When I was in Jr. High I once made a hard pulled taffy with my Great Grandmother. Unfortunately by the time I was interested in knowing how to make it she could no longer remember the recipe. I am looking to try to reproduce it. I'll tell you what I can remember and hopefully someone here can help! Keep in mind, my great-grandmother was born in 1896, never learned to drive, dressed and acted exactly like Aunt Bea in the Andy Griffith show...so this would have been a really old fashioned way to make candy.

First we made some sort of a syrup in a pot. She never used a candy thermometer. I don't remember what was in it at all, but I remember a substance that looked similar to the simple syrup I make for IMBC. I think I remember her pouring it onto a plate. Then she would work it until it turned white. She never added anything to color it. Once it turned white and really started to stiffen we would start pulling. Probably in a similar manner to making taffy. The difference is that this stuff would dry into hard "ropes" Once she had the hard lengths of "taffy" she would use a knife to hit the taffy to break off about 1 inch long pieces.

I would love to find out how to make this and make it with my kids!

Thanks,
Liza

the process sounds like how you would make candy fondant... (i've been reading and looking into that lately).. not sure it that's it.. but here's a link anyway

http://www.chocolate-candy-mall.com/fondant.html

Thanks. I'll have to try making it. Do you think it would pull and harden like I described? If I make it and taste it I'll know. I can still remember how Mammaw's candy tasted!

Liza

when it's warm.. it more than likey will... I'll keep looking .. I'm interested now too...

here are some more... seems like they are very similar...

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1832,158172-225199,00.html

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1832,158173-224199,00.html

http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/recipe-taffy.html


http://southernfood.about.com/od/candyrecipes/r/blbb290.htm

http://candy.about.com/od/candybasics/ss/pullcandy_4.htm

1/2 c sugar
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp rum essence

Put the sugar and water into a small pan and heat gently until sugar dissolves. Add honey and butter and boil gently without stirring. Boil until hard ball stage.
Take candy off the heat, stir in essence. Pour mixture onto a well buttered metal plate. When cool enough to touch, push it into a lump. Pick it up and twist into a rope. Pull until it sparkles. Cut off pieces using buttered kitchen scissors.

Hope this is what you were after!

Those sound similar except when you get to the part where you cut it with kitchen scissors. My great-grandmother called it taffy, but technically I'm sure it wasn't. It quickly became hard as a rock when pulled. That's why you had to "whack" it with a knife to break off 1" segments.

Liza

It sounds like pulled sugar. You boil the sugar/water mixture to a certain temp. pour it into a pan or silpat mat. allow to cool for a few minutes just until the edges can be lifted. then start folding it until it is cool enough to handle. it will still be warm though. the more you pull the more opague it gets. pull or roll into a rope and allow to finish cooling...then break into pieces or heat knife or scissors with torch and make quick cuts if more uniform pieces are desired.

lemme hunt that down for you unless someone else gets it by the time I return.

http://www.candymaking.net/Taffy.html

The above recipe doesn't include butter nor vinegar like most chewy type taffies.

make sure to scroll to the end of this article and click next page. Enjoy the links provided on the left as well....reading them will make you smile and remember your grandma...made me think about mine anyway

http://www.candymaking.net/PCandy1.html

Here is a recipe I found in a 1936 cookbook that sounds like it might be what you are looking for.

"Molasses Candy

Put a quart of good dark molasses - New Orleans preferred - over the fire with a cup of brown sugar and a half cup of vinegar. Cook until a little of it hardens when dropped in cold water, then stir in a tablespoon of butter and a teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in cold water. Pour the sirup into buttered platters or large, shallow tins. The more surface it covers the sooner it will cool, but if turned into a deep dish or pan it will be a long time before it reaches the stage where it can be pulled. As soon as it arrives at the temperature where it can be handled without actually blistering the fingers, begin to pull it, taking only a small quantity at a time. Use the finger tips, buttering them well to begin with and working as quickly as possible. The longer the candy is pulled the whiter it gets, and in practiced hands it may be brought to a glistening whiteness and then braided into long or short sticks."

Hope it's close to what you remember.

I used to eat something that sounds similar at my great grannies but was too little to ever make it with her i will be watching this one let us know when you get the right recipe i sure would like to have it again. good luck on your search!