Horehound Candy

You may remember my earlier post on the subject of growing horehound. I have been successful! Today I decided to make up a batch of horehound candy. What does it taste like? It is hard to explain having never tasted a candy quite like it. First it is a hard candy. Second, it tastes a lot like caramel with a hint of licorice.

Horehound Candy

Source: Herbal Treasures by Phyllis V. Shaudys

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh horehound, leaves, stems and flowers (or 1 cup dried)
2 1/2 quarts water
3 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. butter
1 tsp. lemon juice (or 1 sprig lemon balm)

In large saucepan, cover horehound with water. Bring to boil, simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to steep for 1 hour. Strain thru cheesecloth and allow tea to settle. Ladle 2 cups horehound tea into large kettle. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, cream of tartar. Boil, stirring often, until mixture reaches 240 F.

Add butter. Continue to boil until candy reaches 300F (hard crack). Remove from heat, add lemon juice. Pour at once into buttered 8" square pan. As candy cools, score into squares. Remove from pan as soon as it is cool. Store in aluminum foil or ziplock plastic bags.

I coated mine in powdered sugar and packed them into a plastic container separated by paper.