When July brings a cool morning into the shop, I notice the sound of the candy before I notice the weather. Paper rustles, the back room warms up, and boxes are being filled for people heading home from the coast or sending a taste of Ferndale to somebody farther away. This week I have been reaching for our Honeycomb, the light, honey-kissed brittle that looks modest on the counter but has a lot going on inside.
The old-fashioned name makes sense when you break a piece open. The candy is full of small, irregular pockets, rather like a bit of honeycomb. That texture comes from a simple bit of kitchen science. Once the cooked sugar mixture reaches the right stage, baking soda is stirred in and releases carbon dioxide. The gas expands through the hot candy, leaving behind the airy structure as the mixture cools. Timing matters because the bubbles have to form before the candy sets, and the syrup has to be cooked far enough that the finished piece will shatter instead of bend.
That is also why honeycomb candy is a little different from an ordinary brittle. A brittle gives you a hard, clean snap from edge to edge. Honeycomb candy has the snap, but it also breaks into a delicate, porous bite that begins to dissolve almost at once. Our version has a gentle honey note rather than a heavy, dark sweetness. We dip it in milk or dark chocolate, and that shell adds a firmer finish around the airy center.
I like packing these in July because they travel well in the right weather and because they give people something to talk about. Someone takes a bite expecting a dense piece of candy, then looks down at the little holes and asks how we got them there. The answer is not a secret ingredient or a modern machine. It is hot sugar, careful timing, and a small reaction that has been useful in kitchens for a long time.
You can find our Honeycomb in milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or a box with both. If you are in Ferndale, stop by and let me show you a piece before you choose.