A Tradition Renewed

If you have been following this blog through the years, you know that when I was living in Ohio I would make fudge every year at Christmastime. It was a recipe for "soldier's fudge" that my father used to make.  After he passed away, I continued the tradition.  I would make batch after batch to give to friends and relatives.  I eventually changed the recipe a bit, and instead of putting in chopped nuts, I used dried cherries.  Most people preferred that.

"Soldier's fudge" is a recipe that has been around for a long time.  During the World Wars, people would make the confection for their loved ones serving in the military.  Because it does not require refrigeration and lasts for weeks, if not months, it could be sent to soldiers overseas.

I had not made any fudge since I moved to Mexico, but this year I decided to renew the tradition.  The question was, would I be able to find all the ingredients?  I figured that chocolate and vanilla would not be a problem.  After all they originated in Mexico.  The sweetened condensed milk would not be a problem either.  Instead of "Eagle Brand", here they have the "La Lechera" brand made by Nestle.

  

The one ingredient that I could not find, however, was dried cherries.  When my friends Al and Stew were here, they told me that I could find dried cherries at Costco.  So, Alejandro and I made a special trip to Costco, and after a bit of searching, we found the cherries.  I bought three large bags, more than enough for my batches of fudge.

I purchased a couple of metal pans at Woolworths, but I could not find a double boiler at any of the stores that carry housewares.  There is a word in Spanish for a double boiler.  It's called a "baño María" (Mary's bath).  However, nobody at any of the stores knew what I was talking about.  I guess that's something I should have shipped down from Ohio when I moved!  I had to improvise and set a small pot in a larger pot.  Water is boiled in the bottom pot, and the chocolate is melted in the smaller pot without scorching.  It was awkward, but it worked.

I went to Walmart to see what they had in the way of chocolate.  I was willing to settle for Hershey's for the unsweetened chocolate (one square goes into each batch), but for the rest I wanted a better quality of chocolate.  I went down the street to a branch of "Estado Natural", and chain of stores that sells natural foods in bulk.  My recipe calls for semi-sweet chocolate chips, but they had semi-bitter chips.  However, next to it was a bin filled with "trocitos" (little pieces) of chocolate.  Those had a somewhat higher sugar content so I figured that they would work.  The chocolate pieces were 100% Mexican from the state of Tabasco.

I now had all my ingredients, so I could start making fudge.  I melted the chocolate with the sweetened condensed milk in the improvised double boiler.  When it was velvety smooth, I turned off the flame and stirred in the vanilla and a generous helping of cherries.

I poured the fudge into one of my Woolworth pans and let it cool.  The fudge was still quite soft, so after wrapping the pan carefully, I put it in the freezer just long enough to let it set more.  I must say that with the Mexican chocolate, the fudge is even better than what I used to make in Ohio.

I have already made four batches.

Bill's Christmas fudge kitchen is in full swing!