Boiled molasses or sorghum pulled by hand until it lightens, ribbons, and turns chewy — the centerpiece of the old mountain candy-pulling, a social gathering as much as a sweet.
The candy-pulling was a mountain social event — young people gathered, hands buttered, pulling taffy together by lamplight. Black Appalachian communities held and joined these gatherings, turning a pot of their own sorghum into both sweet and celebration when bought candy was a luxury few could afford.
Made from molasses or sorghum rather than refined sugar, pull candy carries real minerals — blackstrap molasses is one of the most iron- and calcium-dense sweeteners there is, relevant to the anemia common in Black women. It remains pure sugar and must be treated as a treat, but as candies go, a molasses pull is built from a mineral-bearing sweetener with antioxidant polyphenols, not empty white sugar.
Boil molasses or sorghum (sometimes with a little butter and soda) to the soft-crack stage, pour onto a greased surface to cool slightly, then pull and fold it by hand — buttered fingers — until it lightens in color and turns satiny and chewy. Cut into pieces and let set.
Free, no account needed to ask.