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Barley Sugar

Ingredients

  • 500 gram glucose powder
  • 150 milliliter water
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • A good pinch of saffron powder
  • 1/2 lemon, juice strained, rind thinly pared in one continuous strip
  • A small pinch of cream of tartar.

Instructions

In a heavy saucepan, heat the glucose, honey, saffron powder and water until the glucose has completely dissolved. Add the lemon rind and the pinch of cream of tartar. Boil the syrup until it reaches the Soft Ball Stage, more than 116 Celsius (240F) but remove the lemon rind before it begins to go brown. Continue to boil the syrup until it reaches the Hard Crack Stage, more than 154 Celsius (310F). Keep testing with iced water and don't over cook them as I did the first time. (They had a bitter taste and I had to throw them out.) Stop the cooking by dipping the base of the pan into cold water. Add the lemon juice without stirring. Pour out the syrup in a thin layer on to a lightly oiled metal baking tray. Leave the mixture to cool for a few minutes then use a palette knife or spatula to fold the sides to the middle without wrinkling the sheet of syrup. Oil some scissors and use them to cut the mixture into strips. Twist the strips into corkscrew shaped sticks while they are still warm. This is fun. If the mixture cools too rapidly put the metal tray over a bowl of boiling water. To store, wrap the barley sugar sticks individually in cellophane or waxed paper.

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