Tablet ( in
Scots) is a medium-hard, sugary
confection from
Scotland. Tablet is usually made from
sugar
Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
,
condensed milk
Condensed milk is cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of ''sweetened condensed milk'' (SCM), to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condens ...
, and
butter, which is boiled to a
soft-ball stage and allowed to crystallise. It is often flavoured with
vanilla and sometimes has nut pieces in it.
Tablet differs from
fudge in that it has a brittle, grainy texture, where fudge is much softer. Well-made tablet is a medium-hard confection, not as soft as fudge, but not as hard as hard
candy
Candy, also called sweets (British English) or lollies (Australian English
Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language an ...
.
Commercially available tablet often uses
fondant
Fondant is a mixture of sugar and water used as a confection, filling, or icing. Sometimes gelatin and glycerine are used as softeners or stabilizers.
There are numerous varieties of fondant, with the most basic being poured fondant. Others inc ...
instead of the milk products. This produces a slightly less granular texture compared to the traditional home-made tablet, and is supposedly easier to prepare on a commercial scale.
History
According to ''The Scots Kitchen'' by
F. Marian McNeill
Florence Marian McNeill, (26 March 1885 – 22 February 1973) was a Scottish folklorist, author, editor, suffragist and political activist. She is best known for writing ''The Silver Bough'' (not to be confused with '' The Golden Bough''), ...
, tablet is noted in ''
The Household Book of Lady Grisell Baillie'' in the early 18th century.
The traditional recipe uses just sugar and
cream. More modern recipes substitute condensed milk and butter for the cream, as cream has a tendency to burn when boiled.
Names
Tablet is sometimes referred to as ''Swiss Milk tablet'' (Swiss Milk being a term used by some for
condensed milk
Condensed milk is cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of ''sweetened condensed milk'' (SCM), to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condens ...
)
[S.W.R.I. (1977). ''S.W.R.I. Jubilee Cookery Book''. Edinburgh: Scottish Women's Rural Institutes; Reprint of 8th Edition (1968), p180] or ''butter tablet''.
See also
*
Barfi
* ''
Confiture de lait
''Dulce de leche'' (; pt, doce de leite), also known as caramelized milk, milk candy or milk jam in English, is a confection from Latin America prepared by slowly heating sugar and milk over a period of several hours. The resulting substance, w ...
''
* ''
Dulce de leche''
*
Caramel
Caramel ( or ) is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard.
The process of caramelizatio ...
*
Penuche
References
External links
Tablet recipe
Scottish confectionery
{{Scotland-stub