Brittle is a great summer treat, because it can stand up to warm
summer temps all while satisfying the need for sweet, salty and whole lot of
crunch!
This week we’re sharing 5 quick tips from RCI members who are
known for their brittles, among their other delightful treats, Joy Lyn’s
Candies of Paradise, California. Keep reading as we troubleshoot common problems faced when making brittle and how to resolve them.
- Crystallization can be caused by an incomplete
wash-down of the kettle, mixing blade and other utensils used while making
brittle. This means not all sugars have dissolved which will create a grainy texture.
- Sticky brittle could be the result of
undercooking the batch, creating higher than desired moisture content.
- Alternatively, cooking brittle at too high of a temperature can lead to a scorched or bitter flavor.
- Butter your table top before pouring the batch to prevent it from sticking to the table.
- Brittle that is too hard and thick can happen if you use a fan to cool your mixture, allowing it to set too quickly. Avoid the use of a fan to cool mixture and work quickly to thin and spread brittle.
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Game Changing Tools for Working with Brittle
Sometimes even perfect formulations can only
get you so far, here’s a couple of Joy Lyn’s favorite tools for crafting drool-worthy brittles with consistency.
Finding the right heat-resistant gloves will not only protect your skin from burns, they allow you to spread hot brittle thinly and quickly. Joy Lyn’s wears high-temperature Tucker BurnGuard® safety gloves over white cotton gloves to lessen the heat.
Sometimes a standard scraper is just not enough for confections, like brittle, that require a high-level of heat. Joy Lyn’s repurposes the lid of a food-grade corn syrup bucket
to fashion their own heavy-duty scrapers, perfect for scraping the kettle and
spread the hot brittle mixture after it’s poured. With the use of a bandsaw,
they cut the bucket’s lid in half to achieve the desired shape. The result is a
scraper that is thicker, larger and can better withstand
high heat.
Hopefully these tips will not only help you to identify and correct problem areas with brittle, but also achieve thinner, flavorful brittle with
just the right amount of crunch!
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