November 2021 Class - Toffee Making in Milwaukee

In November, I was looking for a class that kept me in the Milwaukee area, so I went to the Public Market’s website and found a class in Toffee Making! This wasn’t originally on my radar, but when I saw it, I signed up for it right away. When I was growing up, every winter my grandfather made toffee, and made sure that each of his 70 some grandchildren got some. My grandfather was born in 1898 and lived outside of Escanaba Michigan. He made the toffee inside, but always cooled it out in the snow. I always think of Grandpa Paul when I think of toffee.

My sister Janet joined me to take the class, and she also talked about grandpa’s toffee when we were stirring, and how differently we were making it compared to the tools he probably used to make it. I am positive he did not have a digital candy thermometer that dinged when you reached the optimal temperature!!

When Janet and I got to the class, we sat at a table that was set up for four people, so eventually another two people joined us. We chatted throughout the session, and it was nice to have all four so we could take turns stirring!

The directions were very easy, and we were able to make two different types of toffee in only an hour and a half! They are delicious! I will take classes here again, but learned that they fill up quickly, so you need to plan ahead.

A few of the key take away from the session:

1. Making toffee is incredibly simple and uses basic ingredients.

2. Mixing the toffee while it is heating up to 305 degrees is a workout.

3. This is definitely something I can do at home!