 Golden peanut brittle cracked on a serving dish | |
| Type | Confectionery |
|---|---|
| Main ingredients | Sugar, nuts, water, butter |
Brittle is a type of confection consisting of flat broken pieces of hard sugar candy embedded with nuts such as pecans, almonds, or peanuts, [1] and which are usually less than 1 cm thick.
It has many variations around the world, such as:
In parts of the Middle East, brittle is made with pistachios, [10] while many Asian countries use sesame seeds and peanuts. [11] Peanut brittle is the most popular brittle recipe in the United States. [12] The term "brittle" in the context of the food first appeared in print in 1892, though the candy itself has been around for much longer. [13]
Traditionally, a mixture of sugar and water is heated to the hard crack stage corresponding to a temperature of approximately 146 to 154 °C (295 to 309 °F), although some recipes also call for ingredients such as glucose and salt in the first step. [14] Nuts are mixed with the caramelized sugar. At this point spices, leavening agents, and often peanut butter or butter are added. The hot candy is poured out onto a flat surface for cooling, traditionally a granite, a marble slab or a baking sheet. The hot candy may be troweled to uniform thickness. When the brittle is cool enough to handle, it is broken into pieces. [15] It is also rare to break the brittle into equal pieces.
Nougatine is a similar confection to brittle, but made of sliced almonds instead of whole peanuts, which are embedded in clear caramel. [16]
Confectionery is the art of making confections, or sweet foods. Confections are items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates although exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confections are divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories: bakers' confections and sugar confections.
Caramel is a confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It is used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons or candy bars, or as a topping for ice cream and custard.
Halva is a type of confectionery that is widely spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa, the Balkans, and South Asia. The name is used for a broad variety of recipes, generally a thick paste made from flour, butter, liquid oil, saffron, rosewater, milk, turmeric powder, and sweetened with sugar.
Trail mix is a type of snack mix, typically a combination of granola, dried fruit, nuts, and sometimes candy, developed as a food to be taken along on hikes. Trail mix is a popular snack food for hikes, because it is lightweight, easy to store, and nutritious, providing a quick energy boost from the carbohydrates in the dried fruit or granola, and sustained energy from fat nuts.
Pralines are confections containing nuts – usually almonds, pecans and hazelnuts – and sugar. Cream is a common third ingredient.
Nougat is a family of confections made with sugar or honey, roasted nuts, whipped egg whites, and sometimes chopped candied fruit. The consistency of nougat is chewy, and it is used in a variety of candy bars and chocolates. The word nougat comes from Occitan nogat, which means 'nutted' or 'nutty'.
Turrón, torró or torrone is a Mediterranean nougat confection, typically made of honey, sugar, and egg white, with toasted almonds or other nuts, and usually shaped either into a rectangular tablet or a round cake. Turrón is usually eaten as a dessert food around Christmas in Spain and Italy.
Planters Nut & Chocolate Company is an American snack food company now owned by Hormel Foods. Planters is best known for its processed nuts and for the Mr. Peanut icon that symbolizes them. Mr. Peanut was created by grade schooler Antonio Gentile for a 1916 contest to design the company's brand icon. The design was modified by a commercial artist and has continued to change over the years.
Fudge is a type of dessert bar that is made by mixing sugar, butter and milk. It has its origins in the 19th century United States, and was popular in the women's colleges of the time. Fudge can come in a variety of flavorings depending on the region or country it was made; popular flavors include fruit, nut, chocolate and caramel. Fudge is often bought as a gift from a gift shop in tourist areas and attractions.
Toffee is an English confection made by caramelizing sugar or molasses along with butter, and occasionally flour. The mixture is heated until its temperature reaches the hard crack stage of 149 to 154 °C. While being prepared, toffee is sometimes mixed with nuts or raisins.
Pecan pie is a pie of pecan nuts mixed with a filling of eggs, butter and sugar. Variations may include white or brown sugar, cane syrup, sugar syrup, molasses, maple syrup, or honey. It is commonly served at holiday meals in the United States and is considered a specialty of Southern U.S. origin. Most pecan pie recipes include salt and vanilla as flavorings. Pecan pie may be served with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or hard sauce.
Almond bark is a chocolate-like confection made with vegetable fats instead of cocoa butter and with coloring and flavors added. It can be bought in packages, blocks, or round discs where candy and baking supplies are sold. The confection is commonly used to cover or dip fruits, caramel, oats, granola, nuts, cookies, or crackers, in place of real chocolate.
Chikki is a traditional Indian sweet (brittle) generally made from nuts and jaggery/sugar. There are several different varieties of chikki in addition to the most common groundnut (peanut) chikki. Each variety of chikki is named after the ingredients used, which include puffed or roasted Bengal gram, sesame, puffed rice, beaten rice, or khobra, and other nuts such as almonds, cashews and pistachios.
Sohan halwa is a traditional Mughlai dessert from Punjab, popular in the Indian subcontinent, which is a variety of dense, sweet confection or halwa. Gheewala halwa is popular for sohan halwa since the Mughal era.
Sohan is a traditional Persian saffron brittle toffee made in Iran. Its ingredients consist of wheat sprout, flour, egg yolks, rose water, sugar, butter or vegetable oil, saffron, cardamom, and slivers of almond and pistachio.
Sesame seed candy is a confection of sesame seeds and sugar or honey pressed into a ball, bar or wafer. It is popular across Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia, as well as in some European countries. The texture may vary from chewy to crisp. It may also be called sesame (seed)candy/bar/crunch; sesame seed cake may refer to the confection or to a leavened cake or cookie incorporating sesame.
A candy bar is a type of portable candy that is in the shape of a bar. The most common type of candy bar is the chocolate bar, including both bars made of solid chocolate and combination candy bars, which are candy bars that combine chocolate with other ingredients, such as nuts, caramel, nougat, or wafers.
Bagkat mani, panutsang mani, panutsa, or samani is a Filipino brittle confection made with muscovado sugar or sangkaka, whole peanuts, and butter. It can also be made with whole pili nuts. It is similar to bagkat, another Filipino confection made from ground roasted or fried nuts and sugar, but the latter has a chewy texture. It is also sometimes called piñato mani, piñato de Cebu, or simply piñato in the Visayas Islands.
brittle pistachios middle east.
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