what chemicals are in the individual syrup. There's a rather narrow window during which specific ingredients must be added before the sugar slurry recrystallizes, and before the baking soda is added. The soda is the catalyst, but is somewhat reactive with other ingredients, I've found.

But my first inclination is to say that Torini syrups should work since they're liquid and generally sucrose based. I'd avoid the sugar-free ones, since I have no freakin' clue what aspartame will do to the blend. Start with a pretty basic flavor, like vanilla or strawberry and see how that works. Most brittle recipes demand vanilla extract anyhow, so Torini should function similarly.

Chocolate has not yielded the best of results, in my experience. Cocoa powder doesn't blend well, and melted chips affect the consistency of the sugar so that it dries too firm and doesn't break. But perhaps the Torini syrup will work as long as it doesn't contain too much actual chocolate.

Also, salt really fucks things up too. So if you use any nuts, make sure they're unsalted.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Denicalis

Ever considered using a high quality chocolate syrup, Crash? I'd assume that would avoid the problem of the chocolate changing the consistency.

It's crossed my mind, but I don't know if it's the medium or the nature of chocolate itself that causes the problem. It may simply be an incompatible substance. Unfortunately, the only way to definitively find out is to prepare a batch as normal and see if it works out. I'm not entirely crazy about wasting materials on a last-ditch grab at getting it right. I'm not even 100% convinced it'd taste proper if it did come out properly, it's always just been something I've done for the sake of experimentation.

I'm more inclined to attempt the Torino solution, as that's a substance that's much closer to simple syrup than chocolate syrup is.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Yeah, that'd definitely work. I've seen it recommended in a few books.

I was speaking idiomatically.