Memories ~ Desert Candy

If you’ve been here for a while, you’ll have seen that I don’t say much about my ancestral background. In part, that’s because I don’t feel much of a connection to it. I was born in Canada, and only conversed with my parents in Tamil when I was very young. That pretty much stopped when I started school, so that I would pick up English more quickly. I can’t speak the language now, though I can understand a bit. The few Tamil children I played with moved away before I was 10 as well. The rest of my friends were mostly Oriental, which is probably why I post so many Asian recipes on this blog. We began eating more and more “English” food, and dropping the traditional customs after the other Tamil people left. I don’t even look like I am of Tamil descent.

I lost a lot more “culture” when I first moved to Guelph. It’s nothing at all like anywhere I’d lived. It’s very sweet, charming, and polite. But it’s not as alive for me the same way Jane St is, with its loud racialized communities and large ethnic food stores. It’s lovely, like a vacation, and admittedly a less dangerous place to live in. But it’s not what I grew up with, and therefore not who I am. Not 100%. I just recently realised I would be two different people here and back home, and that they were misaligned. I can’t deny the influence this place has had on me, but I can’t forget my old self completely, either.

So I’ve begun the alignment of my two selves, sticking to the slang I’m used to, and cooking the foods I remember. This one’s a particularly special accomplishment for me. My mother used to make it for my birthday parties, but has forgotten how she did it. I also tried making it once as a young(er) child, but it wouldn’t set. I bought a can of condensed milk the other day, remembering how my family used to cart ourselves off to what seemed like the middle of nowhere (but was probably Rexdale) to buy a box of Indian sweets for Diwali. I may not be able to buy any sweets here, but I can certainly try to make my own. I don’t know the proper name for this sweet, or if it’s specific to Sri Lankan Tamils, so I’m calling it desert candy. Don’t the pieces look like cracked, dry earth to you?

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Desert Candy
Makes ~ One 12×12 cm/5×5 in square, one pinky’s width in thickness.
1/2 can condensed milk (approx 3/4 cup)
1/2 cup sugar

1. Pour the condensed milk into a skillet. Warm over low heat and stir until it begins to get liquidy.
2. Add the sugar, stirring to completely incorporate.
3. Keep stirring the mixture so that it doesn’t burn. Eventually, it will become deeper in colour. Keep stirring; this is definitely a labour of love, but an oddly calming one. The mixture will slowly begin to thicken. As it thickens, stirring becomes even more important.
4. The mixture will begin to shrink. Do NOT give in to the temptation to up the heat. When you’re near the end point, you will be left with significantly less of the mix than you started with. The mix should be a very think paste when you’re ready to make it candy. It should have stopped shrinking. If you’re not sure, cook it for longer and see if there’s a change. The candy stuck to the pan should be dry, or drying very quickly, and the mix very difficult to stir. The mix will taste like it’s mostly made up of milk solids.
5. Now, spoon it out on to a piece of waxed paper, and flatten it into shape with your hands. You should have to use the spoon to get it out of the pan, and your hands to flatten it because it’ll be too stiff for the spoon. Let cool and set, then break up into pieces. Enjoy!

It is a lot of work, but desert candy is really so lovely. It melts in your mouth, and has a very slight caramel flavour. But mostly it is amazing, because it is pure sugar. One small piece will get you good.

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