why do you put baking soda in peanut brittle

You can make sweet & snappy, old-fashioned Peanut Brittle right in your own kitchen! Today’s peanut brittle recipe includes all my best candy making tips so you can have flawless results every time. Recipe includes a how-to video!

Baking soda is also very important at this stage since it reacts to the heat, creating carbon dioxide that aerates the caramel, enabling it to snap when someone bites into it rather than requiring them to gnaw at it until it breaks or pulls apart.
why do you put baking soda in peanut brittle

An Easy Homemade Peanut Brittle Recipe

Peanut brittle is a flavorful, old-fashioned candy that’s sweet and salty with a beautiful snappy texture (and a reputation for sticking to your teeth!). Salted peanuts are scattered throughout for a nutty flavor and fun bite. If you’re a fan of peanut candy, you’ll definitely like this one!

Candy making may seem intimidating, but that’s just because most of us don’t make it often. I get that and for a long time stuck to thermometer-free candies like potato candy but using a thermometer and moving your candy-making to the stovetop really isn’t that complicated. Take this recipe as an opportunity to become familiar with the tools and develop a knack for the process. Today I’m sharing my best tips and tricks so you can jump right in!

One thing to note before we begin: I highly recommend making this recipe on a dry, low humidity day (so winter is a great time to start practicing!). Any moisture in the air can be re-absorbed into your candy, making it softer, and we want our candy to be hard and brittle (hence the name!). Humidity also slows the cooling process while your candy is setting, increasing the chances of having unwanted crystals form. So not a bad idea to check the weather forecast before you start!

why do you put baking soda in peanut brittle

As like with my toffee recipe, it’s very important to have all of your ingredients laid out before you start. Once your mixture reaches 305°F, you need to move quickly as possible! Here’s what you need:

  • Butter. Use unsalted butter (since we’re using salted peanuts and adding salt ourselves!) and make sure it’s softened.
  • Baking soda. I talk about this in-depth below, but essentially baking soda creates the proper texture and flavor in any good peanut brittle recipe. Make sure you’re not using baking powder!
  • Peanuts. Use shelled, dry roasted peanuts and make sure they’re salted. This helps give our brittle a nice salty and sweet flavor!
  • Light corn syrup. This is a crucial ingredient in many candies (like my homemade caramels), and it’s NOT the same thing as high fructose corn syrup! Stick with the light version here and save dark corn syrup for pecan pie.

SAM’S TIP: I strongly recommend using a candy thermometer for this recipe. While there are certainly ways to make candy without one, using a thermometer saves you guesswork and frustration.

Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

Why do you put baking soda in peanut brittle?

FAQ

Why is my homemade peanut brittle chewy?

Why did my peanut brittle turn out chewy? The likely cause is that the sugar mixture didn’t reach the proper hard crack stage temperature. Ensuring it reaches 300˚F is key to getting that classic brittle texture.

What causes peanut brittle not to harden?

Didn’t get it hot enough. You have to hit hard crack stage heat or it’s not going to harden.

Why isn t my peanut brittle crunchy?

The main reason why peanut brittle doesn’t get hard and have the crunch we expect is because the sugar was not cooked long enough. The sugar needs to be cooked to what is called the hard crack stage, 300ºF.

What does baking soda do in candy making?

The recipe, submitted by Mrs. Samuel Rife, is an old-fashioned brittle that calls for two heaping teaspoons of baking soda. Baking soda helps to aerate brittle — it literally makes the molten candy bubble in the pot — to create a brittle with an airy, almost honeycomblike texture that crunches easily when eaten.

Does baking soda make peanut brittle?

When baking soda interacts with the sugar acids present in your brittle, it creates carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide produces the airy, lacy texture you see when you snap apart a piece of peanut brittle. While you can produce brittle by slow-cooking sugar in a cast iron pan, adding baking soda is the most effective way to achieve the desired texture.

Is the peanut butter bad if the oil goes to the top?

Natural peanut butter is made 100 percent of peanuts; this makes it very likely that the oil will float to the top at room temperature, which is perfectly normal. On the contrary, some peanut butters contain additives, stabilizers or hydrogenated vegetable oils, that keep the peanut solids and oils together. So, the oil on top is actually a sign that you bought a high-quality peanut butter.

How do you make peanut brittle taste good?

Baking soda. I talk about this in-depth below, but essentially baking soda creates the proper texture and flavor in any good peanut brittle recipe. Make sure you’re not using baking powder! Peanuts. Use shelled, dry roasted peanuts and make sure they’re salted. This helps give our brittle a nice salty and sweet flavor! Light corn syrup.

Should you use unsalted butter for peanut brittle?

Always use unsalted butter for all recipes so you can control the amount of salt that goes into a recipe. Keep in mind that the flavor will be different if you use salted. If your peanut brittle didn’t set right, it’s most likely because you removed it from the heat too soon.

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