And angels will dance on your tastebuds, and send them to heaven! (Confectionery)

Member Name: MorganaDQ

Product:	Confectionery
Date:	08/11/01 (878 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Scrumdiddlyumptious!

Disadvantages: Fattening, but who cares?!

When I was little, I remember going to Glasgow to visit family year after year. One thing we always had to do when we were there was to find some real scottish tablet. See, it doesn't matter where you buy it here in England, it's just not the same. It's either too soft, too chewy, not caramelised enough, or something else. But there's always something just not quite right.

So what is it? Well it's a like a cross between fudge and hard toffee. It's the only way to describe it. It's kind of crunchy, but not the kind of crunchy that could break teeth (thankfully). It's sickly sweet, but incredibly moreish. And it's just, well, it's just!

The recipe I use is one given to me by my Mum, but I have no idea where she got it. I'd like to think it's a traditional recipe, but I'd never be so bold as to claim it is. All I know is it's wonderful, and it makes a huge amount.

I tend to make this for Christmas pressies, and keep some back for myself because it makes so much. I'd tell you how many pounds it makes, but I honestly don't know. But you should have enough to split into four and still have a good amount to give people. Failing that, you have enough to make your teeth rot at twenty feet if you keep it all for yourself ;)

Ingredients :

2lbs sugar
4oz margarine (though butter makes it richer, and let's face it, nicer)
1 tablespoon golden syrup
1 cup milk
1 large tin of condensed milk (405g)

Method:

1 - Grease a large tin with butter or margarine. I tend to use a roasting tin, that way the depth of the tablet should be around 3/4 inch, about perfect I'd say.

2 - Put the sugar, margarine, golden syrup and milk into a large, heavy saucepan.

3 - Mix thoroughly and bring to the boil.

4 - Add the condensed milk and mix again.

5 - Bring to the boil, and simmer for 20 - 25 minutes. <
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6 - Remove from the heat and beat well.

7 - Pour into the greased tray and leave to set.


Easy peasy isn't it? Well it is and it isn't. The theory is great, it really is, but it just never seems to be right when I try to do it that way. The reason being it's always gooey, and it really shouldn't be.

So, what do I do different?

I do everything up to step 5 the same, except I don't simmer it for 20 - 25 minutes. Instead I stand over it (it's easier if you're doing something else at the same time that you can leave every now and again), and stir it occasionally while it's simmering. This can take up to 2 hours.

I know, 2 hours is a long time if you don't have it spare, but it really is worth it. The colour I end up with is dark golden verging on 'tan'. To some of you it'll sound way too dark for real tablet, but the taste is amazing, and just perfect. My Dad tried it a few years ago after I made it for the first time and he said it was perfect, and he's always right you know ;)

I've also given up testing if it's ready by using the cold water in a bowl method. It's never been right yet, at least not in my kitchen. So instead, I take the wooden spoon I use for mixing it, and after I've stirred, I pull the spoon out of the pan and I take a regular dinner knife and scrap the mixture back and forth. As it cools it should begin to ball together and harden. It's at that stage it's ready.

If, when you've poured it into your tray, you find it's not set no matter how long you've left it, just put it back into the pan and reheat it. Simmer it a little longer and you should be fine. You can do this as many times as it takes to get it right, it really doesn't matter.

Another problem I've encountered with the recipe as it stands, is that when you go to stir it after it's been simmering a
while, it will bubble up and can easily burn. It's why I tend to stand over it and stir possibly more often than I should. At the end of the day, it's boiling sugar for the most part, so you need to be extremely careful. It certainly isn't one for young children to make.

Some people score it before it's properly cooled, to make it easier to cut. But I've never had a problem with it. I use a large cleaver to cut it, and it will always break unevenly, but it just adds to the home made look. Who wants perfectly square pieces of home made tablet anyway? Not me!

It doesn't matter if it's not light golden in colour or doesn't take the exact amount of time to make as it's supposed to. It doesn't even matter if (like I managed to do a couple of years ago) you get the occasional dark brown speck in it which means you burnt it a little. So long as when you bite into it, it's not soft or gooey, and as long as it just melts away as soon as it hits your tongue, you've got it right.

I'm making some next month, ready to give to my Dad for Christmas because he loves it so much. I imagine my sister will get some too, and my brothers, a load of my friends, maybe even have a little bagged up ready to give to the kids when they come singing carols on my doorstep, instead of giving them money (Me? Miserly? Perish the thought!).

Tablet to me now is Christmas. I've made it for so many years to give as presents, that it just doesn't seem right to have it at any other time. And anyway, it's just one of those things you want to keep special simply because when it's done right, it's sooooo scrumptious!

Your home will smell lovely to, when you're making it. And then every time the home-made box with the wrapping paper on it is opened, the smell will just waft up and tease your nostrils. And I'll defy anyone to resist taking a piece and just letting it mel
t away on their tongue. And the sweetness will sneak up, and eventually it'll make their tastebuds tingle and dance all the way up to tastebud heaven!

*Morgie falls back in her chair with a glazed look on her face, the only sounds audible being the deep sighs and occasional 'Mmmmm' escaping her smiling lips*

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