Penuche
Penuche is a fudge-like candy made from brown sugar, butter, and milk, using no flavorings except for vanilla. Penuche often has a tannish color, and is lighter than regular fudge. It is formed by the caramelization of brown sugar; thus, its flavor is said to be reminiscent of caramel. Nuts, especially pecans, are often added to penuche for texture, frequently in the making of penuche candies. It is primarily a regional food, found in New England and some places in the Southern United States, though in the latter it goes by different names, including creamy praline fudge, and brown sugar fudge candy.
Origins
Panocha is said to come from the Spanish word for 'raw sugar'. It was rumored to be slightly vulgar in nature in Portuguese as slang. It has also been proposed that penuche originates in Portugal and was made popular in New England among Portuguese whaling families in Essex, Connecticut, and New Bedford, Massachusetts, during the whaling stint of the mid to late 1700s through the end of commercial whaling. However, recent scholarship traces panocha instead back to the 18th century sugar plantations in New Spain. Penuche is also used as a boiled icing flavor. In Hawaii, its name is localized as panocha or panuche. As an icing, it was common as a topping for prune cake.Method of preparation
Penuche is classed in the fudge family because it follows a similar method of preparation:- A fat-sugar solution is heated to the soft ball stage, about.
- The solution is cooled without disturbance to tepid, about.
- Flavorings are added and the solution is beaten until thick.
- The mixture is poured into a pan, allowed to cool, and cut into bite-sized pieces.