Food on Fridays: Hershey’s Fudge

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Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome—though we love to try new dishes, your post doesn’t have to be a recipe.If you want, you could tell us the story of your first taste of beets. Or your first taste of cauliflower. And if your perspective has changed since those first tastes. Basically we’re pretty relaxed over here. Posts that tell stories involving food are as welcome as menus and recipes.When your Food on Fridays contribution is ready, just grab the broccoli button (the big one above or smaller option at the bottom) to paste at the top of your post. It ties us together visually.Then link to Simply Linked.

Food on Fridays with Ann

My mom and I were swapping nostalgic food stories, talking about her Home Ec and 4-H food projects and my grandmother’s noodles, which Mom never learned to make.The next day, Mom sent me this note:

In regard to our food discussion yesterday, there was one more thing I meant to mention, because, oddly enough, I had been thinking about it. Fudge. I think it was the first thing I learned to make, and also with many of my friends! It was what we did when we got together! Now I haven’t made it in years. The recipe on the back of the Hershey cocoa box was the best, but when I looked for it years later, it was gone! Still is. But that was while I was writing the food column [for a local paper], so I asked if any readers had it, and got it back for my files. Have the girls ever made fudge? Have they ever eaten any homemade fudge, for that matter?

I wrote back:

They’ve eaten homemade fudge, but we haven’t made it. I found a microwave fudge recipe that worked really well and used that a long time ago, back in the old house. So the kids obviously wouldn’t remember that.Isn’t it interesting how food can bring back such tangible memories, often connecting with people, whether friends or family?Love,Me

Mom replied with this:

Here’s the—THE—recipe for fudge. Maybe the girls could try it! Two things could go wrong. One, they might not cook it long enough and it doesn’t set up, and two, it sets up too quickly. Unless you are taking it to a bake sale, neither is a disaster. On the first you eat it with a spoon, (I have a story about that you may have heard) and on the second, you just break it in little chunks to eat. It still tastes delicious!!!Love, Mom

I should have posted this prior to Valentine’s Day, but as my mom pointed out, this can be a fun activity any time. My daughter made it from start to finish, and we were surprised at how long it had to cook on the stove (and how many stages it went through).Hershey’s FudgeCombine in a heavy pan:

• 2/3 cup cocoa
• 3 cups sugar
• 1/8 tsp. salt

Add:

• 1 ½ cups milk

Boil to 234 degrees, soft ball stage. Remove from heat and add:

• ¼  cup butter or margarine
• 1 tsp. vanilla

After adding the butter and vanilla, do not stir any longer! Cool to room temp or 110 degrees (I always judged when I could comfortably put my hand on the pan bottom. It’s okay to hurry it along by putting the pan in cold water, too.)Beat it until it’s thick and shiny, but watch out—it starts to set very suddenly!Pour into buttered 8 by 8 inch pan.The lady who shared this added: Cut and hide!!Also, I like it with nuts [my kids do not, so I left them out], so have them chopped and ready to pop in at the last minute, before it starts to harden.

Photos of my daughter making her first pan of fudge—which hardened fairly well—were taken by Ann Kroeker.