Honeycomb toffee

Honeycomb toffee

Origin
Alternative name(s)	Sponge toffee, cinder toffee, golden crunchers, hokey pokey
Details
Type	Toffee
Main ingredient(s)	Brown sugar, corn syrup (or molasses or golden syrup), baking soda

Honeycomb toffee, sponge toffee or cinder toffee is a sugary toffee with a light, rigid, sponge-like texture. Its main ingredients are typically brown sugar, corn syrup (or molasses or golden syrup in the Commonwealth) and baking soda, sometimes with an acid such as vinegar. The baking soda and acid react to form carbon dioxide which is trapped in the highly viscous mixture. When acid is not used, thermal decomposition of the baking soda releases carbon dioxide. The lattice structure is formed while the sugar is liquid, then the toffee sets hard.

In some regions it is often made at home, and a popular recipe for children. It is also made commercially and sold in small blocks, or covered in chocolate, popular examples being the Crunchie or Violet Crumble bar.

Regional names

It is known by a wide variety of names including:

• cinder toffee in Britain
• honeycomb in South Africa, Australia and Britain
• puff candy in Scotland
• golden crunchers
• hokey pokey in New Zealand (especially in the Kiwi classic Hokey Pokey ice cream).
• sponge candy ("tire éponge") in Quebec, Canada, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, St. Paul, Minnesota, Western New York, and Northwest Pennsylvania, USA
• sea foam in Maine, Washington, Oregon, Utah, California and Michigan, USA
• fairy food candy or angel food candy in Wisconsin, USA^{[citation needed]}

Cinder toffee and bonfire toffee are also used to refer to brittle treacle toffee. Yellowman in Northern Ireland is very similar to honeycomb toffee.

A street seller in Asakusa Tokyo offering hand-made karumeyaki

In other cultures

The same confection is a traditional sweet in Japan known as karumeyaki (カルメ焼き), from Portuguese caramelo + yaki (to bake). It is typically hand-made, and often sold by street vendors.