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During the great depression, many people were left unemployed, and food was scarce. In the small town of Kirkland Lake in Ontario, where my great-great grandparents lived, there were many logging and mining camps. From sunrise to sunset, many men were forced to work in the harsh frosty Canadian winters, and the boiling summers. The men would eat beans everyday from large pots in the ground, and sometimes if they were lucky some stale bread. Though in the year of 1932, my great-great grandma Dodd began making some brown sugar candy, also known as fudge, which was an exciting treat to help the workers continue on. My great-great grandpa was among the many men to work in these camps, to provide some food and money for his wife and four children at home. With the very few ingredients Dodd had at the house, she made sure to always set aside and save the ingredients of brown sugar, flour, baking powder, milk butter and salt to make the fudge. With those ingredients, often having less than others such as milk and butter, she combined all of them into a large pot on the stove. She mixed, just until she got the perfect creamy texture, and set aside the batter on the counter, waiting for it to just barely harden. Once it was the perfect consistency, she cut them into even cubes, and put them in a basket, for the thirty minute journey over to the camps. Dodd and her four kids either rode a sleigh, walked or took a bike depending on the weather, and dropped the basket of fudge off at the camps. She often recounted to her children and grandchildren how the worker’s serious and tired faces would lighten up as they saw Dodd and her children hiking up a trail, to bring them their sweet brown sugar candy.
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By Taylor Marriner
From left to right *Great-Great Grandma Dodd, and her daughter Dorthy.
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Ingredients:
- 4 cups of brown sugar
- 2 tbls Flour
-2 tsp baking powder
-1 cup milk
-4 tbls butter
-Pinch of salt
Instructions:
- 4 cups of brown sugar
- 2 tbls Flour
-2 tsp baking powder
-1 cup milk
-4 tbls butter
-Pinch of salt
Instructions:
- Mix all ingredients together in a very large pot.
- Cook to a soft ball stage (238°)
- *Optional step- add ¼ tsp of vanilla extract*
- Beat mixture till shine is gone and mixture thick and creamy. *add nuts if desired*
- Place batter in the fridge (for a more firm texture) or leave on the counter (for a softer texture) for a couple of hours until your preferred consistency.
- Once it has formed, cut it into small cubes. Enjoy!