Tablet (confectionery)

Butter tablet.

Tablet (taiblet in Scots^[1][2]), butter tablet, butter fudge, cream tablet or Swiss Milk tablet (derived from a condensed milk brand name) is a medium-hard, sugary confection from Scotland. A variation including golden syrup is known as Russian fudge. Tablet is usually made from sugar, condensed milk, and butter, boiled to a soft-ball stage and allowed to crystallize. It is often flavoured with vanilla, and sometimes has nut pieces in it.^[2]

Tablet differs from fudge in that it has a brittle, grainy texture, where fudge is much softer. Well-made tablet is a medium-hard confection, not as soft as fudge, but not as hard as hard candy.

Tablet is almost identical to Québécois sucre à la crème, except the latter is often made with maple syrup.^{[citation needed]} It's also reportedly similar to South American tableta de leche. Another close relative can be found in the Netherlands that goes by the name of borstplaat, eaten during the time that Sinterklaas is celebrated.

Tablet is often flavored with vanilla, whisky, or nuts.^[3]

History

Tablet has a long history. According to The Scots Kitchen by F. Marian McNeill, tablet is first noted in The Household Book of Lady Grisell Baillie in the early 18th century.^[4] The traditional recipe uses just sugar and cream. More modern recipes substitute condensed milk and butter for the cream, as it has a tendency to burn when boiled.

Variations

Commercially available tablet often uses fondant instead of the milk products. This produces a slightly less granular texture compared to the traditional home-made tablet, and is supposedly much easier to prepare on a commercial scale.

See also

• Barfi
• Confiture de lait
• Dulce de leche
• Caramel
• Fudge
• Tableting, a method of confectionery manufacture

References

1. ^ Rennie, Susan (ed.). "Dictionary of the Scots Language (DSL)". http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/index.html. Retrieved 2009-05-27. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Bell, John Joy (1903). Wee Macgreegor. pp. 8–9. http://books.google.de/books?id=U8SuhZDTVPUC&pg=PA8&lpg=PA8&dq=taiblet. 
3. ^ "Scottish Tablet Company". http://www.scottishtabletcompany.co.uk/. Retrieved 2011-03-12. 
4. ^ The Scots Kitchen. Paperback: 259 pages Mercat Press; New Ed edition (25 Oct 2004) ISBN 1841830704

External links

• Tablet recipe