I had a big fail. Eight times I failed to be exact. When I failed, what I created looked something like that weird black stuff that made Spiderman evil. It kinda crawled down the garbage disposal. I’m not being dramatic, it was an odd whatever-you-wanna-call-it.

I was trying to make something along the lines of a hard carmel (details you may not know, until you are holding a copy of my book). And I could not get it right. Over about two weeks I kept testing this recipe. And every time the candy would resolve in a separated butter and burned sugar mixture. That was not the carmel I was looking for.

I noted that I was using unsalted butter. Maybe that had to do with the molecules in the butter reacting to the heat? So I tried salted butter, I tested that another three times. Nope. Still fail.
Finally my mother decided she would show me how it was done. I was game, if she could school me in candy making at least we could have a result. Nota. She failed too. Twice, actually.
But it wasn’t my Mother’s master candy making skills that scared the butter into separating, and the sugar into burning.

It was the stupid pot I was using.

Eight times I tried, and my mom tried twice! Finally on my last attempt, I used my cast iron skillet. It worked like a charm.

So I guess the thin semi cheap pot I was using somehow burned the candy before it could even get the chance to cook together. Weird, huh? Taught me a lesson: Cast iron skillets are way underrated.

Do any of you have an idea why the cheaper pot did that? I have no idea, and just guessing that it’s because he bottom was thinner?