Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Sherrilyn Askew!!!
Sherrilyn Askew (#1350) has received a certificate of achievement in Farm Kitchen for earning an Expert Level Unprocessed Kitchen Merit Badge!
“I hosted an “unprocessed” party and helped my sisters discover ways to make some of their favorite processed foods organically, specifically candy canes. Candy is as much art as science, hard candy especially. The key is in the temperature. We did one batch with beet juice and one with cranberry juice, and the color difference, as well as the flavor difference, was significant.
We had a bit of a learning curve about kitchen thermometers (meat thermometer vs. candy thermometer), and the importance of having an accurate one. One batch of candy turned out fine, but the other batch burned. Candy canes with cranberry juice tastes delicious, though.
We talked about divinity and caramels, and the problems encountered making each one (granularity) and how to prevent them.
Candy making is an art, and homemade candy with organic ingredients is the bees’ knees.”
Gosh, Sherrilyn, what an interesting project with your HenHouse group. I have never tried making candy as I know it is tricky and easily turns into a pile for the trash. Your idea of using cranberry juice sounds perfect for candy canes too. I bet you all had such a fun time together. I can see how making organic candy is definitely the Bee’s Knee!
The candy canes are truly delicious. Grand kids will be lucky to get them!! Fun to make with Sherri.