Make a Good Income Selling Candy

The photo above shows the utensils required to make peanut brittle and they are resting on the marble slab that is recommended in order to stretch the brittle out to maximum thinness.

There are several ways to 'market' and sell your peanut brittle, and I'll cover a couple of them here.

1
Find a winning recipe. If you have never made peanut brittle before, there are recipes for peanut brittle available both online and in cookbooks. Award-winning chef and TV personality Alton Brown shares his peanut brittle recipe online at the Food Network's website. Martha Stewart includes a recipe on her website for her favorite peanut brittle, as well as another recipe in "Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook," available to order from this page (see information below this text) . Make several batches of different types of peanut brittle and decide which recipe you like best.

2
Purchase ingredients according to your recipe. Although each peanut brittle recipe is different, most recipes contain peanuts, baking soda, butter and corn syrup or sugar, so you will need to purchase large quantities of these, as well as any other ingredient your brittle may use, such as cinnamon or cayenne pepper.

Raw peanuts are perishable and should be kept in the freezer, especially if they are purchased in bulk. They will last approximately three months in the freezer. Make only as much brittle as you can sell in about one week; peanut brittle stays fresh for about two weeks.

3
Pack your peanut brittle in gift tins or resealable plastic containers. Layer waxed paper in between the peanut brittle to keep the candy from sticking, and keep peanut brittle at room temperature to keep moisture from forming inside the container. Keep test batches of peanut brittle in several different containers for two weeks to determine which batches stay the freshest. Purchase these containers in bulk to save money.

4
Set up shop online. Sign up for a web page at GoDaddy and use PayPal to receive payments for your peanut brittle. Use a template to type in the necessary information about your peanut brittle and add pictures. Then, sign up for a Paypal merchant account; paste the HTML code provided on the PayPal site into your template. GoDaddy will give you your own web address where shoppers can buy your peanut brittle.

Include this information on any fliers you pass out, and either hand-deliver or ship the peanut brittle to your customers. Pack peanut brittle containers carefully in bubble wrap and ship the day the batch is made. Print "Fragile" on the outside of the packaging; because peanut brittle is cooked and does not need to be refrigerated, you do not have to write that the food is perishable

5
Pass out fliers and samples to potential customers. During the holidays, the idea of purchasing a fresh, homemade gift or snack may be appealing to your customers, so place fliers in neighbors' mailboxes and at local businesses, and bring batches of peanut brittle to work and offer taste tests while keeping several tins of sealed peanut brittle at your desk in case anyone would like to purchase more brittle on the spot for a snack.

6
Pay taxes and register your business, if necessary. The Small Business Association requires that any small business making income reports its earnings. The requirements will depend on the state you live in and how much money you earn selling peanut brittle.

One way to sell your product is through direct sales at events and places where people gather, like parades, flea markets, block parties and street fairs. (the last two are mostly city phenomenon)

Get a table at a Flea Market

Contact the appropriate people for permission to sell your candy at any event that a large group of people will attend

If you have or you build a stand, check shopping center owners for permission to sell candy on their property (They may or may not allow you to do so for a small fee)

Read local newspaper to find events that attract large numbers of people

Contact small store owners and ask to display and sell your candy in their store (you'd have to work out a profit sharing deal with the owner)

Use your imagination, whether you are raising funds for a worthy cause or trying to make extra income, you'll find the candy business is a "sweet deal"

The crunchy and nutty, salty yet sweet taste of peanut brittle makes it a perfect snack food for many people. That makes peanut brittle the best recipe and procedure for making and selling candy. These will be easy steps for smaller amounts of the product, increase your ingredients appropriately when making larger amounts.

The following 2 'recipes' should get you started well:
No 1
1 C raw Spanish peanuts
1 C sugar
1 C Karo syrup
1 tsp baking soda
1 heavy-duty pot or large saucepan
candy thermometer
1 wooden spoon
1 cookie sheet or pan or use a marble slab (this is what I recommend, but you can 'get by' without one)

Place a heavy-duty pot or large sauce pan on the stove top and add peanuts, sugar and Karo syrup.

*Do not use roasted peanuts in this recipe! Use only Spanish, raw peanuts.

2
Turn heat to medium/high. Stir peanuts, sugar and Karo with a wooden spoon until well mixed. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring continuously.

3
Continue to stir and cook until brittle reaches 300-degrees on a candy thermometor, or "hard crack" stage. The "old fashioned" way to tell when the brittle has reached "hard crack" stage is to see if the brittle can "spin a thread": when the brittle forms a stiff "thread" when poured off the wooden spoon, it has reached the hard crack stage. My recommendation is to use the candy thermometer, it is the only sure way.

4
Remove brittle from heat and add 1 teaspoon baking soda. MIX WELL. Brittle will foam once you have added the soda. Stir until soda is well combined.

5
Pour brittle onto a WELL GREASED baking sheet, marble slab, or shallow pan. Brittle sets best when poured out thin.

6
Set pan in a cool place, preferrable where air can circulate beneath the pan. Brittle should be ready to crack after 15 minutes.

7
Lift edges of brittle with a fork. Flip brittle over and break it into pieces with a wooden spoon. Store candy in an air tight bag or container.

No 2

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
1 cup peanuts
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon baking soda
Directions

In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, over medium heat, bring to a boil sugar, corn syrup, salt, and water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in peanuts. Set candy thermometer in place, and continue cooking. Stir frequently until temperature reaches 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), or until a small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water separates into hard and brittle threads.

(I recommend using a good candy thermometer and cook to exact temperature noted in instructions you're using)

Remove from heat; immediately stir in butter and baking soda; pour at once onto marble slab, or cookie sheet. With 2 forks, lift and pull peanut mixture into rectangle about 14x12 inches; cool. Snap candy into pieces.

According to the history of peanut brittle candy, brittle was probably the first candy ever made. Peanut brittle made with corn syrups and nuts began appearing in cookbooks around the 19th century.

Peanut Brittle History and Folklore

Because we find peanut brittle recipes most commonly in American cookbooks, it is generally recognized as an American recipe, but it's safe to assume that brittles, like pralines, have been made in all countries. Soft and hard nougat candies also would have arrived in the cookbooks somewhere about the same time.

As for the peanuts, peanuts became more popular in America during the Civil War. According to the National Peanut Board, soldiers who were fighting survived off peanuts.

Once George Washington Carver began to reveal how many ways peanuts could be used in 1903, their popularity grew, especially in the American South.

Perhaps due to the Southern connection, the history of peanut brittle is tied to Tony Beaver, a lumberjack folk hero. In the story, Tony Beaver creates peanut brittle when he stops a flood using peanuts and molasses. Not only does he save a town, but he also gives them a snack.

Celtics and Peanut Brittle

An alternate story states that the Celtics created the candy. By mixing sugar and peanuts, they created the mixture for peanut brittle. They then baked this mixture and thought the taste was very good. This happened in the nineteenth century.

It was served during special occasions, and became a famous Celtic dessert. When Europeans visited, they tasted the candy and thought it was delicious as well. It soon spread through Europe, and then the Americas. In 1830, it was brought to the United States by Zodian Irishmen.

The Celtics had a number of different variations of the dessert, and they would sometimes roast the mixture as opposed to baking it. Frequently, they would add syrup to the mixture, thus creating alternate flavors for the candy.

Irish Immigrants and Peanut Brittle

Another story states that Irish immigrants in the United States invented the candy in the nineteenth century. By mixing peanuts with sugar and turning this mixture into a caramelized batter, they realized that they had a delicious concoction.

Irish immigrants began serving the mixture as a delicacy for special occasions, such as Christmas or Easter. It spread to other states and individuals, and became the popular treat that is known today.

During periods of war, the army would eat peanut brittle as they walked to combat. it was easy to make, easy to pack, and easy to transport. .

Other historians place the invention date of peanut brittle at around the mid 1840s. The first recipes date back to that time, and the first known recipe was published 1847 by Sarah Rutledge. It was titled, "An Excellent Recipe for *Groundnut Candy" and it was published in the "Carolina Housewife."

The first reference to peanut brittle in a popular literary story or fiction is thought to be in 1919 in "Rigby's Reliable Candy Teacher."

(*Groundnut is what the peanut used to be called)

Another story states that it was invented in 1890. A lady who was making taffy accidently put baking soda into the mixture. Instead of throwing the mixture out, she decided to taste the concoction. She thought it was so delicious and unusual that she shared it around the neighborhood.
When her friends liked it as well, she shared it with even more people. It spread to more and more towns, and peanut brittle was born.