Scotch Whisky Fudge

About 10 years ago, I took a trip with some friends around the UK and Ireland. While in Scotland, I picked up a tin of whisky fudge because it sounded tasty and exciting. I was surprised when I first opened it that there was no chocolate involved, but it was still quite tasty. A couple of Christmasses later, I started a job at a new company and thought it would be fun to try and replicate the whisky fudge for our holiday potluck. I signed up to bring it without quite realizing what I signed on for.

My first attempts were somewhat disastrous (and led to a small burn when molten sugar was accidentally applied to my finger. Thanks, Mom.). Part of the issue was finding the right recipe to use. Most were vague at best, or required less handy (and more expensive) ingredients, such as caster sugar. After some more searching, I stumbled on a recipe on the blog Not So Humble Pie. It had clear instructions with good explanations of what to expect and didn't require any special ingredients either. It didn't call for the addition of whisky in the recipe proper, but she mentioned a possibile way to proceed.

Every year, I've thought I should write down the recipe, with the modifications I've learned to make over the years, for myself. Each December I sort of hold my breath in the hopes that the blog, which hasn't been updated in 10 years, hasn't gone defunct. So far I've gotten by, but it's past time for me to write it out for myself.

Ingredients

• 911 g (2 lbs) granulated sugar
• 115 g (1/2 cup) whole milk
• 128 g (1/2 cup) heavy whipping cream
• 113 g (1/2 cup / 1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 396 g (1 can) sweetened condensed milk
• 60 mL (2 oz) scotch whisky
• 5 mL (1 tsp) vanilla

Instructions

1. Combine the sugar, milk, whipping cream, and butter in a large non-stick stock pot over medium-low heat. Stir constantly until the mixture is boiling and all the sugar is dissolved. If needed, use a pastry brush dipped in water to wipe down the sides of the pot. Dip a teaspoon into the mixture, let it cool for a second, and then rub the mixture between your fingers—you should feel no grains of sugar. This may take about 10-20 minutes depending on the output of your stove.
2. Add the sweetened condensed milk, whisky, and vanilla to the mixture and return to a boil, still over medium-low heat. The mixture will begin to foam and rapidly expand, to about triple the volume of what it was. Stir occasionally (wash the spoon between each stirring) and wipe down the sides of the pot with the pastry brush. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches 246 F (119 C) on a candy or instant-read thermometer. This will take 10-20 minutes.
3. Remove the mixture from the heat and stir rapidly for 10 minutes, scraping the sides of the pot as you do. The mixture will begin to thicken over time.
4. Pour into a 9x13 pan, lined with foil and greased. Tap the pan to remove any air bubbles, and let set overnight (or approximately 10 hours).
5. Invert the pan on a cutting board, remove the foil, and cut into 1/2-inch squares. (Some of the squares may crack, this is expected. Crumbs go to the cook, and are a good addition to hot chocolate.)

Notes

There are some deviations from the recipe as written in Not So Humble Pie, and some things worth re-emphasizing.

• After adding the sweetened condensed milk, the mixture expands rapidly. I use an 8 qt stock pot for making this and it comes up about 2/3 of the way (sometimes higher), I would not use anything smaller than a 6 qt pot. If you have something bigger, use it.
• Timings on individual stages may vary dramatically between cooks. Sometimes step one will take 10 minutes and step two 20, sometimes its the reverse. It doesn't seem to have any effect on the final product whichever way it falls.
• Her recipe recommends cooking to 240 F (115 C). In my experience, this yields too soft a final product, it does not hold its form and it comes out almost spreadable.
• The given recipe does not include any whisky. In a comment, she recommends adding it and the vanilla after step 2, instead of with the sweetened condensed milk. In my experience, I think this drops the temperature of the mixture enough to make the final product too soft.
• If the final product is too soft, all is not lost. You can toss the lot back into the pot and re-cook until it comes to temperature. I have done this before with no ill effects.
• For the whisky, I originally used Bowmore 12 for the recipe. I had some nostalgia with it (it was the first Scotch I had) and it was relatively cheap on the wallet. Since Brexit and COVID, the price for a bottle has gone up quite a bit, and when I ran out I switched to other bottles, depending on what I had on hand. Lagavulin worked quite well but is even pricier. This year, I went with Laphroaig 10 as it is just a little bit cheaper than the Bowmore, and I think I prefer the taste of Laphroaig anyway.

References

Not So Humble Pie - Scottish Tablet

Corn & Potato Soup

The other night, we'd had a large seafood boil with snow crab legs, shrimp, kielbasa, corn, and potatoes. We finished off most of the meat but still had plenty of corn and potatoes left over, so I figured I'd try my hand at turning them into a soup.

All told, I thought it turned out fairly well. I probably could have used just a bit more corn and potatoes in it for personal preference, and so this recipe reflects that. The other measurements are more-or-less accurate, as I didn't measure anything in the process of making it, so there is likely the opportunity to refine it.

We served this with some simple broiled tilapia filets—it seemed a natural fit since the corn and potatoes were originally cooked in a pot with Zatarain's crab boil spices and the seafood. If the corn and potatoes are cooked in something more neutral, it could certainly go with a wider range of entrées.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp butter (unsalted)
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp sambuca
• 1½ tbsp flour
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 4 ears of corn, cooked
• 1 sprig rosemary (about 3 inches)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup whole milk
• 4 cups cooked red potatoes, in ½-inch cubes

Instructions

1. Strip the kernels from the cooked ears of corn, reserving the cob from one ear.
2. In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Sweat the onions until soft and translucent, but not browning, about 7-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add sambuca and continue cooking until all liquid is evaporated, about 1 minute. Add flour, stir well, and cook for another minute.
4. Add chicken stock, reserved corn cob and kernels from one ear of corn, rosemary sprig, bay leaf. Bring to simmer and cook for about 10-15 minutes.
5. Remove corn cob, rosemary, and bay leaf from soup and blend until smooth with an immersion or tabletop blender. Return soup to sauce pan.
6. Stir in milk, remaining corn kernels, and potatoes. Bring to simmer and cook until all ingedients are warmed through. Salt and pepper to taste.

Notes

If using uncooked corn and potatoes, make the following adjustments:

• In step 4, add all four ears worth of kernels and the potatoes into the pot during the initial simmer with the chicken stock, cook until both are ready. (Probably don't need to use any cobs this way).
• In step 5, strain the liquid into the bowl, discard the and blend the liquid with one quarter of the corn kernels. It's probably fine if a potato or two gets blended as well.

Frozen corn kernels could be an option as well. Toasting them in a separate skillet with some butter, salt, pepper, and herbs would enhance the flavor.