sesame snap snafu

My dog is not a sesame snap, just in case you thought otherwise.  I would have included pictures of my home made sesame snaps but I ruined them so they’re not worthy of my camera’s attention.  Instead, Mia gets another shot at fame and fortune.

Some time ago I tried home-made sesame snaps and they were really, really good and then shortly after I read that unsalted sesame seeds should be eaten every day because of the nutritional wallop that the little seeds provide.  The World’s Healthiest Foods gives us a breakdown of the minerals and explains why they’re so good for us.  They’re cheap, readily available, easy to store, and they go with everything, from salads to smoothies to sauces and soups.

And sugar.  In this case, two cups of it and about a half cup of liquid honey.  I’d roasted two cups of sunflower seeds in the oven and they came out nicely golden with a savoury-sweet nutty flavour.  They were perfect and I should have just left well enough alone and stored them in a jar for future enjoyment.  Instead I thought it would be good to boil sugar, honey and lemon juice at a dangerously high temperature into an overdone, burnt and sticky mess into which I’d dump the seeds.  I’d expected that the process of boiling would only take about twenty minutes to reach 310 degrees F but I was wrong. My newly purchased candy thermometer tried my patience as it very, very gradually reached the desired temperature.  I kept adjusting the heat, afraid I was going to cook the sweet stuff too quickly, so it took almost an hour for the bubbly mass to finally reach the sweet spot.

I had too much time on my hands so I started cleaning and then thought that I’d clear the counter off closest to the stove but at the moment of truth when the temp went from 309 to 310, the zenith, I was wiping crumbs into the sink looking in the wrong direction.  Then the smoke started.  I smelled it before I saw it and quickly moved the pot away from the flame.  The temp was right at 310 so I thought it would be OK still and sacrificed the sunflower seeds and poured them into the pot which sealed their fate like flies in amber.  Since the liquid sugar cools and hardens almost immediately one has to work fast and its messy.  If you get it on your skin it’s just like crazy glue only more painful.

While the temperature cooled and the snaps solidified they looked delicious but the odour in the air betrayed my error.  Indeed the crispy treats had a lingering burnt under taste that couldn’t be ignored no matter how sweet and crispy they were.  Curses.

Here.  Look at Scout








and Stella.  They’re not so burnt.

One thought on “sesame snap snafu

  1. Ah yes – the perils of boiling sugar. Akin to boiling marmalade. It takes forever to get to the right temperature, but a degree too far and there is no forgiveness. NONE. (Even if it’s not burnt, just try chewing taffy that’s been boiled past it’s prime – your teeth come away with the sweet – at least it feels like that.)