An Easy Recipe For Homemade Pistachio Almond Honeycomb Candy - California Grown (2024)

FAQs

What is honeycomb candy made of? ›

Honeycomb toffee, honeycomb candy, sponge toffee, cinder toffee, seafoam, or hokey pokey is a sugary toffee with a light, rigid, sponge-like texture. Its main ingredients are typically brown sugar (or corn syrup, molasses or golden syrup) and baking soda, sometimes with an acid such as vinegar.

If your sugar syrup isn't hot enough, it will make your honeycomb very chewy. The best way to make sure your sugar is at the right temperature is to use a sugar thermometer. The mixture should be at the 'hard ball' stage, which is normally between 121-130 degrees Celsius.

The secret is in the baking soda. As the sugar is cooking and begins turning amber in color it accumulates small amounts of acid, and that acid reacts chemically with the alkaline baking soda releasing about a zillion minuscule bubbles of CO₂ that get trapped, making the sugar porous and, well… brittle.

Leave to cool and harden for at least an hour. When set, break it into shards. Store in a sealed container somewhere cool and dry – not the fridge. The honeycomb will keep for a week.

A: Honeycomb is made of wax which is extruded from glands in worker bee abdomens. The wax is chewed and softened, and then formed into cells about 5.5mm wide and 11mm deep.

Bee propolis is a sticky, brown substance sometimes known as bee glue. The honey bees gather tree resin, the main ingredient in propolis, from buds and cracks in the bark. The bees add salivary secretions to the resin by chewing on it and add beeswax to the mix. Propolis has a little pollen in it, too.

Chewy honeycomb happens when the mixture hasn't been cooked for long enough. This is most common when you don't use a sugar thermometer. If you don't heat the mixture to 149°C the sugar won't achieve the brittleness required for that crumbly, crunchy texture.

You may mistake this for some kind of pest or disease but the real answer is very simple – it is just honey – crystallized honey in comb.

the vinegar, or other acidifier such as ascorbic acid or lemon juice, helps the sugar inversion process. It also helps preserve the mixture.

Adding a pinch of cream of tartar to your sugar syrup will help break down the sugar molecules and stop them from crystalizing early on.

What to do with failed honeycomb candy? ›

Instead, if it is enjoyable as is, I would suggest just eating it as a toffee like candy. Otherwise, chalk it up to experience and watch the temperature more closely next time. I have a batch of gooey toffee now too. So im just either enjoying it as is or adding bit or chunks of it to my coffee or ice cream.

The mistake most first timers make is to take the syrup off the heat too soon. This makes the honeycomb sticky and doesn't allow it to set correctly. Whole volumes have been written about the science of candy making.

White vinegar – one of the things that makes this candy unique is the light and airy texture of the toffee. We have the vinegar, in part, to thank for that! Vinegar reacts with the baking soda in the recipe to form little bubbles of carbon dioxide that give the honeycomb candy its airy, crisp texture.

In the US, this candy is usually called honeycomb candy, or sponge candy, or fairy food. Usually this is made with sugar and corn syrup or honey, and baking soda. In the UK, they might be better known as cinder toffee or honeycomb toffee or sponge toffee. This version also widely uses golden syrup or honey.

Honeycomb is basically beeswax and raw honey, so it's 100% edible and safe to eat. The beeswax alone has very little nutritional value, with the exception of trace amounts of Vitamin A. However, since our system does not break down beeswax, it can help the body move food and waste through the gut.

Nutrient-Rich

Honeycomb is filled with natural sugars, vitamins, and antioxidants. These things can be good for your health, possibly helping with allergies, digestion, and giving you a quick energy boost. Some people even use it for healing wounds because it has antibacterial properties.