Brittle fail

soft-crunch brittle and brittle dust

Making food is sometimes a lot like working in a chemistry lab, or so I would imagine.  I've never worked in a chemistry lab so I can't actually make that statement based on experience.  My youngest son is a college student in the late stages of his chemistry degree so I could ask him, but he's not here as I type this so you will have to rely on my judgement in saying that.

When making candy, the chemistry is very important.  Last night I was up late working on making a final batch of soft-crunch brittle for weekend orders.  I had liquid ingredients and sugars in a saucepan boiling gently during these late hours.  I was definitely tired as I had awakened early in the morning and arose at 4:30 AM since I wasn't able to get back to sleep, and I would imagine that tiredness is responsible for what happened next.  I set a timer for eight minutes.  The ingredients boil gently for eight to ten minutes, and in that window of time, the sugar solution turns to golden brown, a beautiful color made all the more so because when that happens you know magic (chemistry) is happening.  After the color turns, nuts and butter and a few other things are added, and then baking soda is added as the final ingredient, and it immediately foams up and turns the contents of the pan a beautiful orange-brown that then darkens a bit after it is poured from the pan onto a baking sheet and cooled.  

As soon as that timer went off at eight minutes, I reached for the other ingredients and started dumping them in and stirring.  Then as I dumped the baking soda in, I realized I hadn't bothered to verify that the color was right.  In that moment, I knew what was NOT going to happen next:  I got no foaming action.  The mixture just sat there in the pan.  I poured it out onto the baking sheet, and spread it.  The color was pale, the texture was not shiny, nor was it as smooth as it should have been.  The solution had not cooked long enough and was not hot enough to be ready for the final ingredient additions.  

brittle fail

The photo above is of this late-night mistake.  It's still edible, and it still tastes decent.  But it's not nearly as good as the correct result which is shown below.

brittle as it should look as it cools

As you can see, the photos show a big difference in the final result.

This is what I give out to people:  a beautiful container of golden brown brittle that is shiny and softly crispy.  

I love making this stuff, and I've made it many times before, so many times that I am sometimes on autopilot as I make it.  But this just goes to show how easily a mistake can happen that is detrimental to your final result.  

We are all human, and we will make mistakes sometimes.  So when you're in the kitchen and something goes wrong, just appreciate the added experience you gain from those mistakes.  The experience gained from mistakes is just as important as experience gained from your successes.