Michoacan Pecan Milk Fudge (Jamoncillo de Nuez)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy wide 4-quart pot or copper cazo
• •Wooden spoon with a flat edge for scraping
• •Candy thermometer
• •8-inch square pan or shallow green-glazed Michoacan clay dish

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the mold

   Butter an 8-inch square pan or a shallow clay cazuelita and line the bottom with parchment if you want clean edges. Set it near the stove with the toasted pecans ready. Jamoncillo waits for nobody once it thickens.

2. 2

   Dissolve the sugar

   Combine the milk, cane sugar, baking soda, and salt in a heavy, wide pot. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves completely. The baking soda helps keep the milk from curdling as it cooks down. Use a wide pot so the water can evaporate steadily, not a tall thin saucepan that traps everything inside.

3. 3

   Cook the milk

   Lower the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until the mixture turns pale beige and thickens, 50 to 65 minutes. Scrape the bottom and corners every few strokes. At first the bubbles will be loose and quick. Later they turn heavy and slow, and the spoon will leave a trail that closes gradually. That is the milk becoming candy.

   If brown flecks appear, your heat is too high or you are not scraping the bottom. A few tan specks are kitchen life. A burned layer means bitter jamoncillo, and sugar does not forgive laziness.
4. 4

   Check the set

   Cook until a candy thermometer reads 238F to 240F, the soft-ball stage. If you do not have a thermometer, drop a little mixture into a cup of cold water. It should gather into a soft ball you can pinch between your fingers, not dissolve into clouds. This is the point that separates fudge from sweet milk sauce.

5. 5

   Beat the candy

   Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the butter and Mexican vanilla. Let the mixture sit for 3 minutes, then beat firmly with the wooden spoon for 4 to 6 minutes, until the glossy surface turns dull and the mixture thickens enough to hold soft ridges. This beating gives jamoncillo its tender grain. Skip it and the candy sets sticky.

6. 6

   Fold in pecans

   Fold in the toasted pecans quickly and thoroughly. Use nuez pecana, not a handful of mixed nuts from a supermarket bin. The pecan's sweet oil belongs with the cooked milk. Work fast now. The candy is setting while you admire it.

7. 7

   Press and cool

   Scrape the jamoncillo into the prepared pan and press it into an even layer with a buttered spatula or the back of a spoon. Let it cool at room temperature until firm, about 1 hour. Score into small squares while still slightly tender, then cut once fully set. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.

Chef Tips

• •Use whole milk. Low-fat milk makes a thinner, less generous candy. The body of jamoncillo comes from milk solids, sugar, and patience.
• •A heavy copper cazo is traditional in many candy kitchens because it spreads heat evenly. A heavy stainless or enameled pot works. Thin aluminum scorches the milk and then you blame the recipe. Do not do that.
• •Toast the pecans lightly before folding them in. Raw pecans taste flat against cooked milk. Toasted pecans taste like they came from a serious candy stall.
• •If you can buy Mexican vanilla from Papantla, use it. If not, use real vanilla extract. Artificial vanilla is loud and cheap-tasting here because there are so few ingredients to hide behind.

Advance Preparation

• •Jamoncillo can be made 3 days ahead and kept covered at room temperature in a cool kitchen.
• •For longer storage, refrigerate in an airtight container up to 2 weeks. Let it come to room temperature before serving so the milk texture softens again.
• •Do not freeze it. The sugar weeps as it thaws and the texture turns grainy in the wrong way.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 21g)