2013 Home for the Holidays Special edition of LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com Page 27
Before you begin, here
are a few basic tips:
• Use a heavy pan for any recipe
that calls for heating or cooking.
• Use a candy thermometer, even
if the recipe gives cooking time
in minutes. Use the guide on the
thermometer to decide the tem-
perature.
• Use a timer.
• If it says to stop stirring at
some point, don’t stir again.
Even a grain of sugar from the
side of the pot can cause crystal-
lizing, and the candy becomes
grainy instead of smooth.
• If you are beating egg whites
for stiffness, be sure all the uten-
sils, beaters and the bowl are
free of any grease or oil, and it
helps if everything in this pro-
cess is chilled first.
• Generally speaking, it is bet-
ter to avoid high-humidity days,
but especially if you are making
recipes that require stiffly beaten
eggs whites and sugar, which is
to provide volume.
• When beating sugar into egg
whites, add sugar steadily and
gradually; don’t just dump.
• In candy making, ingredient
substitutions are common, but
you will want to follow the pro-
cess directions closely.
• Allow yourself plenty of time.
This should be fun.
• And, most important to remem-
ber, if it doesn’t turn out right,
don’t tell anybody. You’ve made
a new recipe and it tastes just as
good.
Candy making can call for some
quick and timely actions. So,
you will want to get completely
organized before you begin.
Set out all the measuring instru-
ments, utensils, thermometer,
bowls and pans, and the ingredi-
ents you will be using. Prepare
your final containers, which may
be buttered or oiled cake pans,
or cookie sheets or boxes lined
with parchment or wax papers.
Setup for the final product usu-
ally takes some time, so it’s
better to have it done before you
start.
Read through the recipe a couple
of times to become familiar with
what you will be doing and to
see if there is any setup you will
want to do before starting, such
as if you would need to set a hot
pan into a pan of cold water. Or,
you might need extra space in
the final steps, such as if you are
to be pulling taffy, which takes
lots of room and scissors.
OK, you’ve picked your recipe,
you have everything ready to go.
Now it’s time to turn on your
favorite holiday music and enjoy
starting a new tradition.
Here is a recipe you might try.
Christmas Butter Fudge is made
with simple ingredients. It was
taken from an old candy book.
How old? The book has a recipe
from Lady Bird Johnson when
her husband was president of the
United States, and another recipe
is from Mrs. Otto Kerner when
her husband was governor of
Illinois.
So, this recipe is at least 50
years old. Considering the year,
where it calls for milk, that prob-
ably means you will want whole
milk. Today, people drink lower-
fat milk, which might not be
good for fudge. You might try
