Basic Divinity

Name: Basic Divinity
Yield: 1 pound, 6 serving(s)
Ingredients: 2 cups granulated white sugar; 1/2 cup light corn syrup; 1/2 cup water; 1 pinch salt (1/8 tsp); 2 egg whites; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 cup nuts, Chopped, OR; 1 cup cherries, Chopped, OR; 1 cup orange rind, Chopped, Etc.

Submitted by Julesong

"I adopted this recipe because a dear friend of mine is very fond of divinity - it remind him of his grandmother - and I hope to make it for him next holiday season. :) I will at that time edit the directions to be somewhat less lengthy..."

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Ingredients:: 9
Yields:: 1 pound
Serves:: 6

ingredients

2 cups granulated white sugar
¹⁄₂ cup light corn syrup
¹⁄₂ cup water
1 pinch salt (1/8 tsp)
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup nuts, Chopped, OR
1 cup cherries, Chopped, OR
1 cup orange rind, Chopped, Etc.

directions

NOTE: TO PREWARM A CANDY THERMOMETER, SIMPLE PLACE IT AN A SMALL SAUCE PAN OF COLD WATER AND BRING IT TO A BOIL.
LET IT SIMMER UNTIL YOU NEED THE THERMOMETER.
Prewarm the thermometer; separate the eggs allowing the whites to come to room temperature in a large bowl of an electric mixer. (Return the egg yolks to the refrigerator covering with plastic wrap or water for another recipe.) Fill a glass with ice cubes and water.
To make dropped divinities, you will need 2 cookie sheets, topped with greased wax paper.
For squares, use a greased and wax paper-lined 8 X 8-inch pan.
Measure the sugar, corn syrup, ice water and salt and dump into a heavy 2-quart saucepan with a tight fitting lid.
Dissolve the sugar, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon over low heat.
Syrup will become clear, gritty sounds will cease, and the spoon will glide smoothly over the bottom of the pan.
Increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil.
OPTIONAL: Cover pan with a square of wax paper and lid, pushing down firmly.
Steam for 2 to 3 minutes to dissolve the sugar crystals. (Listen to make sure the pot doesn't boil over.To double-check, remove lid, leaving the wax paper in place.)
Wash down any crystals clinging to the sides with a brush dipped in hot water from the thermometer bath.
Introduce the prewarmed thermometer.
No need to stir.
Beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry.
If your mixer is a heavy duty one, you can wait until the bubbles in the syrup become very large and airy before beating the egg whites.
Otherwise, do it now when the thermometer registers 240 Degrees F. (115.5 C.).
Test the syrup when the thermometer registers 246 degrees F. (119 C.).
Continue testing until it reach the firm-ball stage, 246 to 260 degrees F. (119 to 126.5 C.).
Syrup will be hard to scrape up in ice water.
It will have to be forced into a ball, but once formed, it should hold its shape but give under pressure.
Return the thermometer to the hot water bath to soak clean.
Dribble the syrup into the egg whites in a slow, steady stream, beating at slow speed.
Tilt the syrup pan to get the last drop but do not scrape the pan.
Once the syrup is completely incorporated, change to a flat whip if you have one.
Have patience and continue beating.
The amount of time you spend mixing depends on the power of your mixer.
If you have a heavy duty or commercial one, you can go to full speed and make the divinity in less than 5 minutes.
With less powerful ones, it can take up to 20 minutes.
The important thing is to beat at the highest speed of your mixer.
Also if it is a hot and humid day, it will take longer also.
Test the divinity.
The first and most important test occurs when you lift the beaters.
If the candy falls back in ribbons that immediately merge back into the batter, it isn't done.
Eventually, a stationary column will form between the beaters and the bowl.
Candy will lose its sheen/gloss and stop being sticky; a teaspoonful dropped onto wax paper will hold its shape, even a peak.
If you machine is laboring and the candy is not quite there yet, you have two choices: Pour anyway and put into a frost free freezer to set up....or finish by hand.
Fold in the flavorings and nuts and/or other optional items using the mixer or if very thick, a wooden spoon.
Drop or spread the divinity either on wax paper-covered cookie sheets or the buttered pan.
Dripping it by teaspoon is harder work for you but it ripens quicker and is ready to eat sooner.
A neat trick is to put the candy into a pastry bag and pipe onto the wax paper.
If you spread it in the pan, you will have to wait up to 24 hours before it is ready.
But you maybe one of those that think it is better when it is 24 hours old.
Score and cut into squares.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in a refrigerator.
Recipe CANNOT be doubled; it can be frozen but not for extended periods of time.

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Reviews

Thanks so much; this turned out perfectly. I received a stand-up mixer for Mother's Day, and I was sorely disappointed with my first batch of divinity. This time it was fluffy and perfect! I think I accidentally left two different reviews -- sorry.

Pseudo-Chef
I made this divinity this weekend. It was easy enough, but I had to wade through all of the stuff that wasn't needed. I didn't steam it or change my beaters. I started with the flat beater. It all turned out just fine, and every one really liked it, so you don't have to have so much detail.

BanditsChef

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

Julesong

Tukwila, 87

It's simply this: I love to cook! :) I've been hanging out on the internet since the early days and have collected loads of recipes. I've tried to keep the best of them (and often the more unusual) and look forward to sharing them with you, here. I am proud to say that I have several family members who are also on RecipeZaar! My husband, here as <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/member/39857>Steingrim</a>, is an excellent cook. He rarely uses recipes, though, so often after he's made dinner I sit down at the computer and talk him through how he made the dishes so that I can get it down on paper. Some of these recipes are in his account, some of them in mine - he rarely uses his account, though, so we'll probably usually post them to mine in the future. My sister <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/member/65957>Cathy is here as cxstitcher</a> and <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/member/62727>my mom is Juliesmom</a> - say hi to them, eh? Our <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/member/379862>friend Darrell is here as Uncle Dobo</a>, too! I've been typing in his recipes for him and entering them on R'Zaar. We're hoping that his sisters will soon show up with their own accounts, as well. :) I collect cookbooks (to slow myself down I've limited myself to purchasing them at thrift stores, although I occasionally buy an especially good one at full price), and - yes, I admit it - I love FoodTV. My favorite chefs on the Food Network are Alton Brown, Rachel Ray, Mario Batali, and Giada De Laurentiis. I'm not fond over fakey, over-enthusiastic performance chefs... Emeril drives me up the wall. I appreciate honesty. Of non-celebrity chefs, I've gotta say that that the greatest influences on my cooking have been my mother, Julia Child, and my cooking instructor Chef Gabriel Claycamp at Seattle's Culinary Communion. In the last couple of years I've been typing up all the recipes my grandparents and my mother collected over the years, and am posting them here. Some of them are quite nostalgic and are higher in fat and processed ingredients than recipes I normally collect, but it's really neat to see the different kinds of foods they were interested in... to see them either typewritten oh-so-carefully by my grandfather, in my grandmother's spidery handwriting, or - in some cases - written by my mother years ago in fountain pen ink. It's like time travel. Cooking peeve: food/cooking snobbery. Regarding my black and white icon (which may or may not be the one I'm currently using): it the sea-dragon tattoo that is on the inside of my right ankle. It's also my personal logo.

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