Pulled Sugar Candy (有平糖, Aruheitō)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Candy thermometer
• •Marble candy slab, or a silicone baking mat on a metal tray
• •Heatproof gloves, lightly oiled
• •Oiled bench scraper
• •Oiled kitchen scissors

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the bench

   Lightly oil a marble slab, silicone mat, or metal tray, and set out oiled heatproof gloves, kitchen scissors, and a candy thermometer. Sugar waits for no one once it reaches temperature, so prepare the tools before the pot goes on the fire. Keep a bowl of ice water nearby for safety, not for the candy.

2. 2

   Dissolve the sugar

   Put the sugar, mizuame, water, vinegar, and salt in a small heavy saucepan. Warm over medium-low heat, stirring only until the sugar dissolves. After that, stop stirring. Stirring once crystals have formed on the pan can seed the whole syrup, and grainy aruheito is only sweet gravel.

   Mizuame and vinegar help keep the syrup smooth. They are not shortcuts, they are the old confectioner's insurance against crystallization.
3. 3

   Boil to hard crack

   Raise the heat to medium and boil steadily until the syrup reaches 150 to 154 C, the hard-crack stage. Do not scrape the sides. If crystals appear, wash them down with a wet pastry brush. The syrup should be clear and thick, with bubbles slowing and tightening as the water cooks away.

   Hard crack matters because aruheito must set crisp and dry. Pull it below this point and the candy will stay sticky instead of holding its shape.
4. 4

   Cool the syrup

   Pour the syrup onto the prepared slab or mat. Let it spread on its own, then wait until the edges thicken and can be lifted with an oiled scraper. Add coloring or flavoring now if using, a drop at a time. Too much liquid weakens the candy, and the old table prefers a pale hand anyway.

5. 5

   Fold and pull

   With oiled gloves, fold the edges toward the center again and again until the mass is cool enough to hold. Stretch it into a rope, fold it back on itself, and stretch again. At first it will be clear and glassy. After several pulls it turns pearly and satin-bright as tiny air bubbles are worked through the sugar.

   Pull only while the candy is warm and pliable. If it droops, wait a few breaths. If it cracks, warm it briefly on the mat or near a low oven.
6. 6

   Shape the candy

   Roll the pulled sugar into thin ropes for spirals, twist two colors together if you made them, or snip small lengths with oiled scissors and pinch them into petals. Work quickly and keep unused candy covered on the warm edge of the mat. The shapes should be small, restrained, and light in the hand.

7. 7

   Set and store

   Let the pieces harden completely on parchment in a dry room. Once cool, store them at once in an airtight tin with a small food-safe desiccant packet. Sugar drinks moisture from the air, and moisture is the enemy here. Keep the candy dry and it stays crisp for days.

Chef Tips

• •Use mizuame if you can find it. Light corn syrup is a sensible stand-in for preventing crystallization, but mizuame gives the cleaner, gentler sweetness we expect in Japanese confectionery.
• •A candy thermometer is not vanity here. The difference between workable syrup and sticky syrup is only a few degrees, and guessing at boiling sugar is a poor way to become brave.
• •Keep the pieces small. Higashi is eaten beside tea, not by the handful, and the bitterness of matcha makes the sweetness behave itself.
• •Do not make aruheito on a damp day if you can avoid it. Sugar pulls water from the air, and the finished candy will turn tacky no matter how well you boiled it.

Advance Preparation

• •Aruheitō can be made 3 to 5 days ahead if the weather is dry. Store it airtight with a food-safe desiccant packet.
• •Shape all pieces before the candy fully cools. Once hard, it can be stored, but it cannot be reshaped cleanly without reheating and losing some gloss.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 11g)