Recipe: Vinegar Taffy

Vinegar Taffy

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla or other flavoring such as orange or lemon, or use 1/2 tsp peppermint, or 1 oz bitter chocolate, grated.

Cook sugar, water, corn syrup, salt and vinegar until a few drops of the mixture will make a hard ball in cold water, 260 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Pour onto a greased dish or platter, sprinkle flavoring over top and turn the outer edges of the candy in toward the center until cool and firm enough to handle. Best results are obtained in pulling if the tips of the thumbs and fingers are dipped in cornstarch or fat. Use only the fingertips to pull taffy.

When mixture can be handled, take up and pull out with both hands. Fold over and pull out again. As the mixture becomes cooler and the longer it is pulled, it will become stiffer and can be pulled out in a longer strand. Pull until it is difficult to pull out and the mixture seems quite firm.

Pull into long thin strips and cut immediately with greased scissors and roll each piece in powdered sugar or wrap in wax paper. Store cooled taffy in an air tight container in a cool dry place.

If the taffy sugars, it can be recooked by putting it in a pan with 2 Tbsp corn syrup and 1/4 cup water. Stir until dissolved and then recook according to original directions.

Finely chopped nuts or fruit, as well as other flavorings, are added as the taffy is being pulled.

Source: Newspaper article; Grandma Ruby's (Florence Williams) recipe file