Hickory-Nut Candy

This is a plain fondant-style candy: sugar syrup cooked to the thread stage, cooled, then beaten until it crystallizes white and stiff. The hinge is temperature — take the syrup too far and you get brittle candy that will not cream.

• "Spin a thread" is 230–235°F"Spin a thread" is usually given as about 230–235°F -- if you use a thermometer, pull the syrup near the top of that range. The old test — a drop from the spoon trailing a fine thread — sits just below the soft-ball stage (235–240°F), and cooking well past it will give a harder, less creamy slab.
• Do not stir while boilingThe instruction is deliberate. Stirring throws sugar crystals onto the pan sides and seeds premature graining. Wash the sides down once with a wet pastry brush, cover for the first two minutes to let steam dissolve stray crystals, then leave it alone.
• "Set off into cold water"This means standing the hot saucepan in a shallow pan or sinkful of cold water to drop the temperature fast, not adding water to the syrup. Let it cool to roughly 110°F before you begin beating — beating hot syrup gives coarse crystals.
• Stirring until whiteExpect three to eight minutes of steady beating with a wooden spoon. The syrup goes from clear to cloudy to opaque and stiffens abruptly; have the nuts and the tin ready, because it sets quickly once it starts.
• Hickory nutsShagbark hickory meats are still gathered in the eastern and midwestern United States but rarely sold in shops. Pecans, a close relative in the same genus (Carya), substitute directly, cup for cup, though their flavor is milder and sweeter. Toast them lightly first and let them cool.
• Extract quantityNone is given. A teaspoon of vanilla or half a teaspoon of lemon extract suits this volume. The recipe adds it at the thread stage; adding it once the syrup has cooled a little will preserve more of the aroma.
• The tin and the yieldAn 8-inch square pan, lightly buttered or lined with parchment, gives a slab a little under half an inch thick. This makes roughly a pound of candy, or about three dozen small squares.
• Weather mattersFondant behaves badly on humid days — the sugar picks up moisture and the finished squares stay tacky. Choose a dry day, and store the cut candy airtight with parchment between layers.