In article >, zxcvbob > wrote:
>Nancy1 wrote:
>> Phred wrote:
>>>
>>>This "Old Fashioned Fudge" you mention sounds more like a trendy,
>>>yuppie fudge to me. My mum would *never* have put friggin' *nuts* in
>>>a fudge, and her recipe (which, unfortunately, I don't have to hand,
>>>but *may* be able to dig up from one or another of my female rellies)
>>>dates back to *her* mum, who would be 132 this year, if still alive.
>>>I might add that her fudge was crisp and crunchy even in the humid wet
>>>tropics of the so-called "pristine" World Heritage areas around here.
>>>(Not far from the tourist ghetto of Cairns -- I rest my case. .
>>
>> Well, let's see - BH & G's fudge recipe appears in my 1962 cookbook,
>> and even then, they call it "old fashion" to differentiate from all the
>> quick 'n easy condensed milk and/or marshmallow type recipes. So, for
>> most purposes, it IS old-fashion fudge; that is, made with the help of
>> a candy thermometer and cooked to the proper temperature, and beaten to
>> within an inch of its life, before pouring it into a pan to cool.
>>
>> Fudge isn't crisp and crunchy. Fudge should be smooth-textured and
>> fairly solid (the above recipe, which I use all the time, creates a
>> fudge that if you take a 2 inch square of it, you can break it in half
>> with no messy drips/strings or other appearances of being squishy, and
>> you can easily pick it up without getting your fingers messy), and
>> doesn't get soft if it's not refrigerated (unless it's left out in 90
>> deg. F. or above temps).
>>
>> Why don't you post your mum's recipe, so we can see what the
>> differences are between Aussie fudge and USA fudge.

G'day Nance,

I would if I could but I can't. I didn't inherit her recipe notes.
But I *think* I know who in the family might have them, so I'll see if
I can dig them up. I'm pretty curious about it too as none of the
modern bought fudges I've tried come close to hers as I remember it.

>Phred has an offbeat sense of humor, so I dunno how much of his post was
>serious and how much was in jest (I suspect some of each.) "Even Older
>Fashioned" fudge wouldn't have the little bit of corn syrup, but it
>might have a tsp of vinegar or (guessing now) some light tasting honey.
> If there was nothing like that added to retard crystalization, the
>fudge would probably turn of grainy most of the time -- which could be
>construed as crisp and crunchy, I guess.

G'day Bob,

I think my description was rather, er ..., shall we say "hurried"?
I can see why "crisp and crunchy" may conjure up images of hard toffee
or similar. It's hard to describe what I'm really trying to say --
especially as I haven't had any of my mother's fudge for over 50
years. It was certainly firm, but not "hard" -- that is, it sort of
crumbled rather than snapped -- and it wasn't an amorphous texture, it
seemed to have a "structure" of sorts, though not *noticeably*
crystalline. And it certainly wasn't at all sticky to handle.

As I mentioned some time ago, my mother never got the hang of making
icecream; and her one attempt at cooking brains was a disaster; so
maybe her fudge was created more by accident than intent too. As I
said above, I'll try to locate a copy of her recipe, or, possibly, her
mother's -- which would probably be a better guide to intention. :-)

Cheers, Phred.

--
LID