La Tire de Ste. Catherine

The following recipe was submitted by Josee Bergeron for the upcoming feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria! Thank you Josee!

Making la tire de Ste. Catherine is a French-Canadian tradition that began when St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame, made these sweet candies each year on November 25th to attract young students to her school. These taffies were so popular that eventually young maidens began making them on the feast of St. Catherine and gave them to the single men around town in order to display their cooking skills in the hopes of finding a husband. Making this taffy is such a fun activity for kids. It's so exciting for them to watch the brown taffy turn bright golden as it's being pulled and then eating it while it's still slightly warm. What a wonderful way to celebrate the feast of St. Catherine of Alexandria!

Here is my family's traditional recipe for la tire de Ste. Catherine:

La Tire de Ste. Catherine

Ingredients:

1 cup molasses
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. baking soda


Directions:

1.  Grease a cookie sheet with plenty of butter.

2.  Combine all the ingredients, except the baking soda, into a large heavy bottomed pot.

3.  Bring the mixture to a boil and attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pot.

4.  Continue to boil until the mixture reaches 250F (for soft taffy), or 260F (for hard taffy).

5.  When the mixture has reached the desired temperature, remove the pot from the heat source and add the baking soda. Stir the mixture. The baking soda will react with the mixture and make it swell, this is why you don't want your pot to be too small.

6.  When the baking soda is mixed in well, pour the mixture into the well buttered cookie sheet and let it cool enough to handle.

7.  Butter your hands well and tear off a piece of the taffy. The piece can be as big or small as you want. A handful is a good amount to start with.

8.  Begin pulling the taffy as follows: Pull the taffy out into a line. Fold the taffy in halve and then give it a twist. Pull it out into a line again. Continue doing this until the taffy turns golden. This part is a lot of fun for the kids to do!

9.  When the taffy is golden in colour you can cut it into chunks and then wrap it in wax paper. Or you can simply eat it. Yum!

St. Catherine of Alexandria, pray for us!