It is thought that the celebration of Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic druids as far back as the year 700BC. The druids would celebrate the end of their summer harvest and honour their dead with a festival called Samhain. This comes from the Gaelic word meaning summer's end. It was celebrated on the 31 October.
During Samhain villagers would keep evil hungry spirits from entering their homes by leaving food tied to their doors. This evolved into people dressing as spirits, ghosts, ghoulies, witches and goblins in the hope that these spirits would think they were alike and leave them alone.
Method
1. Put the sugar, butter, vinegar, golden syrup and 150ml/1/4 pt water into a heavy based pan and heat gently until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted.
2. Bring to the boil and boil steadily, without stirring, until the syrup registers 143°C on a sugar/cooks thermometer. This is known as the ‘hard crack stage’. You can test it by dropping a little of the toffee into some cold water - it should separate into hard but not brittle threads. This will take some time to become a thick, dark brown, glossy syrup. Keep a close eye on the pan at all times.
3. While the sugar is boiling to reach this stage, brush down the sides of the pan with a damp pastry brush. Wash and thoroughly dry the apples, put a stick into each one making sure it is secure.
4. Dip the apples into the toffee, twisting them around for a few seconds allowing the excess toffee to run off.
5. Place the apples on the prepared tray and allow to cool.
6. Any left over toffee can be poured into a lightly greased tray, allowed to cool and then broken into pieces.
Cooks thermometers are available from www.divertimenti.co.uk |
