Sunday, July 29, 2018

More fan mail for the maple fudge


Photo from Maple Syrup World
I told you there was even more fan mail out there for my mother's maple fudge.   I'm sharing some of what Ive found, but I have no doubt I'll encounter even more by the time I'm done with sorting things at the family home.

 (I must add that the photo and link at the top of the page will take you to a maple fudge recipe that is not my mother's but looks a lot like it.  The recipe linked to above does not contain white sugar -- only pure maple syrup, butter, cream, and nuts which are optional.  Might be worth a try!  I chose this particular photo because it resembled my mother's fudge more closely than others I found.)

Below is my mother's recipe. 
 
As I mentioned, she gave this fudge frequently as a gift-- to everyone from doctors to piano teachers -- and people greatly appreciated its creaminess and true maple flavor.  The fudge was often given as a thank-you gift as well.  I found one letter she had written herself thanking a businessman for something very kind he had done to help my disabled brother.  (Yes, my mother tended to keep rough drafts of letters.  In this case, I'm glad she did.)

She wrote toward the end of the letter: "This morning, I mailed to you a package of maple candy, which is our family's Christmas specialty, and that I hope will reach you in good condition, to give you a taste of New England."

Now, on to a little more fan mail:

The above note came from an elderly aunt, Kate.  She wrote, "Thanks for the candy, nice of you to send it to me.  How do you find time to make candy with all your work?"

Then there were a couple of notes from my mom's sisters.  One, who was looking after a granddaughter at the time, wrote: "The fudge is delicious but I'm afraid she'd choke on it so won't waste a crumb trying."  She wasn't wasting any of that fudge!

Another sister wrote, in the card above,  "We're enjoying the maple candy -- had some tonite and it's still soft and creamy.  Thanks much!"

And then there was a note from the nurses at a medical practice:

"Just a note to say thank you from everyone at the office for that delicious candy!  Dr. F appreciated your thoughtfulness and we all certainly enjoyed the candy."

She goes on, "We are wondering if perhaps we could have your recipe! ... we'd be grateful.  Don't go to any trouble mailing it because there is no rush, but we would like your secret of getting it so smooth."

As I've mentioned before, my mother generously shared the recipe with everyone who asked for it -- but no one was successful with it.  And she wasn't one to leave out an ingredient just to keep a recipe exclusive, as some ladies did.  It was just a tricky recipe.  I have no idea if the nurses were successful when they tried making the fudge, or not.

One more thing!   I also remember seeing, though I can't find it now, a note from a neighbor in which she mentions that -- since the fudge had arrived at their house -- her young son declared that now it really felt like Christmas!  To my mind, that was the highest praise of all.

7 comments:

  1. What precious treasured notes you have shared, and that maple fudge recipe is priceless.
    Blessings,
    Sue

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  2. Such treasures in those notes...and I think the final compliment the highest praise of all, too. Have you had success with this recipe? If I were to try it, I would definitely wait for a fair weather day and follow the directions to a tee and beat it for all it was worth with a wooden spoon only. Also, never scrape the sides once commencing to beat my mother always told me. Just leave that for the taste testers. 😉 (If the sides are scraped it defeats the creaminess.)

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  3. How special for you to have so much "documentation" about your mom's fudge. I especially like the comment that it "feels like Chrismtas" when her fudge arrived at the neighbor's house. What a great compliment!

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  4. One of the things I miss about New England is the close proximity to maple sugar farms and the ability to buy the different grades. We went on a field trip one year to a farm and there had been perfect weather conditions just before so that we could see the entire process exactly as it should be. It was amazing.

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    Replies
    1. IT is an amazing process for sure. And such a delicious product!

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  5. Lovely notes... but it just proves your mom was a lovely person

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    1. Awww ... so sweet of you to say, Lucie. I think you're right.

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