enhanced saltwater taffy

[herbgirl]

a friend has given me a whole sack (maybe a zip) of ABV and a request for enhanced saltwater taffy. While it is nice to know that he has faith in my abilities, i have no clue what the best way of getting the goodness into a candy like taffy would be.

i've never made taffy before, but i know it calls for butter. so i could do abv butter but i'm not sure how to cram almost an o of duff into just 2 T butter. just seems like it wouldn't work.

or, possibly, i could do an iso or everclear wash evapped to goo and mixed with the required (most recipes seem to say 2 TB) butter. I have not done this, but only read about it. anybody know how much evapped goo you can get into 2 T butter and have it still be butter?

any advice?

 

[AGBeer]

I would say try something along the lines of the candy hooch that Mr. Zephyr Ion posted a while back. That way you will help compliment some of the grain alcohol biteageness with the tasty flavors of some schnapps or liqueur.

This would be an interesting recipe!

OR!!! (This just hit me)

Take your monumentus amount of ABV and do the ISO(Grain alcohol for this) wash. Let it evaporate down to the goo that is scraped. You can then melt this little gooball INTO your butter. That might work well

 

[herbgirl]

Thanks,
i'm thinking the gooball mixed with the butter will be my best bet, i'm just not sure if all the goodness will fit into that small amount of butter. Guess i'll find out!

at least i got him to reconsider his original request of captain crunch cereal. i REALLY had no clue on that one, i just told him i'd make milk for him to pour on it.

serves me right for telling him that i could make 'anything' with it

 

[VWFringe]

I'm sure you saw taffy recipes, but thought I'd post one, since it is an intriguing idea

Science of Saltwater Taffy

it does need to be heated to 270 F...I'm fearfull of boiling off actives, is it safe to make candy if you want to retain THC?

The taffy looks labor intensive, but it's only for fifteen minutes - to airate it

What Do I Need?
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch Why do I add cornstarch?
1 cup light corn syrup Why do I add corn syrup?
2 teaspoons glycerin (optional) What is glycerin?
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1 teaspoon flavoring (such as vanilla, lemon, maple, or mint)
3 drops food coloring (optional)
-------------------------------
a large (3- to 4-quart) saucepan
a wooden spoon
a candy thermometer
a pastry brush
waxed paper or plastic wrap
a marble slab or cookie sheet
greased scissors or butter knife
What Do I Do?
1. Mix together sugar and cornstarch in the saucepan.


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.

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.


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.

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.

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.

What Else Can I Try?
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.

Try not pulling some of the taffywhat is the texture of the resulting candy?

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.

Try twisting together taffy ropes of different colors or flavors for fun new combinations.