Nana Fraley’s Fudge

To make my mother’s fudge you need the right pan, perfect cold, low humidity weather, a few simple ingredients and the recipe. That is the caveat; there has never been a written recipe. She never measured much of anything and her mood and the available ingredients determined what type, and how much, fudge she made.
I remember her making vanilla fudge with black walnuts, brown sugar fudge with peanut butter, a white fudge with dried cherries and my longed for favorite chocolate. I would give anything to sit down right now with a piece of her fudge and a cup of coffee. Mom passed away in 1999 and I inherited the fudge pan. No kidding, it was in the will. It also doubled as the bean, mashed potato and spaghetti sauce pan.
I imagine every family has something, in ours it was that humble, aluminum pan. That pan nurtured and nourished her 4 children and countless extended family members and friends.
The manufacturer mark is “bestmade,” it was a wedding gift to her in 1951. It has a wooden handle that was originally black, holds about 3 ½ quarts and is thick walled and bottomed to allow for even heat distribution. Without a doubt it is my most cherished possession.

It took me several years and more than a few failed batches before I finally turned out fudge that was equal to the taste of my childhood – Mom, wherever you are, there is finally a written recipe for your fudge.

Nana Fraley’s Fudge
3 cups cane sugar

½ cup Hershey’s cocoa

¼ cup light Karo syrup

1 cup Whole milk

 2 TBSP butter

1tsp McCormick’s vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans, walnuts or black walnuts, (optional)

Thoroughly grease an 8×8 pan with butter, place in refrigerator to chill. Fill your sink with 2 inches of cold water. In a heavy 3-4 quart sauce pan combine sugar and cocoa, mix well. Stir in milk, Karo and butter. Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly until it begins to boil. Reduce heat to prevent boil over. Cook, stirring slowly, to 234 degrees. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Transfer pan to sink to rest in the cold water. Stir vigorously until fudge starts to make a cracking sound, (about 110 degrees). Add nuts at this point if desired. Transfer the pan to rest on a kitchen towel, (to dry the pan) on the counter. Stir well and remove your chilled dish from the refrigerator. If the fudge is still quite thin and hot you can return the pan to the cold water bath and stir quickly until it begins making a cracking noise. Transfer to the towel and resume stirring the fudge until it loses its sheen and starts to hold its shape. Quickly pour into the greased pan. Allow to cool until just warm to the touch then cut into small squares. Store fudge in the refrigerator for 2 weeks or freeze for 1 month.
No worries if your fudge seems hard and gritty after cutting. Place it in an airtight container between sheets of waxed paper and freeze for 24 hours. When it thaws it will be smooth and creamy.
Never try to make fudge when it is raining or very humid – it will not set up.