21 September 2020
Well, if it hasn’t been crazy enough this hurricane season, a tropical low developed directly over the state of Florida yesterday and we have had constant rain today. Just a few minutes ago, it rained as hard as I’ve seen it here at the house.
On my morning walk, as I got to the end of one of the finger isles, the pumping station for my neighborhood was flashing a red light. That usually means the pump is not working. I called the hot line for the city of Fort Lauderdale to report it. The last thing I need is for the sewer to back up today. Hopefully, they sent someone out to look into it. They are supposed to have sensors to automatically notify the city but I don’t want to bet the farm on that.
The supervisor for Baxter Restoration showed up around 1 pm and brought with him some boxes for me to pack up everything in both the top and bottom cabinets. We are apparently still on for the 23rd for delivery of the new upper cabinets. After using all 6 boxes I texted him when he comes back on the 23rd to bring me at least 6 more. How do you accumulate so much junk?
I had a growing list of groceries so I tried to put an order in at Publix for delivery but the first two items I typed in on their web site came back as sold out. I shifted to Amazon. It’s a little more difficult with them. First, there is Whole Foods, a subsidiary of Amazon and also Fresh Market. If you type an item in you may get a Whole Foods item and if you type another item in, it may come up Fresh Market. A third item may come up Amazon Prime. Right now, I’ve had a delivery from Whole Foods, I’m expecting a delivery from Fresh Market and tomorrow I’ll have a delivery from Amazon Prime. Of course, Whole Foods and Fresh Market charge $4.99 delivery fee. Add a tip to each and it gets expensive.
By the way, since when has Karo syrup become so expensive? One small bottle was listed for $18. I passed on that one.
I always try to keep a bottle of the light Karo syrup (as opposed to their dark variety) on hand. There are one or two recipes I have that call for Karo. My favorite is mother’s chocolate fudge recipe. She wrote it down for me years ago but like so many recipes, until you actually try it, you don’t realize how incomplete the recipe is. I finally read between the lines of the recipe and I have to admit I make a pretty good facsimile of her fudge.
The recipe as she wrote it is 3 cups sugar, 1 cup milk, Karo syrup (she didn’t give an amount) 1/2 cup peanut butter, 3-4 tablespoons cocoa, and 1 tablespoon of butter. Do the soft ball thingy. She forgot to tell me to add vanilla flavoring with her recipe.
It’s far more complicated than that but also far more forgiving than you think. I mix the cocoa and sugar together in a cast iron skillet or very large deep pot.
You have to break up the lumps of cocoa before you add the milk. Make a well with the cocoa/sugar and pour the milk into the well and slowly incorporate the milk with the sugar/cocoa mix. This prevents any lumping.
I’ve screwed up the soft ball stage so many times I finally rely on a candy thermometer. You add the milk to the sugar/cocoa mix and stir constantly while on high heat. As it dissolves, I put the candy thermometer in and when it gets to 234°F. take it off the heat and let the roiling boil calm down – usually about 3-5 minutes.
Add the butter, vanilla flavoring, peanut butter, and I pour in about 1/4 to 1/2 cup Karo syrup. The Karo makes a silkier fudge.
You then proceed to beat the Jesus out of the hot mixture. Mother would whip that mixture with a wooden spoon until it began to get thick. If you wait too long, it solidifies in the iron skillet so you need a deep dish of some type that you have buttered to prevent sticking. Pour it into the buttered dish and allow it to set up – around 10 minutes. In the meantime you can lick the spoon and the sides and bottom of the skillet. That’s my favorite part!
My cousin Jimmie and I would watch my grandmother Laura make tea cakes but the best part was when she would let us lick the bowl and spoon of the raw dough. Yea, I know, you’re not supposed to do that because of Salmonella from the eggs, but it didn’t kill us then and I still eat the raw dough when I make the tea cakes now.
Sometimes mother would space out pecan halves on the surface before it completely solidified and cut the fudge into squares so each square had a pecan half in the center. Be sure to slightly toast the pecans first.
This is a great tasting fudge, particularly with that hint on peanut butter. I’ve learned to use really good Dutch cocoa instead of Hershey’s Powdered Cocoa but it works well either way. Sometimes, if I have Ghiradelli chips I’ll add some of those and I’ve also learned to add a pinch of salt to the sugar/cocoa mix and also a little powdered instant coffee or instant espresso which brings out the chocolate taste more.
Sometimes mother would add chopped pecans before starting to whip the fudge but I prefer the pecan halves on top, not in the fudge.
The science behind fudge making is interesting. You are using heat to make a supersaturated solution (there’s no way one cup of milk can dissolve 3 cups of sugar by itself). By whipping the fudge, you are creating “scratches” that crystals can form and you are ensuring it forms very small crystals for a smoother fudge. If you were to let it cool down on its own, it would form very large crystals and be far too sugary.
If you have ever made sugar sticks for coffee, you know what I mean. You make a supersaturated solution of sugar water and then place a skewer into the solution and let it sit for a day or two. It forms very large sugar crystals.
Rainy days lead to twinges in the arm. I’m sure I can forecast the weather from my surgery.
Stay tuned and stay safe!
