Glimpse of Fall and Old Fashioned Candy Making

Summer in Arkansas has been hotter than a snakes belly on a tin roof.    Maybe that’s why autumn is always so welcome.   It’s probably the reason we start making chili at the first hint of pre-season football…even though its still 98 degrees outside.  It’s why I bought a new pair of sweat pants even thought it was too hot to try them on.

These first signs of fall get me in the mood for certain things.  Carmel apples, chili, pinto beans and cornbread, fried potatoes… Ok, so mainly it gets me in the mood for food, but also for crafting.  This is the time of year, when we can stop fussing over the garden that pretty much burned up the first week of July anyway and start concentrating on crafting for the holidays.  I think Picasso said something like, “I am always doing that which I cannot do so that I may learn how to do it.”  Picasso is probably rolling over in his grave over my butchering of such a profound statement, but I am sure you get the jest.   The point being, try something new.

My newest interest started with a special request to the blacksmith at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, AR.  I wanted a taffy hook.  I wanted one that was functional but mainly one I could hang egg baskets or quilts on.  After one year of looking in antique stores with no luck, I decided to try to have one made.  He was very accommodating and I was delighted with the end result.

After squabbling over the proper height at which to hang it so we would not poke out our eyes, my wonderful husband, who took up woodworking not so long ago and has really impressed me and all my friends and family, made a pine base for the hook for some extra stability, I suppose in the event I want to hang a side of beef from it.. 

The hook has not had enough free time to host any of the decorative items mentioned.   We make candy every weekend and we are usually “sold out” (given away) by Monday afternoon.  Being the traditionalist, I like to stick to things I think would have been common “back in the day”: Maple syrup, molasses, vinegar.   Phil likes more adventurous and artificial flavors like cinnamon roll.   I am fascinated by the fact that the same basic recipe is used for pretty much all the candies.  The catalysts are heat and flavors…and we have had NO bad batches.   We may not get what we want, like hard candy instead of taffy, but it has all been good and it teaches the life lesson of flexibility.  Plus, if you don’t tell people you are making taffy, they are just as excited when you show up with hard candy. 

If you haven’t made your own candy, I strongly suggest trying it.  It is amazing to watch the transformation of a few ingredients into something shiny and molten, and then again into something satiny and ribbon-like just from the act of pulling it.  I will be adding recipes to the recipe tab soon.  Please send in your recipes for any old fashioned candy you have.  Also, if you have any questions, please feel free to post them.  This trip to the past will be a journey together, so if I don’t have the answer, maybe someone out there will.