October 25, 2011 - Fudge Kitchen

In terms of my classes, today was a day like any other. However, in terms of everything else, it was pretty amazing. I had class at 9 am again, but I've finally started to make friends in my classes, which is exciting since it's been five weeks now. The part that sucks is that by the time I actually have some decent friends here, it'll be time for me to leave. But it's still pretty cool to be able to say that I have a number of friends from Europe now. I've broadened my friend circle to places beyond just the United States (which I don't think most people in Caltech can say). After class, I decided to finally venture into the Fudge Kitchen. I pass by it everyday when I walk to class and the delicious scents lurking outside its doors always tempt me. I specifically wanted to go at a time when they were making some fresh fudge because the process looks really cool.

First, the history on fudge. Fudge originates not from Devon or Cornwall, as many people imagine, but was in fact born at a female college in Virginia. A college lecturer was taking a class in toffee making when the temperature of the concoction was not taken high enough. The end product was called fudge, which is why the term fudge is used to indicate a mistake or error. The recipes used by this shop date back to 1830 and they still make their fudge by hand on marble slabs.

You can actually see the tools board behind him. It clearly takes quite a bit of skill. I think the hat is a little bit over the top though. So they start by boiling a mixture of milk, sugar, etc to a particular temperature and then pouring it out on this cold table. I missed this part unfortunately. Then they smooth it out across the table (called creaming the fudge) and begin folding it over to make the cooling process much faster and make the fudge less grainy and creamier. The goal is to get the fudge to just melt in your mouth like cotton candy. The tool he uses here is a lot like a wall paper scarper. 

Its still so liquid-y at this part! And you can still see all the bubbles from when it was in the pot earlier...

The fudge becomes even thicker as the folding process continues...

The shape is all due to the way the scraper is twisted over the fudge. And then it starts to solidify...

And finally, they cut the fudge into slices and place them on the tray. It looks SO delicious...

Having these fudge making demonstrations must make them tons of money because watching them make the fudge makes it so much more tempting. I caved and bought a few slices, but only after I brought it home did I realize that it'll go bad after 10 days. I got some chocolate, toffee, strawberries and cream, and peaches and cream fudge. Probably a little bit too much. Luckily, Radka will be visiting me next week, so I'll save some for her (hopefully).

I also went and purchased my tickets for a Diwali dinner this Friday. I was planning on going by myself, but I ran into one of my friends while I was walking down the B staircase and she mentioned wanting to go too, so I ended up buying tickets for her as well :) Her name's Daphne and she's actually from the Netherlands! I'm really looking forward to this dinner and having some great Indian food. The rest of the evening was spent working while eating fudge :) I wish I didn't have milk because then I'd probably eat less of it since it is insanely sweet, but really good. It made having to study a lot more enjoyable :)