January 8th: National English Toffee Day

It's National English Toffee Day. Here are ten facts about toffee.

1. The origin of the word toffee isn't known. Theories put forward include that it was named after tafia, a type of cheap West Indian Rum, derived from tuffy, because it was chewy, or that it was from the Creole for a mixture of sugar and molasses.
2. Whatever the origin of the word, it first appeared in The Oxford English Dictionary in 1825.
3. It's a relatively recent treat, originating in Britain during the 19th century when cheap sugar became available from the Caribbean colonies, and people experimented with things they could make from it.
4. Toffee is made by caramelizing sugar or molasses along with Butter. Some recipes use flour as well. The mixture is heated until its temperature reaches 149 to 154 °C (300 to 310 °F).
5. Early recipes for toffee back in the 19th century generally had alcohol in them, usually rum. As well as making it taste nice, the alcohol made the toffee last longer.
6. One 100g serving of toffee contains 470 calories; 21g fat, 61g carbs, 49g sugars. It will also have traces of sodium, Calcium, Iron and vitamins A and C.
7. How to tell if your toffee is good - it won't be burnt, or greasy (despite having butter in it). It won't be grainy - that means the sugar hasn't melted properly. If there are nuts or Raisins in it, they should taste fresh.
8. What the Americans call "English toffee" is not what we'd call toffee in the UK. That particular type of candy is what we call buttercrunch. British toffee is made using Brown sugar, while "English toffee" is made from White sugar. "English toffee" is usually flavoured, often with Almonds or other nuts, whereas British toffee usually is not.
9. Toffee apples are Apples coated with hard toffee with a stick in the middle to help you eat them. They are popular around Guy Fawkes night and Halloween, which fall soon after the apple harvest.
10. In America, they are known as candy apples, and the coating can be sugar candy rather than toffee. They were said to have been invented by a candy shop owner, William W. Kolb, originally for a Christmas window display. He sold the whole first batch for 5 cents each and the rest is history.

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