Monday, March 17, 2014

Melcocha (Taffy)

Melcocha or taffy is a very popular sweet in Ecuador.

In many towns throughout the Andes you can find artisans preparing the sweets outside of their little stores.

The most famous town, both among Ecuadorians and outside, is Baños.

But melcocha can be found all around the Ecuador where ever there are roads and travelers to buy the products.

And the good thing is that since it’s done by hand it’s easy to make sure it’s hygienic.

If the artisan’s hands aren’t clean enough the melcocha won’t change the color from amber to ivory.

But instead will start going black and gets spotty.

So washing hands is extra important.

And if someone comes to sell you melcocha in a bus in Ecuador, make sure it’s light in color.


Melcocha (Taffy)

(from HispanicKitchen with my own twist

Ingredients:

1¼ cups sugar
1 small cup of tangerine juice
1 spoon full of butter
butter or oil, to grease your hands
red food coloring


Directions:

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, butter and tangerine juice, and cook over medium heat until the mixture forms a caramel.


Once the caramel is ready, remove it from the heat and pour it in a bowl filled with water so it cools quickly.

Once it’s cool enough to handle, drain off the water.
 
With liberally greased hands, pull, stretch and fold the taffy repeatedly until it lightens in color, from amber to ivory. 

Mix food coloring in the taffy.

Take small portions and shape the taffy into sticks, figure eights or spirals.

Place the pieces of taffy on wax paper, wrapping each separately.

Leave them to cool completely.

18 comments:

  1. He was accurately wrapping sometimes without even looking. How very cool!

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  2. I saw this on your twitter post so I came here to see what is this. It looks like something I will like. I think we have this version in the Philippines but this one looks easy to chew.

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    1. It's easy to chew when it's fresh, Jhady. With time it gets harder and harder.

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  3. Looks like he's a pro at this and has been doing it for a long time. How fun and tasty, although I usually stay away from candy like this.

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  4. I think its cool that the taffy knows about hygene! lol I like taffy, this would be a fun recipe to try and replicate.

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  5. Hmm, I've never seen them making taffy before! How cool!! We usually get taffy at the beach every summer! :)

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  6. That sounds like a super interesting recipe. Never tried taffy but it seems like something I'd enjoy. Very cool pictures :)

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  7. Oh yum! That is so cool! And I love taffy sure I will love this.

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  8. What a fun candy to make! I might give it a whirl with my boys sometime, just for the process if not the enjoyment of eating it.

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    1. Just remember to get a lot of grease on your hands first, Laura. And a big batch of taffy too. Or it won't work.

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  9. Wow it's amazing the way he pulls and whips that taffy from the video.

    Michelle F>

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  10. That looks great. Everything is better when it is homemade. -Amber

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  11. Looks Soooooooo Yummy My Goodness!

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  12. oh wow that is so cool, totally done differently than done her in the states. looks good!

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  13. So cool to see the pictures of them pulling the taffy by hand! I prefer flavored taffy, chocolate and cherry are my favorite!

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  14. I love taffy! I would definitely love to try this!

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  15. This looks so cool! Love seeing traditions of your country

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  16. Approximately how many candies would this recipe make if each candy was slightly larger than traditional lollipop size?

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