Around Granny's Kitchen: Butterscotch is on Today's Menu.

Granny is in the Kitchen this Monday with a recipe for Butterscotch.

That sweet tooth for which Scots have a reputation means that there are many traditional confectionery recipes. But quite why a brittle sweet (candy) made from butter and sugar should be named "Scotch" is lost in the mists of time.

Granny tells us The ingredients below will make about one pound (450g) of butterscotch.

Ingredients:

One pound (500g or 2½ cups) granulated sugar

Quarter pint (150ml or two-thirds of a cup) water

3 ounces (90g or ¾ stick) unsalted (sweet) butter

One teaspoon (5ml) lemon juice

Quarter teaspoon (1.5ml) cream of tartar

Quarter teaspoon (1.5ml) vanilla essence (extract)

Oil for greasing a baking tin (pan)

Method:

Well oil an 11" x 7" (28cm x 18cm) shallow baking tin (pan). Put the water and lemon juice in a heavy-based saucepan and heat until slightly warm. Stir in the sugar and continue to heat gently, stirring with a wooden spoon, until all the sugar has been thoroughly dissolved. Don't allow it to boil.

Stir in the cream of tartar and bring to the boil to 115C/242F on a sugar thermometer (or until a teaspoon full of the mixture forms a soft ball when it is dropped into a cup of cold water.

Remove from the heat and beat in the butter. Return to the heat and boil to 138C/280F or when a teaspoon of the mixture forms a thin thread when dropped into a cup of cold water. (The thread will bend and break when pressed between the fingers)

Remove from the heat and beat in the vanilla essence (extract). Pour into the oiled tin and leave until it is almost set. Then mark into small rectangles with a knife. When it is completely set, break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

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