Peanut Brittle Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why put baking soda in peanut brittle? ›

Baking soda is a key ingredient in peanut brittle. It's what aerates the candy, giving it a nice light crunch. Why didn't my homemade peanut brittle get hard? The main reason why peanut brittle doesn't get hard and have the crunch we expect is because the sugar was not cooked long enough.

Why did my peanut brittle turn out chewy? The likely cause is that the sugar mixture didn't reach the proper hard crack stage temperature. Ensuring it reaches 300˚F is key to getting that classic brittle texture.

Water: Water helps the sugar completely dissolve. Salt: A pinch of salt enhances the other flavors. If you opt for salted butter, you can skip this ingredient. Peanuts: Of course, you'll need peanuts for this classic treat!

To keep the brittle light and airy, do not spread or flatten the mixture.

History. The combination is believed to have developed in the South during the 1920s, as a snack for blue-collar workers that did not require them to wash their hands. It quickly became popular as a summer snack, especially in rural areas. The snack became an internet trend in 2018.

As we said, the biggest enemy to the longevity of your peanut brittle is moisture. Whether it's during the cooking, cooling, or storage process, moisture and humidity can ruin the best batch of brittle in minutes, leaving you with a soggy, sticky mess.

Peanut brittle has one redeeming quality: peanuts. Outside of that single ingredient, peanut brittle is painfully unhealthy. It contains: sugar, corn syrup, and butter, all of which are unhealthy for your body in different ways.

If your peanut brittle is too hard, it might have cooked too long and reached a temperature higher than the hard crack stage.

So, I Googled Salvaging Undercooked Peanut Brittle and followed Tiffany's helpful instructions to throw the pieces back in the pan, turn the heat up and stir, stir, and stir to a raging boil and wait to pour it in the pan until it reaches 300 degrees.

Do not refrigerate as the moisture from the fridge will cause the brittle to soften. Store for 6-8 weeks. To Freeze: Peanut brittle can be frozen and stored up to 3 months. Allow the brittle to cool completely and store it in a freezer safe, airtight container.

Why is my peanut brittle bitter? ›

Those other liquid sugars have impurities that will burn at the higher temperature of making caramel, leading to a bitter-tasting brittle.

Using buttered metal spatula or 2 forks, gently spread and stretch brittle to thin layer. Allow to cool completely. Break brittle into pieces and store in airtight container.

Baking soda also raises the pH of the mixture, promoting the Maillard reaction and giving the brittle its particular color and flavor profile.

I've learned that brittle is better when made on a cool, dry day. When I've made the candy on a warmer, humid day, it tends to be a stickier brittle. This is because the brittle takes longer to cool, and it reaches a point where it is no longer evaporating moisture into the air.

When candy cools slowly on a stone slab, more crystals have a chance to form. With a higher number of micro-crystals, the sugar has more sites on which to crystallize, and so crystallization ultimately happens faster.

Baking soda is often added to brittle syrups after they are cooked. The soda forms tiny carbon dioxide bubbles that become trapped in the candy, which help lighten the texture. Always heat the nuts before adding them to the cooked syrup.

Examples of interfering agents include corn syrup and cream of tartar. A key step in making brittle is heating the syrup to the proper temperature.

When baking soda is added, it reacts with the acid and releases bubbles of carbon dioxide. This makes the syrup foam and expand so the finished candy is not so hard and dense. To retain the bubbles, the syrup should not be stirred too much after adding the baking soda.