Ingredients
The ingredients often include butter or margarine, molasses, sugar, and sometimes white vinegar. The molasses is the critical ingredient, for it is less sweet than sugar and has a slightly bitter flavour that gives bonfire toffee its unique taste. One recipe calls for 230 grams (0.51 lb) of butter, 230 grams (0.51 lb) of treacle, and 450 grams (0.99 lb) of sugar. The mixture is cooked over medium heat until melted, and allowed to boil (while constantly stirring rapidly) for 15 minutes. The hot mixture is then poured into buttered forms (such as a cake pan or special forms). Recipes calling for the use of vinegar vary these ingredients. For example, one recipe from 1922 calls for 550 grams (1 US dry pint) of dark brown sugar, 280 millilitres (0.49 imp pt) of molasses, one tablespoon of vinegar, one tablespoon of butter, and one teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate (or baking soda). White vinegar gives the toffee a slightly sharper taste, and alters the chemistry of the toffee so that it is not so brittle. It also helps the toffee to set. Other recipes call for about 5 imperial pints (2.8 l) of water, and vary the amount of the other ingredients. Some recipes call for the use of golden syrup (In the US this is light molasses mixed with corn syrup) instead of molasses/treacle.
It can be cut or rolled into sticks while still warm. Some recipes call for essence of almond, lemon, or peppermint to be added for flavour, or for cayenne pepper to be added to give it a spicy kick.
Generally speaking, little fat is used in the mixture, and the moisture content of the food is low. Food colouring (usually dark brown or black colour) is used in cheaper versions, when not enough treacle is present in the mixture to turn the toffee a dark colour.
By one estimate, 100 grams (3.5 oz) of bonfire toffee has 119 kilocalories (500 kJ), 4.3 grams of protein, 21.2 grams of carbohydrates, 1.9 grams of fat, and 0 grams of dietary fiber.
Read more about this topic: Bonfire Toffee
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