Grandma Dobbins' Penuchi

My skills in candy-making are fairly limited. So what have I learned today? That you *have* to pay attention to the temperature on the candy thermometer. There is your first clue that I was headed for disaster. And what else did I learn with this recipe? I now know that *close enough* is not the attitude to take, when seeking the "soft ball stage." But jeez, louise, that boiling brown sweet stuff was rising out of the pan like a monster, scaring me, and I just wanted this whole thing to be done, the sooner the better!

So I kinda peered at the thermometer and decided 230 would be just fine. Well, never having made or eaten this stuff, I don't know what the finished product is supposed to look like. The directions say to cut it as soon as mixture sets. Ha! I tried putting a fork in it and might as well have put a spoon in, because it was a soupy sweet little mess. Fortunately, I don't like to let a failed recipe go to waste. So I poured it over vanilla ice cream and oh, my, my. If this isn't ambrosia, I don't know what is! The Resident Archaeologist is rather fond of this newly discovered close relative of Penuchi, and doesn't mind one bit that it didn't turn out quite as planned. He has made a dent in the vanilla ice cream, in order to sample this wonderful new ambrosia. Don't you just love it when happy food accidents happen?!



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