An Easy Recipe For Homemade Pistachio Almond Honeycomb Candy - California Grown (2024)

FAQs

An Easy Recipe For Homemade Pistachio Almond Honeycomb Candy - California Grown? ›

Honeycomb toffee, honeycomb candy, sponge toffee, cinder toffee, seafoam, or hokey pokey is a sugary toffee with a light, rigid, sponge-like texture. Its main ingredients are typically brown sugar (or corn syrup, molasses or golden syrup) and baking soda, sometimes with an acid such as vinegar.

Honeycomb toffee, honeycomb candy, sponge toffee, cinder toffee, seafoam, or hokey pokey is a sugary toffee with a light, rigid, sponge-like texture. Its main ingredients are typically brown sugar (or corn syrup, molasses or golden syrup) and baking soda, sometimes with an acid such as vinegar.

The secret is in the baking soda. As the sugar is cooking and begins turning amber in color it accumulates small amounts of acid, and that acid reacts chemically with the alkaline baking soda releasing about a zillion minuscule bubbles of CO₂ that get trapped, making the sugar porous and, well… brittle.

Orange flower water works as an aromatic to amplify the inherent flavors and aromas in pistachio. Roasted pistachio oil intensifies the overall flavor, and improves the texture of the paste.

Baking soda is often added to brittle syrups after they are cooked. The soda forms tiny carbon dioxide bubbles that become trapped in the candy, which help lighten the texture. Always heat the nuts before adding them to the cooked syrup.

Honeycomb is a natural bee product consisting of waxy, hexagonal cells which contain raw honey. Honey and its comb are edible and offer numerous health benefits, such as fighting infections and improving heart health. Honeycomb may also boost liver function and serve as a sugar alternative for people with diabetes.

Bees make honeycombs by first secreting a wax-like substance from glands on their abdomen. This wax is then formed into hexagons that make up the shape of the honeycomb. The bees then fill the honeycomb with the nectar they collect from flowers and use enzymes in their saliva to turn the nectar into honey.

By soaking nuts and seeds, they become softer and are easier to blend. They also become easier to use in creating dairy substitutes that contain good, healthy fats. For example, you can make Alfredo sauce by replacing the parmesan cheese with soaked cashews.

According to a Penn State study, pistachios can reduce vascular stress. Pistachios have a high healthy fat content, lots of fiber and plenty of antioxidants to keep blood vessels open and relaxed during stressful moments.

Why does my honeycomb candy taste burnt? ›

If it's any darker than that, it means your sugar is too hot and the honeycomb will taste burnt and bitter. Once you have dissolved the sugar and you start to simmer your sugar mixture, you shouldn't mix it as sugar crystals will start to form – which will ruin your honeycomb.

Chewy honeycomb happens when the mixture hasn't been cooked for long enough. This is most common when you don't use a sugar thermometer. If you don't heat the mixture to 149°C the sugar won't achieve the brittleness required for that crumbly, crunchy texture.

Instead, if it is enjoyable as is, I would suggest just eating it as a toffee like candy. Otherwise, chalk it up to experience and watch the temperature more closely next time. I have a batch of gooey toffee now too. So im just either enjoying it as is or adding bit or chunks of it to my coffee or ice cream.

A: Honeycomb is made of wax which is extruded from glands in worker bee abdomens. The wax is chewed and softened, and then formed into cells about 5.5mm wide and 11mm deep.

Honeycomb candy's texture is the main difference between it and the well-known Erie delicacy, sponge candy. Whereas sponge candy has a fine, sponge-like texture full of tiny air bubbles, the air pockets of honeycomb candy are larger and have a more defined shape to them.

This comes from the waxy layer that surrounds the honeycomb. The wax from the honeycomb can be chewed like gum or spit it out. It is all safe to eat!

Today honeycomb cores are manufactured via the expansion process and the corrugation process from composite materials such as glass-reinforced plastic (also known as fiberglass), carbon fiber reinforced plastic, Nomex aramide paper reinforced plastic, or from a metal (usually aluminum).