How to Host an Old-fashioned Candy-pull Holiday Party - with Recipes!

Trying to come up with a new idea for a party? How about something so old-fashioned that it will be new to your friends? You can do that very simply by adding an old-fashioned candy-pull to your holiday party plans.

What is a candy-pull?

A candy-pull is a social gathering where people pull candy. In other words, they make candy. To make candy smooth and chewy, rather than hard, it has to be pulled, almost massaged. In earlier times, the necessity of pulling candy became the basis for a popular social event, the candy-pull. There are stories about candy not being the only sweet, of couples pulling together, and then joining the ends of the candy, and perhaps stealing a kiss as they came together... only to bring the ends of the rope of candy together.

The New York Times has an article from 1898 about the skills needed at a candy-pull in its online archives (here)

Whom is an old-fashioned candy-pull for?

In a very detailed article in The Deseret News, "Pulling together: Celebrate Pioneer Day with an old-fashioned candy pull" (here), Valerie Phillips reports on having a candy-pull for children.

As good as that article is (check the recipes), I disagree. You will be dealing with syrup heated to 260 degrees. An old-fashioned candy-pull could be fun with your own children. Perhaps a few home-school families could come together and incorporate the activity with a unit on life in the United States during the 19th century, but if you have a candy-pull with children, make sure you have a good many adults.

I have had an old-fashioned candy-pull party for high school students, college students, and adults. They all seemed to enjoy the activity, but with adults, you might want to make sure, if you serve alcoholic beverages, that no one pulls under the influence.

Where can you have an old-fashioned candy-pull?

You cook the syrup in the kitchen, and if you have room there, that is a great, cozy place to have a candy-pull. But, once you pour up the syrup to get it ready to pull, then you could take the pan of hot syrup (carefully, of course) to your dining room, family room, or even porch or outdoor picnic table. Traditionally, a candy-pull was a cold-weather activity, but it does not have to be.

Recipes for your old-fashioned candy-pull

I found this recipe in a box of family papers, although I do not remember anyone in my family making syrup candy and having a candy-pull before I did.

1 cup sugar
2 cups syrup (see below)
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar
1/ teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons butter/margarine

Three recipes in one: I have made this candy with molasses, corn syrup, and the cane syrup so characteristic of the rural south (where I come from). A friend told me she made it with honey, but I have not. Honey is a rather weird substance, so much so that I wish that our resident Associated Content chemical entertainer or entertaining chemist Vincent Summers (source page) ) would write an article about it. In the article to which I previously referred (here) Valerie Phillips includes a recipe for a honey candy.

This old-fashioned candy recipe is actually a chemical formula which does not allow a great deal of variation. I have never used anything but cider vinegar, but you could add some flavor with different vinegars, perhaps balsamic vinegar. You could also add herbs, spices, and flavorings, such as mint.

Directions: Cook sugar, syrup, water, and vinegar until a little dropped into cold water is brittle, or until a candy thermometer reaches 256 - 260 degrees. Remove from heat, add soda and butter, and blend thoroughly. Pour into an oiled pan (a cookie or jellyroll sheet), and let cool until it can be handled.

I have made candy without a thermometer, using the method of dropping a bit of the syrup into cold water. A candy thermometer costs only a few dollars (and you may have a friend or neighbor who has one stuck back in a drawer somewhere); even if you never make candy but once, it is worth investing in a candy thermometer. Besides, you can always use it to check the temperature of oil for deep-frying, such as for making tempura. (Making candy and deep frying: I can hear the food police tearing down my door.)

This recipe makes enough that you can easily divide into six parts, so that six individuals or couples can pull candy. All who are going to take part in the candy pull should wash their hands, remove their rings, and grease their hands with butter/margarine.

As soon as you can begin to handle the syrup (now candy) comfortably, begin to pull it. Alone, one person can stretch the candy to about the length of an arm, or two people can do this together. There is no specific length, but once you stretch the candy, then bring the ends together to make it half the length it was, then bring the ends of that together. Whenever you bring the ends together, twist the candy.

There are no specific directions for the candy pull. You want to move the candy and work air into it, to make it smooth and chewy, not hard. The more you pull it the better, but as the New York Times article said ((here), you should move gracefully and slowly.

As you pull the candy, you will see that it gets lighter in color and pulls into a smooth rope. After some ten or fifteen minutes - you cannot pull the candy too much - you can cut it into bite-sized pieces with a knife or a pair of scissors.

Then, you can wrap individual pieces in something that may seem even more old-fashioned than a candy-pull, wax paper. Or, you can lightly spray the candy with non-stick cooking spray if you want to wrap individual pieces in foil or plastic wrap. You will need to wrap pieces individually.

If you want to make more candy, perhaps to share in gift packages, instead of doubling the amounts of these ingredients, make two separate batches. It will be easier to maintain the temperature and to work with the hot syrup.

How about an old-fashioned microwave oven for your candy pull?

You can search Google for "microwave taffy recipes" and find a number of options. I have never tried a microwave candy recipe, but as I look at some of them, I do not think that you will save any time or effort by using the microwave. In fact, when you close the microwave oven's door, you lose some control over the process.

Be safe, have fun, don't eat too much of your old-fashioned candy, but if, like some couples from long ago, you can sneak a kiss over a hot rope of candy, then, go for it!