Edinburgh rock is a traditional fruit flavored confection from Scotland resembles rock. Also known as Edinburgh Castle rock, this sweet candy is made up of sugar, cream of tartar, water, edible colors and flavoring agents. These are usually made in the form of sticks that are extremely brittle and soft in texture. Mostly available in the market just like candies, these edible rocks are identified by the melty, flaky and fruity taste.
History Of Edinburgh Rock Recipe
The candy was formed by Alexander Ferguson in the 19th Century for the first time. Popularly known as the “sweetie sandy,” Ferguson was born in the year 1789 in Doune, Perthshire. The person was known to make any type of candies. He started his candy business Edinburgh from Glasgow. Traditionally, this rock candy is an amalgamation of whipped egg whites, Edinburgh root, vanilla extract, and sugar. But, the recipe later evolved with time and modernization of manufacturing process.
Ingredients Used and Method of Making Edinburgh Rock Candies
Edinburgh Rock is made by using some simple ingredients that includes sugar, water, cream of tartar, food coloring, peppermint and lemon essence. Some of the common food colorings used while making this soft sweet candy are yellow and green.
Baking and boiling are essentially the main method of making this sweet Scottish confection. The process starts with boiling some water in a large pot along with sugar. The cream of tartar is added in the mixture once the water with sugar is boiled. The mixture is then divided into two containers. And then, green coloring & peppermint essence in added in one container while yellow coloring & lemon essence is mixed with second one. After combing the mixture from both the containers, the resultant hard mixture is rolled into make small sweet sausages. These sausages are sliced into small pieces to make these rock candies.
Edinburgh Rock Candy: Trivia
Edinburgh Rock has a legendary story of its accidental invention. Alexander Ferguson, the person invented the candy, noticed a tray of sweets lying in a cupboard for months. He tasted the old sweets and became very fond of it. This is when he came up with the idea of making this dish.