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Brittle (food)

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Brittle
Golden peanut brittle cracked on a serving dish
TypeConfectionery
Main ingredientsSugar, nuts, water, butter

Brittle, is a type of confection, consisting of flat broken pieces of hard sugar candy embedded with nuts such as pecans, almonds, or peanuts.[1] It has many variations around the world, such as pasteli in Greece,[2] croquant in France,[3] Chikki in India and Kotkoti in Bangladesh.[4][citation needed] In parts of the Middle East, brittle is made with pistachios,[5] while many Asian countries use sesame seeds and peanuts.[6] Peanut brittle is the most popular brittle recipe in the US.[7] The term brittle first appears in print in 1892, though the candy itself has been around for much longer.[8]

Traditionally, a mixture of sugar and water is heated to the hard crack stage corresponding to a temperature of approximately 300 °F (149 °C), although some recipes also call for ingredients such as corn syrup and salt in the first step.[9] Nuts are mixed with the caramelized sugar. At this point spices, leavening agents, and often peanut butter or butter are added. The hot candy is poured out onto a flat surface for cooling, traditionally a granite or marble slab. The hot candy may be troweled to uniform thickness. When the brittle cools, it is broken into pieces.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ Kate Hopkins (2012). Sweet Tooth: The Bittersweet History of Candy. Macmillan. p. 34. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
  2. ^ Dinah Corley (2011). Gourmet Gifts: 100 Delicious Recipes for Every Occasion to Make Yourself & Wrap with Style. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 251.
  3. ^ Lisa Abend (2011). The Sorcerer's Apprentices: A Season in the Kitchen at Ferran Adrià's elBulli. Simon and Schuster. p. 82.
  4. ^ "Peanut or Cheena Badam is popular outdoor leisure snack food in Bangladesh". January 11, 2011.
  5. ^ Joel Denker (2007). The World on a Plate: A Tour Through the History of America's Ethnic Cuisine. University of Nebraska Press. p. 33. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
  6. ^ Leela Punyaratabandhu (April 12, 2011). "Goddesses and peanut brittle: This year, celebrate Songkran in supernatural style". CNN. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
  7. ^ Chu, Anita. Field Guide to Candy: How to Identify and Make Virtually Every Candy Imaginable. Philadelphia: Quirk, 2009.
  8. ^ Oliver, Lynne. “Brittle." Food Timeline. N.p., 1999. Web. http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodcandy.html#brittle
  9. ^ http://www.joyofbaking.com/candy/PeanutBrittle.html
  10. ^ Paula Deen (2011). Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible: The New Classic Guide to Delicious Dishes with More Than 300 Recipes. Simon & Schuster. p. 418. Retrieved April 11, 2013.


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