Cream Cocoanut Candy

A fudge-style coconut slab built on a plain milk-and-sugar syrup. The whole thing hinges on cooking the syrup to the right stage, which the original expresses as minutes rather than degrees.

• Weigh, don't scoop1 1/2 pounds of granulated sugar is about 3 1/2 cups. The 1/2 cupful of milk is a small amount of liquid for that much sugar, so stir until the sugar has fully dissolved before the mixture reaches a boil or it will scorch on the bottom.
• "Boil ten minutes" means a temperatureTen minutes is only accurate for one pan on one stove. Cook the syrup to the soft-ball stage, 238F on a candy thermometer, then add the coconut and continue to about 240-244F for a slab that sets firm enough to cut.
• The coconutOne grated fresh coconut yields roughly 3 to 4 cups. Frozen grated coconut is the closest substitute; unsweetened desiccated coconut is much drier and will absorb syrup, so allow for that rather than swapping it cup for cup. Sweetened flaked coconut will make the candy sweeter still.
• Watch it after the coconut goes inCoconut is fibrous and full of oil, and the mixture thickens fast and catches easily once it is added. Keep the heat moderate and stir constantly from that point, scraping the pan bottom.
• Grease the pan properlyButter an 8-inch square pan generously, or line it with parchment. 'Quite thick' is not defined, but the instruction to cut strips suggests a slab of some depth rather than a thin sheet, which will cool faster and set harder.
• Score warm, cut coldThe original says to wait until the slab is 'quite cold' before cutting. If you find the cold slab crumbles at the edges, marking the strips with an oiled knife while it is still warm and pliable, then cutting through once cool, is one way around it.
• Yield and keepingSomething in the region of 2 pounds of candy, the number of strips depending on how you cut them. Store between layers of waxed paper in a tin and eat it while fresh; fresh coconut is the perishable element.