View source for Toffee

{{Short description|Confection made by caramelizing sugar or molasses along with butter and flour}}
{{about|the sweet|the [[Premier League]] team known as "the Toffees"|Everton F.C.}}
{{Distinguish|Taffy (candy)}}
{{Infobox prepared food
| name             = Toffee
| image            = Thorntonstoffee.jpg
| image_size       = 250px
| alternate_name   =  
| course           = Dessert
| type             = [[Confectionery]]
| country       =  [[England]]
| main_ingredient  = [[Sugar]] or [[molasses]], [[butter]]
| variations       = English toffee, [[honeycomb toffee]]
| calories         = 
| other            = 
}}
[[File:Heath-broken.JPG|thumb|A [[Heath bar|Heath]] candy bar, which is English toffee coated in [[Milk Chocolate|milk chocolate]] ]] 

'''Toffee''' is an [[England|English]] [[confectionery|confection]] made by [[caramelization|caramelizing]] [[sugar]] or [[molasses]] (creating [[Inverted sugar syrup|inverted sugar]]) along with [[butter]], and occasionally [[flour]]. The mixture is heated until its temperature reaches the [[hard crack]] stage of {{convert|300|to|310|F|C|order=flip|abbr=on}}. While being prepared, toffee is sometimes mixed with [[Nut (fruit)|nuts]] or [[raisin]]s.

== Variants and applications ==
A popular variant in the [[United States]] is ''English toffee'', which is a very buttery toffee often made with [[almonds]]. It is available in both chewy and hard versions. [[Heath bar]]s are a brand of confection made with an English toffee core. Although named ''English toffee,'' it bears little resemblance to the wide range of confectionery known as toffee currently available in the United Kingdom. However, one can still find this product in the UK under the name "butter crunch".<ref name="Hughes">{{cite book | title=The Foods of England | publisher=Tomato | author=Hughes, Glyn Lloyd | year=2010 | pages=265  | isbn=9780955694837}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The origins of the word are unknown. Food writer [[Harold McGee]] claims it to be "from the Creole for a mixture of sugar and molasses", but which [[creole language]] is not specified.<ref name="McGee">{{cite book | title=On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen | publisher=Scribner | author=McGee, Harold | year=2004 | pages=650 | isbn=9780684800011}}</ref> The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' dates the first publication of the word to 1825 and identifies it as a variation of the word ''taffy''<!--This DELIBERATELY does not link to the candy; there is no evidence the British word refers to candy at all.--> (1817), both of which are first recorded as English dialectical{{huh|date=August 2019}}<!-- which dialect? --> words.<ref>"[http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50253829 toffee, n. and a.]", ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition 1989</ref><ref>"[http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50246098 taffy<sup>1</sup>]", ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition 1989</ref>

The word is similar to the [[Akan language]] word "tafere" which can be translated as "to lick (one's fingers)".

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Taffy (candy)]]
* [[Toffee hammer]]
* [[Toffo (toffee)|Toffo]]
* [[Tablet (confectionery)]]
* [[Tameletjie]]
* [[Almond Roca]]
* [[Babelutte]]
* [[Bonfire toffee]]
* [[Butterscotch]]
* [[Caramel]]
* [[Caramel#Candy|Caramel candy]]
* [[Coconut toffee]]
* [[Dulce de leche]]
* [[Fudge]]
* [[Knäck]]
* [[Krówki]]
* [[Moffat toffee]]
* [[Peanut brittle]]
* [[Russian candy]]
* [[Sticky toffee pudding]]
{{div col end}}
{{wiktionary}}
{{commonscat}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Traditional British sweets}}
{{Sugar}}

[[Category:Toffee| ]]
[[Category:Candy]]