Before modern electric mixers, people made divinity with hand-held mixers like this one. I do not know how anyone could beat sugar and egg whites into the delicious divinity candy with one of these old-fashioned mixers. But they did.
If you have ever used one of these, you will know that it takes a great deal of strength and stamina to generate enough mixing action to make divinity. I can only imagine that many factors would contribute to making a batch that turned out like thick paste or heavy syrup. Couple that with older homes that weren’t sealed against the weather like modern homes, and lacking central heat and air conditioning, and it is easy to see how the weather would play a huge role in the outcome of one’s divinity candy. So, the axiom: “You cannot make divinity when it’s raining.”
But not so today. With modern electric stand mixers, well-sealed homes against the weather, and central heat/air that help modify humidity, the candy-maker can no longer blame the weather for a bad batch of candy!
Just to make the point, I decided to make a batch today. The temperature outside was 37 and we were experiencing steady rain mixed with sleet. The outside humidity was 100%. But that did not deter me.
I gathered my supplies, cracked the eggs and put the syrup on to boil. About 40 minutes later, the finished divinity was ready to divide into gift servings.
You can make divinity when it’s raining…as long as your kitchen is indoors! Just follow your favorite recipe, and you’ll be fine. You can find many different recipes online, but I have found this one to be close to our secret family recipe.
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