Divinity, Fudge or Caramels. Why Choose.
Candy making has been a big deal in my family. My Dad really liked making candy, and especially divinity, which probably came from his early days growing up in rural Minnesota. Back in the early 1900s, farm folk had more simple ways of family entertainment, such as singing together, card games, and, of course, making candy.
As I was growing up in Klamath County, the cold, frosty, high-desert mountain air of December nights heralded the family trating of making candy. My earliest candy-making memories were of making divinity, probably because it was so labor intensive. Strong arms and wrists were required tgo turn the old fashioned metal egg beaters of the day (not the ones with nylon bearings, and especially not electric mixers!). Daddy provided the muscle for making divinity.
As I got older, Daddy would let me take a turn at the egg beater before the divinity became too stiff for me. Then he would take over. You had to love divinity to be willing to hand-turn an old fashioned egg beater long enough so that it could be spooned out in white peaked mounds on a buttered plate. If the weather was too damp, it meant that we quite often had spoon divinity, but that too was a holiday happening with all of us hovered over the platter of shiny, but unset divinity, with our spoons ready for the first dip. Then periodically we would stroll past the platter for another dip.
Fudge was also high on our candy making list. We were a tad obsessive about making the perfect plate of fudge. It had to be smooth and creamy, not grainy and definitely not “spoon fudge.” In the early 1950s, my Aunt Gail brought home one of the “bootlegged” Christmas Fudge recipes that was supposed to have been from a major candy company. I don't know if that was true or not, but I do know that yummy fudge became a family holiday tradition. Come December, my sister and I would stock up on milk chocolate bars, chocolate chips, marshmallow topping, walnuts, canned milk --- and butter was always on hand. The recipe made about 5 pounds of sinfully good fudge. We gave this Christmas fudge as gifts and took it to parties and family gatherings. T'was a bit like a giant candy exchange, as everyone else in the family was doing the same thing. . As my brothers and sister and I grew older, we continued the tradition of making this scrumptuous fudge.
The older of my two brothers always made this fudge at Christmas. His kids, and later his grandkids, gathered round to “help.” He also maded a white chocolate version of this recipe, which was very well received in this candy loving family. One of the biggest platters of fudge that I ever saw, was at a Christmas eve party at his home. The stack of fudge measured about 2' in diameter and was stacked about 18” tall. Very impressive to any fudge connoisseur.
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| 1952, Bob and John standing on chairs at the stove stirring fudge |
I don't know how my brothers took up the old fashioned fudge making (you know, the kind with just sugar, milk, chocolate and butter) mantle, but they did. They were just little guys when our dad was killed. They didn't have a lot of the candy making memories with our Dad, but they learned to make very good fudge – and at an early age. A while back, I looked at an old 8 mm movie clip of them making fudge. I could not believe how really young they were – 5 and 3 years old. Each have carried on the candy making tradition in their own families.
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| 2006, Smiling brother John making caramels at Mom's Christmas tree decoration party |
The younger of my two brothers became the family caramel maker --- his caramels were to die for. He patiently stirred his concoction of sugar and extra heavy cream at a fairly low heat (we say low, because our family cooks mostly on High – who needs those little knobs with the little marks). He doled his caramels out throughout the holiday season --- and if his caramel supply got low, he made another batch. And we waited – not so patiently.
My youngest brother also carries on the tradition with his family, which includes three lovely girls. A few years ago at a tree decorating party, my two younger brothers were in mother's kitchen whipping up fudge. I walked in and thought I was in a fudge cook-off. They take their fudge making seriously.
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| 2007, Candy making at Gran's, John, Russ. Cayleigh and Dale |
In Eugene, my sister and a friend of hers would make up platters of almond roca so we had a change of pace. My sister also makes a mean batch of fudge --- but not so much anymore, now that the nieces and nephews have grown up. My daughter-in-law and I used to go into high candy making mode during the holidays. I would do fudge and divinity. She liked to make mint patties, a rolled nougat ball, candied nuts, and a toffee bark.
I don't make candy so much anymore. Children and grandchildren have grown up, and family traditions change. Platters of candy have been replaced by platters of veggies and fruits --- but when the snow flies, and the wind blows cold, I dream of divine divinity, creamy fudge and memories of those candy making times.
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© Joan G. Hill, Roots'n'Leaves Publications
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