1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.
Brittles Brittles are also cooked to a very low
moisture content, around 2%, but unlike the
other hard candies, they include butter and
milk solids, and usually pieces of nuts.
They’re thus opaque with fat droplets and
protein particles, and brown in color thanks to
extensive browning reactions between sugars
and proteins. Baking soda is often added to
brittle syrups after they’re cooked, for several
reasons: alkaline conditions favor browning
reactions, help neutralize some of the acids
produced thereby, and the bubbles of carbon
dioxide that result from this neutralization
become trapped in the candy, giving it a
lighter texture. The original French praline
was a brittle made with almonds. (The modern
New Orleans praline is soft and chewy, more
like a caramel, and contains New-World
pecans instead of almonds.)
Caramel, Caramels, Caramelization