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As I've been working my way through my family cookbook, most of the recipes that I've found are pretty solidly steeped in 1970s culinary culture. Some, however, come from a much, much earlier time.
My Aunt Evie's "sponge candy" recipe, for example, is a traditional dish that is surprisingly very well-traveled (although it seems to be particularly popular in Buffalo, New York, which claims it as a local specialty).
Basically a mix of vinegar, dark corn syrup, sugar and baking soda, sponge candy gets its distinctive texture from the carbon dioxide bubbles trapped inside the sugar matrix.
It is insanely easy to make, a lot of fun to watch, and not that hard to clean up. The molasses richness of the dark corn syrup imparts a bizarrely addictive flavor and the foamy bubbles give it a really strange texture.
Best of all, Karo syrup is no longer using HFCS, which means that I don't need to deal with the devil's additive!
The recipe after the jump.
Sponge Candy
1 cup dark corn syrup1 cup white sugar
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp baking soda
Grease a 9-inch-by-9-inch metal pan. Set aside.
In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the corn syrup, sugar and vinegar. Cook over high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Continue cooking without stirring until it reaches 300° on a candy thermometer. Quickly remove from heat and stir in the baking soda. Mix well while it foams up and quickly pour into buttered pan. It will spread itself. Let cool, then cut or break into pieces.
A few notes: When cleaning up, simply soak everything in water. All the ingredients are water-soluble, so a nice long soak should do most of the work for you. Also, it is vitally important to use a candy thermometer, as this won't work too well if it isn't sufficiently cooked. However, as soon as the temperature hits 300°, quickly pull the candy off the stove, as it can easily burn. Enjoy!
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3-26-2009 @2:03PM John said... But Kayro is still corn sugar, they just don't do the extra refining process of converting some of the sugar to frutose. Is that such a big deal? I though people were opposed to corn sugar in general, is it really that people are opposed to that extra step?
I don't really get it. carbs are carbs. All I feel that is open for argument is trace minerals and the like.
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3-26-2009 @11:17AM Matt said... I wonder if you could use molasses instead. Does it have the texture of just an aerated hard candy? If you used light corn syrup, could you put other flavors in? the same type of stuff you would use to flavor candy, i.e. peppermint essence. It is like an endless chemistry experiment to play with!
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3-26-2009 @11:36AM susteph said... my husband grew up in erie, pa, and he says his mom used to make this. he called it “sea foam.”
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3-26-2009 @11:43AM Hilary said... The picture looks just like honeycomb...is there a difference?
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3-26-2009 @12:54PM Bruce Watson said... Matt-
For me at least, the problem with molasses would be the flavor. While dark corn syrup has a molasses flavor, it is relatively mild. On the other hand, straight molasses would be pretty harsh.
Regarding your other suggestion, I have picked up some light corn syrup and some maple syrup. My plan is to combine the two and see what happens. I have a feeling that the maple syrup by itself will be a little too crunchy, but the corn syrup should help soften it.
Another consideration is the level of acid. While the vinegar adds part of the acid to the recipe, I imagine that a fair bit also comes from the corn syrup. With that in mind, I'm also going to play with dark brown sugar.
I'll let you know what happens!
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3-26-2009 @12:57PM Bruce Watson said... Hilary-
While the texture looks like honeycomb, it's not really very close. The best thing I could compare it to would be a cross between hard candy and biscotti, in that it is simultaneously crunchy and porous. To be honest, though, it really is a pretty unique texture!
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3-26-2009 @1:04PM Bruce Watson said... John-
With regard to your question, there is a bit of controversy surrounding HFCS. According to some studies, HFCS doesn't trigger the body's feeling of fullness, which encourages consumers to keep eating the stuff. Also, the "extra step" increases the sugars in HFCS; some have linked this to diabetes.
Personally, I have a hard time digesting the stuff. I find that it has a stale flavor, that I can often detect in food, and I tend to get a nasty little sugar crash about an hour after eating it. I don't get the same feeling from basic corn syrup, maple syrup, or sugar.
This is not to say, however, that these other sweeteners are necessarily a good idea. Too much sugar will directly lead to weight gain (a point that I have to keep reminding myself!) However, for me at least, HFCS is in a class of its own.
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3-26-2009 @1:15PM Hilary said... Bruce, that is exactly what honeycomb is. I think this may be called different things in different parts of the country.
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3-26-2009 @1:22PM Hilary said... Here's the answer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sponge_toffee I'm from the US but for some reason, I know it as honeycomb, odd.
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3-26-2009 @1:30PM Bruce Watson said... Hilary-
Thanks for the clarification. I thought you meant actual honeycomb!
As the Wikipedia entry points out, sponge candy has a lot of names, depending where you're from. I think my favorite is probably "Yellow Man," although "Cinder Toffee" is pretty fun, too!
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3-26-2009 @8:04PM Gretchen said... I'm originally from Wisconsin and we called this Angel Food Candy.
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3-27-2009 @12:55AM Kirsten said... This is very popular here in Oregon, particularly in seaside candy shops where it's called Sea Foam. But the best way to eat this is when it's been dipped in chocolate after cooled, preferably dark chocolate, if you ask me!
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3-27-2009 @11:22AM John said... My sister-in-laws family makes peanut brittle every christmas using a similar method, its really good stuff.
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3-31-2009 @1:42PM crystalginger said... I made this recipe yesterday, and it turned out great! We dipped some in dark chocolate and left some the way it was, and both were contenders to beat out the Cadbury Cruncie bar. We got a bit of an ego though, and decided to try to mix 1/2 molasses and 1/2 dark corn syrup, with a splash of vanilla. Unfortunately, that decreased the smoke point of the candy, and we were unable to heat it up to 300* without it burning. We ended up with molasses toffee instead. I'd recommend sticking with the regular recipe.
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4-01-2009 @8:13PM Page Love said... Folks, I’m a registered dietitian who has been counseling people about good nutrition for more than 20 years. Let me tell you the truth about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). It has gotten so much attention and, unfortunately, much of what you have heard is just plain wrong. It is not the “devil’s additive,” as it’s referred to in this article…it’s really no different than honey or table sugar (not in its makeup and not in the way it is processed by our bodies). The real problem? Many people eat too many sweets, period. Most candy is NOT made with HFCS to begin with. If you want the truth, stop listening to the media and start looking at science. (Remember how media told us that carbs were bad? We know better now—the key is moderation!) Scientists keep confirming that HFCS is no different from other sweeteners. What we need to do is change eating habits and not simply blame one ingredient for something (obesity) that did not crop up overnight. By all means, cut down on sweets, but don’t believe that something sweet is better for you just because it’s made with anything other than HFCS. Balanced nutrition is the key!
Page Love, MS, RD, LD
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5-18-2009 @9:03PM grace campbell said... This is a fascinating and unexpected debate I've encountered while looking for a recipe for sponge candy. I grew up in Buffalo NY and cut my sweet tooth early on this stuff. I agree that it is best dipped in chocolate. Also, a note on the comments above: while I do agree that the root issue is our insatiable overconsumption of sweets, I do not agree that high fructose corn syrup is "no different" than any other type of sugar, nor do I agree that we should "listen to science" instead of the media. While the media is in no way a stellar resource for nutritional advice, a reminder to the dietician: Science is what created high fructose corn syrup in the first place, and margarine, and a lot of other chemically based "food" that is hugely detrimental to our health. I advise all to check out Michael Pollan's In Defense Of Food for a fascinating treatise on this topic. It will change the way you eat.
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