On Nov 30, 10:38*am, Nancy2 > wrote:
> On Nov 29, 7:48*pm, John Kuthe > wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Nov 29, 7:36*pm, Melba's Jammin' >
> > wrote:
>
> > > In article >,
>
> > > *Sqwertz > wrote:
> > > > On Mon, 29 Nov 2010 15:19:16 -0800 (PST), John Kuthe wrote:
> > > > > I pour the cooked syrup onto a buttered marble slab,
>
> > > > That's what I was afraid of. a buttered slab is totally unnecessary
> > > > for toffee. *It's not ice cream.
>
> > > > -sw
>
> > > Maybe. *And maybe he has a marble slab and wants to use it. *Pfftthhbbt.
>
> > The marble slab is a top to an antique washstand (whatever that is?)
> > that my Ex wife got from her mother, who got it from her mother. It
> > was acquiring this marble slab that was actually the progenitor of my
> > decision to start making candy, because I knew that there's no better
> > surface on which to pour hot hard crack candy syrup on. Like this
> > English Toffee. I've made other hard crack stage candies on it too.
>
> > John Kuthe...
>
> Actually, I believe English toffee is soft-crack candy, not hard
> crack. *At least in my world.

OK, but in my world both the generic candy bar Heath bars:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_bar

and my Joy Of Cooking recipe says to cook the syrup to 300F hard
crack.



> (An antique washstand is just that - it was meant to hold a bowl and
> pitcher set for "washing up" in one's bedroom - before self-contained
> all-purpose inside bathrooms were the standard. *There would maybe be
> a towel bar to hang a towel and/or wash cloth on. *You would pour
> water from the pitcher into the bowl, and use the washcloth.)

Thanks! So grandma and whomever else was washing their faces and
whatever at my marble slab so many years ago. Good to know! :-)

John Kuthe...