National Penuche Fudge Day

Today is July 22nd, and that makes it National Penuche Fudge Day in the United States.

Penuche fudge can just be referred to as penuche, as it is more an item related to fudge than actually being a type of fudge., although it does share many similarities. Penuche's primary ingredients are butter, milk and brown sugar - normal fudge usually is made from white sugar, so the brown gives it a different flavour, and colour - but other ingredients such as nuts like pecans are often added. The brown sugar is caramelised, which for brown sugar means that it should be heated to 160°C (320°F) as brown sugar is a type of sucrose, but one which contains a percentage of molasses, a very dark brown type of sugar.

This candy is most popular in New England and the Southern United States - in the latter it is more commonly known as brown sugar fudge candy - but it can be found in other regions. It is also used as a flavour for boiled icing. The name has been linked to a former ice hockey player, Mark Penuche, as well as being derived from a Spanish word meaning raw sugar.

National Fudge Day

June 16th is National Fudge Day in the United States.

Fudge, at its most simplest, contains only a handful of ingredients, although this doesn't necessarily make it easy to cook. It is a type of confectionery that is usually soft and sweet once cooked. The base ingredients for making fudge are milk, butter and sugar. The sugar is heated to what is called the soft-ball stage, or 240 °F (116 °C). It is heating the sugar correctly that can be the most difficult part of making this dish.

As well as the base ingredients, other things can also be added to the mixture, usually after heating the sugar but before allowing the mix to set. Flavourings are often added, and sometimes appropriate colourings to go with them. Chopped nuts and dried fruit are also commonly added. Chocolate is popular too, both in the mix and to coat the cooked fudge.

With the limited number of base ingredients, fudge is not too difficult to cook at home although, as mentioned, heating the sugar correctly can be tricky, so a sugar thermometer is recommended to help with this.

National Nutty Fudge Day

National Nutty Fudge Day is on May 12th in the United States.

Fudge is a type of confection made from sugar, milk and butter. The sugar is heated to the soft-ball stage 116 °C (240 °F) and then beating the mixture whilst it cools. The end product is soft, rich and sweet. Modern American-style fudge probably originated in the United States in the late 19th century, and had chocolate added to the mixture. There are other similar confections, such as Scots tablet.

Other ingredients may also be added to the mixture; in this case, nuts are added. There are many different types of nuts that can be added to fudge, but they will usually be chopped, rather than whole, and this includes many culinary nuts which are not true botanical nuts. Some common nuts would be peanuts, walnuts, pecans and almonds, which could be added individually or mixed together.

National Peanut Butter Fudge Day

November 20th is National Peanut Butter Fudge Day in the United States.

Fudge is made from a mixture of milk, butter and sugar, which is then heated to what is known as the soft-ball stage, 240 °F (116 °C), the name of the stage being how the temperature was determined before thermometers were used. The mix would have been dropped into cold water to see if it formed a lump, and there are different ball stages too.

Fudge is a surprisingly easy confection to make, assuming that the temperature is done correctly.

Fudge is also a very versatile dish, in that many other things, such as fruit, nuts and flavourings can also be added. With peanut butter fudge, what is added is, naturally, peanut butter. The peanut butter comes in two main varieties, smooth and crunchy, and these could give a different texture to the finished product. Once cooked, the fudge is placed into tins, allowed to cool, and then cut into pikes.