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Looking for an old reciepe

Looking for an old reciepe

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Old 11-22-2008, 03:51 PM
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When I was a little girl my mom used to make this wonderful hard rock candy. However she has missed placed the reciepe and she says that it takes flavored oils in it and we cant seem to find them here in Arizona. If anyone has this reciepe and knows where to get the oils to make them I would love to get the info so I can make some for Christmas. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


MissTami :roll:
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Old 11-22-2008, 04:13 PM
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Is it like this one? http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,187,...246204,00.html
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Old 11-22-2008, 04:17 PM
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I remember making that, too - you cooked up a syrup so thick it would not take any more sugar, then hang salted strings in it for the crystals to grow on. The salt was supposed to help it along somehow. It went up above the kitchen cabinets and was checked every couple days til it was rock candy. Joanne's sells candy flavoring, in the cake decorating aisle. There is a recipe here
http://<br /> http://candy.about.co...rock_candy.htm
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking...ockcandy.html#

Correction - all the recipes say to dip string in sugar. Why was I thinking salt?
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Old 11-22-2008, 04:19 PM
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My family made Rock Candy at Christmas time in the 60's and 70's.m It is a lot of work, requiring 2 people to handle the syrup as it begins to set up and get it ready for breaking.

there are different methods of doing this candy, such as string dipping and making a large piece in a jelly roll pan, cooling, then breaking. My teacher had a wonderful method. We put the syrup in buttered metal ice cube trays. (those might be hard to find) and when it began to set up, we put it on a marble slab and began to make "cuts" or indentations in it in preparation for the final cutting of it - which made small "pillow shapes" that you could suck on for a long time.

Oils are essential. I used to buy them at a pharmacy, where they sold them in tiny viles. You can ask a pharmacist if he will sell you the flavors you want. Cinnamon was the favorite in my household.

If you can find the oils and are still interested PM me and I will dig out the recipe for you. It will be a cryptic list of amounts of various ingredients and the time or temp for cooking. Accuracy is required.

this is a project not to be taken lightly. It is labor intensive. I used to have people ask me to make it for them, but what I made was given as gifts and there it ended.

I did a Google search and did not find what I would call a traditional recipe for this Christmas treat.

June
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Old 11-22-2008, 07:02 PM
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Originally Posted by MissTami
When I was a little girl my mom used to make this wonderful hard rock candy. However she has missed placed the reciepe and she says that it takes flavored oils in it and we cant seem to find them here in Arizona. If anyone has this reciepe and knows where to get the oils to make them I would love to get the info so I can make some for Christmas. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
MissTami :roll:
Is this the same as hard tack candy flavored with oils?
You can get the Lorann flavoring oils from a pharmacy or Walmart usually has them.
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Old 11-22-2008, 07:42 PM
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Thanks for remembering the name of the oils. That is the exact same brand I always used. And yes, it was referred to as hard tack.

June
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Old 11-22-2008, 10:49 PM
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I am not sure if these candies are the same. My mom used to pour the syrup mixture onto a cookie sheet. Then it would cool. Once it was cool my mom would sprinkle confectioners sugar on the table then flip the cookie sheet over tap on the back and all of it would break into all sizes of pieces then she would slide it all into a dish and we could eat it. Once in a while she would take the mixture and while it was still warm she would cut it with scissors and then twist it into bows or wiggles etc. I will be keeping all the recipes and hopefully one will be the right one. Keep the info coming. The more info I have the better chance to find the right one. Thanks to all of those who are helping me.

MissTami :roll:
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Old 11-23-2008, 05:12 AM
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This recipe can be made in various forms, but it tastes the same.

Peanut Brittle is another Cold weather treat. Why do I say cold weather? Humidity causes it to become sticky and it sticks together in clumps.
As with most cadies made from a boiled sugar syrup, and things like Seafoam Icing and Divinity, it is best to make it on a clear, cold day. I always waited until it was below freezing outside, in order to get a good product.

Does anyone remember the Peanut Brittle with wide strips of coconut toasted in the brittle? It can be duplicated by buying a fresh coconut and cutting it in strips with a potato peeler, then cooking it in the syrup with the fresh peanuts. At one time (in history) you could go to the 5 & 10 cent store and buy them fresh where they roasted them behind the candy counter. Oh Nostalgia!! (the substitution for the fresh peanuts that have not been roasted would be unsalted dry roasted peanuts.) Another Treat was (and I still make this one) English Toffee that tastes like Heath bar. Who counts calories at Christmas? Not me!!!

Those were the days. Our Christmas Past also included fresh made donuts on Christmas morning.

June
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Old 11-23-2008, 07:08 AM
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Hard Tack Candy

3-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup boiling water
1 tsp. oil flavoring of choice
Several drops of food coloring (to match flavor)

Butter large plate or platter and set aside. Mix first three
ingredients in saucepan until sugar is dissolved. Cook, without
stirring until candy thermometer reaches 300 degrees (hard crack).
Immediately remove from heat. Add food coloring and 1 dram
(teaspoon) of oil flavoring. Stir until well mixed. Pour syrup into
prepared plate or platter. Start cutting around edges with candy
shears as syrup cools. Drop the candy on wax paper that has been
covered with confectionary sugar.
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