Candy History - Peanut Brittle - Candy Favorites (2024)

FAQs

What are some fun facts about peanut brittle? ›

In parts of the Middle East, brittle is made with pistachios, while many Asian countries use sesame seeds and peanuts. “Brittle,” a flat hardened sugar candy, is thought to be one of the first candies ever made. Peanut brittle made with corn syrups and nuts began appearing in cookbooks around the 19th century.

Finally, there is the story that is likely the most plausible. In this story, a Southern woman (or, some say, New England woman) created peanut brittle by mistake. She was in the middle of making taffy and accidentally added baking soda instead of cream of tartar to the confectionary mix.

The general origin story of peanut brittle is that it came from the South, and that a Southern woman in the second half of the 19th century came up with peanut brittle by accidentally putting baking soda into her taffy instead of cream of tartar.

Brittle: a sugar/water mix cooked to the hard-crack state. Then nuts, corn-syrup, and butter added and brittle is cooled. It is hard and brittle, thus the name.

But, peanut brittle becomes terrible for your teeth once all of those ingredients are combined into the final product. After it's made, peanut brittle turns into a hard, sticky candy that can do some serious damage to teeth.

A Peanut By Any Other Name Would Be As Unappreciated

"The ground pea of the South, or as it is sometimes called, the gouber or pindar pea," said one patent application in 1848. "The earthnut, groundnut, goober, pindar or peanut" is how the Department of Agriculture phrased it.

Baking soda is also very important at this stage since it reacts to the heat, creating carbon dioxide that aerates the caramel, enabling it to snap when someone bites into it rather than requiring them to gnaw at it until it breaks or pulls apart.

Peanut brittle is beloved by many, both young and old. There's something addicting in that salty-sweet crunch that keeps people coming back time and time again. But did you know that this popular treat may very well be an American invention? That's right.

In the vast realm of sweet treats, few can rival the satisfying crunch of brittle. This delectable confection is a harmonious blend of sugar, nuts, and magic that has captivated taste buds around the world for centuries.

What's the difference between toffee and peanut brittle? ›

Brittles are typically composed mostly of sugar, while toffees contain a fair amount of butter and in some cases milk. This makes toffees fuller and richer in taste, while brittles are more purely sweet and sugary. Brittles are also much thinner than most toffees.

/ˌpiː.nʌt ˈbrɪt̬. əl/ hard toffee (= a type of sweet made from butter and sugar) that contains peanuts. chrisbrignell/iStock/Getty Images Plus/GettyImages.

Peanut Brittle Ingredients

Granulated Sugar: When sugar is heated, a process known as sugar inversion happens. This causes the sugar to change into liquid sugar and has that lovely aroma and darker color.

In 1916, a young schoolboy, Antonio Gentile, submitted drawings of an anthropomorphic peanut to a design contest. When his design was chosen, commercial artist Andrew S. Wallach added the monocle, top hat, and cane to create the iconic image. Gentile's family originally received five dollars for winning the contest.