Yummy Additions to Culinary Clues

It's been a cool summer here in New Jersey. This co-author of the .Sandra Troux Mysteries collection and Culinary Clues Around the World: recipes from the Sandra Troux Mysteries loves cool weather. So rather than hang at the pool or the beautiful Jersey Shore beaches, we have been at work doubling the size of Culinary Clues to bring you twice the number of scrumptious recipes for your culinary delight.

With fall coming on, we all begin to move inside. So this time of year will be perfect for trying out these new recipes from eight countries.

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Here is a delicious sample that is identified with the Jersey Shore, but can be made at home.

Salt Water Taffy

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

• 2/3 cup light corn syrup

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter + extra for buttering a baking dish, your hands, and scissors

• 1/2 cup water

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste (or 1 tablespoon vanilla plus the seeds from a vanilla bean) or other flavoring

Supplies:

• Medium-sized saucepan

• Small baking dish

• Candy thermometer (I highly recommend the digital Maverick)

• Kitchen scissors

• Waxed paper

Directions:

1. Thoroughly butter a small baking dish and set aside.

2. Place sugar, cornstarch, corn syrup, butter, water, and salt in a medium-sized saucepan on medium-high heat.

3. Mix thoroughly.

4. Heat until the mixture reaches 255 F on a candy thermometer and immediately remove from the heat. The higher the temperature, the harder the taffy will be. 255 F makes a candy that holds its shape but dissolves in your mouth.

5. Mix vanilla bean paste or other flovoring into hot taffy.

6. Pour the hot taffy into the buttered baking dish.

7. When the taffy is cool enough, butter your hands, form a big taffy ball, and begin to stretch and pull. Keep doing this for about 15 minutes. Salt water taffy recipes always call for pulling in order to add air to the cooked sugar mixture. The more you pull, the lighter in color the candy will be and harder to pull. Stop when you are tired.

8. Roll out in long ropes, cut into 1-1 ½ inch pieces and wrap with waxed paper.

9. YUMMM