Food Science
Not an ice cream experiment today...
Experiment #19: Erythritol candy
Recipe: 1 cup boiling water, 1 tsp peppermint essence, 1 cup erythritol; pot on stove, water, essence, dissolve erythritol, simmer; simmer some more; simmer for more than 25 mins; hurriedly take pot off stove when it starts to smoke.
Results: Total fail. I didn't have cupcake papers, which is what we used to use for toffee when I was a kid, which was the last time I'd made toffee, and I couldn't remember all that much. Testing the mixture in a cup of cold water didn't help, as it didn't seem to reach even soft-ball stage, and I'd heard alarming things on the net about "don't let it burn!" so I took it off the stove as soon as it started smoking. I had prepared two things to pour it into; one cookie tray covered with plastic wrap, and a non-stick pan which I'd put some spray-oil on, then wiped most of it off again.
When I poured the syrup on the cookie tray, the plastic wrap melted. I tried picking it up and burned my fingers. Owwwwww!
When I poured it into the pan, it slowly crystalized. When the pan had cooled down, I managed to stick a knife under the edge of the white stuff, and it broke in bits easily. The result was a crumbly, crunchy erythritol-tasting substance with a slightly burnt undertaste. Guess the peppermint had all evaporated. I threw the rest of it out. (sigh) What a waste.
Lessons: (a) do not pick up molten plastic wrap (b) don't bother trying this again.
Experiment #19: Erythritol candy
Recipe: 1 cup boiling water, 1 tsp peppermint essence, 1 cup erythritol; pot on stove, water, essence, dissolve erythritol, simmer; simmer some more; simmer for more than 25 mins; hurriedly take pot off stove when it starts to smoke.
Results: Total fail. I didn't have cupcake papers, which is what we used to use for toffee when I was a kid, which was the last time I'd made toffee, and I couldn't remember all that much. Testing the mixture in a cup of cold water didn't help, as it didn't seem to reach even soft-ball stage, and I'd heard alarming things on the net about "don't let it burn!" so I took it off the stove as soon as it started smoking. I had prepared two things to pour it into; one cookie tray covered with plastic wrap, and a non-stick pan which I'd put some spray-oil on, then wiped most of it off again.
When I poured the syrup on the cookie tray, the plastic wrap melted. I tried picking it up and burned my fingers. Owwwwww!
When I poured it into the pan, it slowly crystalized. When the pan had cooled down, I managed to stick a knife under the edge of the white stuff, and it broke in bits easily. The result was a crumbly, crunchy erythritol-tasting substance with a slightly burnt undertaste. Guess the peppermint had all evaporated. I threw the rest of it out. (sigh) What a waste.
Lessons: (a) do not pick up molten plastic wrap (b) don't bother trying this again.