The recipe:
4 ounces fresh leaves and flowers. ½ tsp crushed anise seed and 3 crushed cardamom seeds. 2 ½ cups of water. Put all that together and simmer 20 minutes, then run through a fine filter until all you have is the flavored water. Over a low heat, dissolve 2 cups white sugar and 1 ½ cups brown sugar in the liquid. Boil over medium heat until “a drop in cold water forms a hard ball” (read below for my notes). Pour immediately into a well-oiled pan to cool. Score when partially cooled.
I decided to try making candy. I used to make it when I was younger and lived in a drier climate but that fell by the wayside along with my desire to become an herbalist when we moved to the Willamette Valley. Candy requires low humidity or it fails. I won’t go into all the weather around here: it rains in the Willamette Valley nine months out of twelve. We don’t get the most rain or the most humidity, but the days when I wanted to make candy were usually too humid. So I just didn’t bother.
Besides, you need a really good sense of when “a drop in cold water forms a hard ball” stage is reached. I don’t have that so I rely on thermometers when – and IF – I decide to make candy.
I love to make candy. I’ve made a killer penuche and I’m no mean hand at making divinity, or I was when we lived in dry country, and I frequently made candy. I even made a great horehound candy once. That was BC (Before Children) and Before the Willamette Valley, so a Very Long Time Ago. I’m ancient, you know.
I grew horehound this year with the intent of repeating that long ago success. It grew, blossomed, and I trimmed it back using a recipe I found in an herbal remedies book (the original recipe having been lost in multitude moves over the decades).
It failed. But I will try again! Below are my errors and the recipe, should you wish to try your hand at this.
4 ounces fresh leaves and flowers.
I trimmed back the horehound as far as I dared. With stems, I only procured 3.5 ounces. Well, it should still work.
½ tsp crushed anise seed and 3 crushed cardamom seeds. Don’t have either, but I can substitute nutmeg and cinnamon to taste.
2 ½ cups of water. Put all that together and simmer 20 minutes, then run through a fine filter until all you have is the flavored water. Over a low heat, dissolve 2 cups white sugar and 1 ½ cups brown sugar in the liquid. Boil over medium heat until “a drop in cold water forms a hard ball” or approximately 252° F (according to Betty Crocker). Pour iimmediately into a well oiled pan to cool. Score when partially cooled.
NOTE: The candy is a bit too soft. I should have used the Interwebs instead of a dated Betty Crocker and the candy should be cooked to Hard Crack stage, or 300° F (149° C). That’s a minor mistake. The candy is still usable and storable (use wax paper). But I would prefer a harder candy.
It is also a bit bitter. Let’s be honest: lot bitter, really. It might be OK if you have a bad sore throat and a linger cough, but… It’s not Ricola™ by any means. It would probably be less astringent if I had not used the stems. I’m pretty certain the stems ruined it.
The substitution of cinnamon and nutmeg was a negligible factor, but I think the next time I try this recipe (and there will be a next time), I will use the cardamom and anise seeds.
Jaci Dawn 