My thought, of course, is ... how about peppers. The problem would be all the steaming pepper aerosols if it was fresh, but maybe dry peppers would work.

I also found a recipe, but did not try it, for a taffy-consistency candy using peppers. I posted the two recipes below.

I hope I made some sense.

If anyone has experience making candy out of peppers/capsaicin, feel free to share your expertise. I can check the harvest forum as well, but they may not be as familiar with the possible disasters awaiting this endeavor since they might not be as intimate with the pepper.

Thanks,

Lyle

Anise Candy Recipe

Ingredients
1-1/2 teaspoons butter, softened
3/4 cup water
2/3 cup light corn syrup
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon anise extract (Or ...Peppers?)
Red food coloring
2 to 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Directions
Butter an 8-in. square dish with 1-1/2 teaspoons butter; set aside. In a large heavy saucepan, combine the water, corn syrup and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cover and cook for 3 minutes to dissolve any sugar crystals.
Uncover; cook over medium-high heat, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 300� (hard-crack stage). Remove from the heat; stir in extract and food coloring.
Pour into prepared dish. Using a sharp knife, score into 3/4-in. squares. Cool. Separate into squares, using a sharp knife if necessary. Place confectioners' sugar in a pan; add candy and roll until coated. Brush off excess sugar with a pastry brush.
Store at room temperature in an airtight container. Yield: about 1 pound (about 8 dozen).
Test your candy thermometer before each use by bringing water to a boil; the thermometer should read 212�. Adjust your recipe temperature up or down based on your test.

Capsaicin Candy Recipe

Hot Pepper Candy

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
2/3 cup water
1 tbs cornstarch
2 tbs butter or marg
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
8x8x2 buttered pan
In 2 qt saucepan, add sugar, corn syrup, water, cornstarch, butter and salt. Over medium heat, stirring constantly till hard ball stage
(256F). Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and pepper.
When cool enough to handle, butter hands and pull until satiny and stiff. Pull into long strips, cut into 1" pieces, and wrap with wax paper. (I don't know what the buttered pan is for.)

I may give it a shot with Halloween coming up shortly. Every year a few (older) kids seem to come back 2 or 3 times and claim it's their first (we're marked as the house that gives out chocolate bars, chips, candy and fancy pencils to each visitor). I'm thinking a Bhut Jolokia toffee for 3rd visit would be the "trick" in their trick or treat ;-))

That said, maybe dry powder would be different. Remember, this is idea of mine is still in the concept phase unless someone has experiences to share. I HAVE NOT TRIED THIS IDEA MYSELF AND AM NOT RECOMMENDING THAT YOU TRY IT. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK. I just had a vision of a potentially exciting candy and wondered if it would work.

Lyle

Just so I'm clear, what you're saying is...

...if I try making it with hot peppers and gas myself causing me to knock the pot off the stove which in turn spooks my pooch causing him to bang into a sofa end table as he bolts out of the kitchen and the lamp falls off hitting one of his raw hide bones launching it through the Rembrandt on my living room wall, you're not responsible.

Just checking.

Bill

Lyle