|
Planters®
Fat-Free Fiddle Faddle®
by Todd Wilbur
|
For
many years now, the monocled Mr. Peanut has been Planters' nutty pitchman. The
character was created in 1916 by a Virginia schoolboy, Anthony Gentile, who won
$5 in a contest for drawing a "little peanut person." A commercial
artist later added the top hat, cane, and monocle to make Mr. Peanut the stuffy
socialite that he is today. But the character has not always been in the
limelight. Planters' adman Bill McDonough says, "Though Mr. Peanut has
always been identified with the brand, over the years he has been dialed up or
down to different degrees." In 1999, the company dialed up the
polite-and-proper legume to capitalize on nostalgia for the older folks and the
young buyers' craving for retro chic.
Even though we think of Planters as the "nut
company," you won't find a single nut, with or without monocle, in the
fat-free version of Planters' popular Fiddle Faddle. All you need to whip
together this clone is a good low-fat microwave popcorn and a few other common
ingredients. This recipe requires your microwave to help coat the popcorn with
a thin, crunchy coating of the tasty candy mixture. Even though there is a
small amount of fat in the recipe, it's still comes out to less than 1 gram of
fat per serving, so the final product can be called "fat-free."
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 bag 94% fat-free microwave popcorn
1. Combine
the oil, corn syrup, brown sugar, water, and salt in a small saucepan over
medium heat. Stir while bringing mixture to a boil, then use a candy
thermometer to bring mixture to 300 degrees (also know as the hard crack stage
to candy makers).
2. When the candy reaches about 275 degrees, start cooking the popcorn by
following the directions on the package. You want to time it so that the
popcorn is done at approximately the same time as the candy. This way, the
popcorn will be hot when you pour the candy over it.
3. When the candy has reached the right temperature, add the vanilla, then
remove it from the heat. Pour the hot popcorn into a large plastic or glass
bowl and quickly pour the candy over the top. Stir the popcorn so that the
candy coats all of the pieces. To better help the candy coat the popcorn, place
the bowl into the microwave and zap it for about 30 seconds on high. Stir the
popcorn, and then, if necessary, microwave it for another 30 seconds. Stir it
once more. By this time, the popcorn should be very well coated with a thin
layer of the candy.
4. Quickly pour the popcorn out onto wax paper and spread it around to
cool it.
5. When the candy is cool, break it into bite-size pieces. Store it in a
sealed container. (http://www.topsecretrecipes.com)
Makes 12 cups.
Charles Mims
http://www.the-sandbox.org
