Pull Candy Recipe - making candy the old fashioned way (2024)

by Chloe Tuttle

on January 2, 2014

inHeritage,Recipes

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Pull Candy Recipe – Old Time Stewed Sugar

Pull Candy Recipe - making candy the old fashioned way (1)

Old Fashioned Pull Candy is still the best!

My mother called this wonderful confection pull candy or stewed sugar. Some folks call it taffy. When she described a child’s pretty blond hair she would say it was the color of stewed sugar — a gorgeous translucent white color with a faint golden tint.

Making this recipe during the holidays or in the New Year seems appropriate for me – it brings back memories of winter on the farm in the kitchen with my mother who was also named Chloe. She told me that when she was growing up, folks in the neighborhood would have a Candy Pulling party and they had so much fun.

Print Recipe Rate Recipe

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Course: Dessert, Treat

Cuisine: American, American southern

Keyword: pull candy, pulled sugar candy, stewed sugar, taffy, toffee

Servings: 25 servings

Calories: 62kcal

Author: Chloe Tuttle

Ingredients

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup cider vinegar
  • 1/4 pound butter for greasing hands and surface

Instructions

  • You will need a candy thermometer for this recipe.

  • 1. Stir together the sugar, water and vinegar in a heavy saucepan. Clip on candy thermometer and don’t let it touch the bottom of the cooking pan.

  • 2. Heat the sugar syrup until the candy thermometer reaches the hard ball stage or 260-265 degrees. Don’t stir while it is cooking.

  • 3. Slowly pour the syrup onto a buttered surface like a large cutting board. Be very careful — this is a molten mass of hot syrup. DO NOT scrape bowl. Just let whatever candy comes out, come out. Allow candy to cool for a few minutes.

  • 4. As soon as the syrup is slightly cooled, scrape it into a large ball. If you are going to add any flavorings like vanilla or peppermint, now is the time to do this. Flip the ball of candy over several times using some sort of scraper like a candy scraper.

  • 5. When it is cool enough to handle, gather the ball of candy into your well-greased hands and pull the candy using both hands until you have reached as far as you can. Fold the pulled part over and repeat. Do this for about 4-5 minutes or until the candy is getting stiff and has turned a beautiful white color.

  • 6. Once this happens, pull out a long rope of candy about 1/2" thick. You can twist this if you want a twisted look for your candy. Lay it out on waxed paper to cool.

  • 7. When it has thoroughly cooled, break it into 1 1/2 ” pieces. Wrap each piece of candy in waxed paper and store in airtight container. If candy is sticky, store it in the refrigerator.

Notes

This candy is messy to make - but it is worth it. There also seem to be MANY different Pull Candy recipes on the internet, and they are all a wee bit different.

Nutrition

Calories: 62kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Potassium: 1mg | Sugar: 15g

Like this recipe?Follow us on Pinterest: @bigmill or tag #bigmillbb

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This is an old recipe. I haven’t seen or heard of it in many years. It also is very inexpensive to make, which may explain why it was so popular in its day. If you are going to try this, remove your rings or else they will be sticky mess.

To make this candy I used my mother’s Betty Furness Candy Thermometer that she bought in the 1950s.

Pull Candy Recipe - making candy the old fashioned way (4)

Note how the candy turns a glistening white color – the color of stewed sugar.

.

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PS: I wanted to include a video of the “pulling” phase, but I didn’t have enough hands on deck to pull it off (bad pun). I did find a video on YouTube of two folks pulling taffy(they call it “cream candy”)that’ll give you a good idea of how it’s done.

Chloe is the Innkeeper at Big Mill Bed and Breakfast, Williamston, NC 252-792-8787

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I am a farm girl who sailed the world, returned home to the family farm and opened Big Mill Bed and Breakfast. Join us for Business EXTENDED STAY or a quiet getaway 252-792-8787.

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Pull Candy Recipe - making candy the old fashioned way (2024)

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