Yesterday, on the same day I made Black Current Jelly, I also thought I’d make use of the Red Currants which have been sitting in my fridge for a couple weeks. I had started to make jelly out of them, but then I realized that I would never use up both jellies fast enough. So I continued to heat the red currant mixture until it was ready to pull into taffy.
Ingredients
- 6 oz Red Currants
- 1 1/2 cups of sugar
- water
- 1 tbs vegan butter
Directions
In a sauce pan, combine the Red Currants with sugar and add just enough water to cover the ingredients. Heat on medium high until just boiling. Then, CAREFULLY, pour the mixture through a sieve into a heat-proof container to separate out the pulp. Use a spoon to mash down the pulp so you get all the liquid.
Set aside the pulp for other uses.
Pour the liquid back into the sauce pan and add the vegan butter. Set the heat to medium-low, and allow the mixture to simmer until it gets to the “soft ball” stage. Test this by dropping a bit of the mixture into cold water. If it forms into a soft, pliable lump, it is ready. Or, use your sugar thermometer and see that the temperature reaches 240 F.
Pour the mixture out on a marble stab, if you have one. I don’t either! So I used a silicone baking mold. Let it cool down so you can handle it. Then pull and fold the taffy, over and over, until it turns opaque and gets really hard to pull. When it starts getting super tough to pull, pull it one last time into strips and put it on parchment paper or another non-stick surface. Cut the taffy into 1 inch sections using scissors. I tried using a knife; sooo doesn’t work.
And boom. Taffy. Holla.
This makes a really soft, chewy taffy. Wrap them up in a bit of wax or parchment paper to store.