When I was a kid in the North of England, Hallowe’en and Bonfire Night were synonymous with treacle and toffee. Any apples that weren’t used for bobbing would be speared with sticks, dunked into toffee, then left to set hard and glassy for Hallowe’en; there was treacle toffee (which some call treason toffee) on Bonfire Night, and sticky parkin, made with oatmeal and yet more treacle, on both occasions. In truth, I could take or leave parkin and toffee apples, but there is a comforting nostalgia about good treacle toffee.

How does treacle toffee differ from ordinary toffee?
The key ingredient is black treacle or molasses, the thick syrup that is a by-product of turning sugar cane or beet into sugar. Beyond that, each sweet maker has a different recipe, which will produce toffee that ranges from chewy and caramel-like to brittle. At the Toffee Shop in Penrith, Neil Boustead makes his treacle toffee with butter, sugar, treacle and, in traditional fashion, vinegar. “The vinegar gives a slight, characteristic sharpness,” he says, and the result is a toffee that is neither soft, nor brittle. “The secret is in the quality and ratio of the ingredients and the temperature at which the toffee is cooked.” When the toffee has cooled, the slabs are broken by hand and individually wrapped.

What other kinds are there?
Stockley’s Sweets in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, hand-makes two kinds of treacle toffee, as well as bubbly “cinder toffee”. “Down south they call it honeycomb,” says Kath Lawson of Stockley’s. “But perhaps because we call it cinder toffee and the look of it conjures up ideas of witches’ cauldrons, it’s really popular at Hallowe’en.” Treacle toffee-making starts in earnest next week, when at certain times you can watch it being made the old-fashioned way in massive copper pans, alongside cinder toffee and other traditional sweets, at the visitor’s centre. Stockley’s black and brittle “bonfire slab” toffee contains sugar, glucose, treacle, vegetable oil and salt, and there’s a chewy version made with butter and condensed milk.

Why treacle and Bonfire Night?
No one seems to know for sure. Lawson suggests that its black, tarry nature makes it a natural partner for a bonfire, while her husband Phil, the production manager, surmises that, “Treacle toffee most likely became a favourite on Bonfire Night because homemade food is traditional and brittle treacle toffee is easier to make in a pan at home than caramel-style toffee, which is more involved.” Not that this stops people from buying it ready-made. “Around Lancashire we sell tons of it,” says Lawson.

Where to buy?
The Toffee Shop charges from £3.60 for a 227g box (01768 862008; www.thetoffeeshop.co.uk). Stockley’s Sweets charges from 69p for a 100g bag; the visitors’ centre is open every day from 10am to 5pm, with limited production at the weekend and none on Friday (01254 232807; www.stockleys-sweets.co.uk).

Readers’ queries

Where can I order a suckling pig to barbecue on Bonfire Night?
A Pugh’s suckling pig is £99.95 for 3.4-5kg, Forman & Field (020-8221 3939; www.formanandfield.com).

If you have a food query, e-mail food.detective@thetimes.co.uk

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