Peanut brittle
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Brittle is a type of
confection Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categorie ...
consisting of flat broken pieces of hard sugar candy embedded with nuts such as
pecan The pecan (''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed in the southern United States, primarily in Georgia, ...
s, almonds, or
peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small and ...
s, and which are usually less than 1 cm thick.


Types

It has many variations around the world, such as ''
pasteli :''The term "sesame candy" may also refer to sesame halva.'' Sesame seed candy is a confection of sesame seeds and sugar or honey pressed into a bar or ball. It is popular from the Middle East through South Asia to East Asia. The texture may var ...
'' in
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
; sohan in
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
; ''croquant'' in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
; '' alegría'' or ''palanqueta'' in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
; ''
panocha mani ''Panocha mani'' (also spelled as ''panutsa mani''), or simply ''panutsa'' or ''samani'', is a Filipino brittle confection made with muscovado sugar or ''sangkaka'' (native jaggery), whole peanuts, and butter (or margarine). It can also be ma ...
'', ''panutsa mani'', or ''samani'' in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
(which can also be made with
pili nut ''Canarium ovatum'', the pili (Central Bikol and Filipino: ''pili'', ;), is a species of tropical tree belonging to the genus ''Canarium''. It is one of approximately 600 species in the family Burseraceae. ''C. ovatum'' are native to the P ...
); ''
gozinaki Gozinaki or Gozinaqi ( ka, გოზინაყი ) is a traditional Georgian confection made of caramelized nuts, usually walnuts, fried in honey, and served exclusively on New Year's Eve and Christmas. In the western Georgian provinces of I ...
'' in
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
; ''gachak'' in Indian
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...
,
chikki Chikki is a traditional Indian sweet ( brittle) generally made from nuts and jaggery/sugar. There are several different varieties of chikki in addition to the most common groundnut (peanut) chikki. Each variety of chikki is named after the ingr ...
in other parts of
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
; ''kotkoti'' in
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
; '' sohan halwa'' in
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
; ''huasheng tang'' (花生糖) in China; ''thua tat'' (ถั่วตัด) in
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
; and ''kẹo lạc, kẹo hạt điều'' in
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. In parts of the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
, brittle is made with pistachios, while many Asian countries use
sesame seed Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus '' Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...
s and peanuts. Peanut brittle is the most popular brittle recipe in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. The term "brittle" in the context of the food first appeared in print in 1892, though the candy itself has been around for much longer.


Preparation

Traditionally, a mixture of sugar and water is heated to the hard crack stage corresponding to a temperature of approximately to , although some recipes also call for ingredients such as glucose and salt in the first step. Nuts are mixed with the
caramelized Caramelization is a process of browning of sugar used extensively in cooking for the resulting sweet nutty flavor and brown color. The brown colors are produced by three groups of polymers: caramelans (C24H36O18), caramelens (C36H50O25), and ca ...
sugar. At this point spices,
leavening agent In cooking, a leavening agent () or raising agent, also called a leaven () or leavener, is any one of a number of substances used in doughs and batters that cause a foaming action (gas bubbles) that lightens and softens the mixture. An altern ...
s, and often peanut butter or butter are added. The hot candy is poured out onto a flat surface for cooling, traditionally a granite, a marble slab or a baking sheet. The hot candy may be troweled to uniform thickness. When the brittle is cool enough to handle, it is broken into pieces. It is also rare to break the brittle into equal pieces.


Nougatine

Nougatine is a similar confection to brittle, but made of sliced almonds instead of whole peanuts, which are embedded in clear caramel.


See also

* Almond Roca * Caramel *
Chikki Chikki is a traditional Indian sweet ( brittle) generally made from nuts and jaggery/sugar. There are several different varieties of chikki in addition to the most common groundnut (peanut) chikki. Each variety of chikki is named after the ingr ...
*
Florentine biscuit A Florentine biscuit (or simply, a Florentine) is a sweet pastry of nuts and fruit. Florentines are made of Nut (fruit), nuts (typically hazelnuts and almonds) and Candied fruit, candied Cherry, cherries mixed with sugar melted together with butt ...
*
Frankfurter Kranz The Frankfurter Kranz (or Frankfurt Crown Cake) is a cake specialty of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Preparation starts with the baking of a firm sponge cake in a ring shaped baking tin. The cake is then sliced horizontally to divide it into tw ...
*
Gajak Gajak (also ''gachak'') is a dessert or confection originating in north-central India. It is a dry sweet made of sesame seeds (''til'') or peanuts and jaggery. The ''til'' is cooked in the raw sugar syrup and set in thin layers, which can be st ...
* Dalgona *
Ka'í Ladrillo Ka'í Ladrillo is a typical dessert of the Paraguayan cuisine prepared mainly with peanuts and molasses. Origin of the name The name ''ka’i ladrillo'' is the result of the combination of two words, “ka’i” that means “monkey” and “la ...
*
List of peanut dishes This is a list of peanut dishes and foods that are prepared using peanuts or peanut butter as a primary ingredient. Peanuts are also referred to as groundnuts. Dishes and foods * Ants on a log – a snack made by spreading peanut butter, cr ...
*
Nougat Nougat ( , ; ; az, nuqa; fa, نوقا) is a family of confections made with sugar or honey, roasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, and macadamia nuts are common), whipped egg whites, and sometimes chopped candied fruit. ...
*
Pé-de-moleque 'Pé-de-Moleque' () (literally "brat's foot" in Portuguese) is a traditional candy from Brazil. It is made of peanuts and rapadura or molasses. The candy is prepared by mixing roasted, peeled peanuts with melted brown sugar, with or without th ...
(in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
) * Praliné *
Toffee Toffee is a confection made by caramelizing sugar or molasses (creating inverted sugar) along with butter, and occasionally flour. The mixture is heated until its temperature reaches the hard crack stage of . While being prepared, toffee ...
*
Turrón Turrón (), or torrone (), is a southwestern European nougat confection, typically made of honey, sugar, and egg white, with toasted almonds or other nuts, and usually shaped into either a rectangular tablet or a round cake. It is frequently c ...
(in Spain)


References


External links

* Cuisine of the Southern United States Peanut dishes Nut confections {{confection-stub