Brutal Brittle

Made my first peanut brittle last night, on a whim. Being flip about making candy probably isn't the best way of going about it, but I had all the ingredients, so I figured what the hell. Brittle is amazingly simple, but some I learned some very important lessons. First, the ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1 cup corn syrup (I subbed maple syrup)
dash vanilla
tiny dash of salt
baking soda
couple fistfulls of spanish peanuts, uncooked. I used mixed, roasted, salted nuts from a can
1 cup water
2 tablespoons of butter

You've all been warned before about making candy and melting sugar, but I would be remiss if I didn't remind you again. Use either a candy thermometer or a digital remote thermometer to precisely gauge the temperature of the syrup as it is boiling. There are two things about making candy, one is that you should wear a blast shield and steel gauntlets because molten sugar is hotter than the surface of the sun. It is also like cooking with napalm, once it gets on you, it will not come off until it has burned all the way through, fallen to the ground, and burned through the tile. Secondly, watch the thermometer as you stir with careful vigilence. Sugar has interesting molecular properties that change irrevocably once you hit certain temperatures, and those temperatures are not that far apart from each other.

Here is a short primer on the stages of heated sugar, and the accompanying properties:

Thread Stage
230-235 degrees F
Basically syrup, will not solidify, use for sugary syrup.

Soft-Ball Stage
235-250 degrees F
Indicative of fudge, pralines and fondant. Sugar becomes a soft, flexible ball

Firm-Ball Stage
245-250 degrees F
Caramel.

Hard-Ball Stage
250-265 degrees F
Nougat, marshmallows, gummies and rock candy.

Soft-Crack Stage
270-290 degrees F
Saltwater taffy and butterscotch.

Hard-Crack Stage
300-310 degrees F
Brittle, toffee and lollipops.

After you reach the hard crack stage, which is nearly 99% melted sugar and 1% water, you reach the stage of caramelizing the 100% sugar. There are three stages: Clear liquid, brown liquid and burnt sugar. They hit at 320, 338, and 350 degrees respectively. Brown liquid is most common, and used as dessert decortion or candy coating. Burnt sugar can be used, but if it goes over 350, it will be just that, actual burnt sugar which will be bitter and useless. Clearly, these are bone-charring temperatures so use extreme caution when stirring.

To make the brittle, begin by pouring the sugar and syrup and water into a heavy bottom 3 quart pot. Stir well until the sugar is dissolved. Dash the vanilla and salt in. The corn syrup helps stabilize the sugar so it doesn't re-crystalize during cooking. If crystals form on the side of the pot, you can brush it down with hot water. Keep stirring and boiling until the mixture hits 250 degrees. At this point, add the peanuts. Keep boiling until the temperature reaches 310, then immediately pull off the heat and vigorously stir in the butter, melting it completely, then the baking soda. The baking soda reacts to infuse the mixture with co2. When it has frothed a bit, turn out into well buttered or non stick pans. Spread thin and let cool. If you want, you can later paint melted chocolate on it for an added treat.

So it is that easy. Unfortunately, the recipe I was using only called for boiling until 290, which meant it was brittle when you started chewing, but started sticking to the teeth in a matter of a few seconds. Also, nowhere did anybody specify how long it would take to raise sugar to 310 degrees. It takes a while. The boiling mixture quickly reaches 235 degrees, then slows down dramatically. I thought I was doing something wrong, but it won't start going up in temperature until enough of the water has boiled off, so don't fret. I remember it took 20-30 minutes to get that hot, and remember to stir constantly.