Sweet Beginnings
by Linda Carmichael (Co-Owner, The Mill
Fudge Factory)
When I was a little girl growing up in Scotland there
was never any candy or sweet treats in the home. My parents had
lived through the great depression and the rationing of World War II
so it was thought a wee bit extravagant to have cakes and biscuits on
hand. Sometimes my Dad would suddenly decide we needed a treat and we would
descend on the kitchen so that he could make a batch of Scottish tablet, made with
sugar, evaporated milk and butter. The best bit for me was always the pot
scrapings. I loved it best before it hardened into brittle tablet.
Years later, my son Marty decided he
wanted to open a fudge business. I pulled out my Dad's old recipe. It was
written in pencil on the inside cover of my mothers cook book. The pencil was
faded but we could make out enough to get started. Marty didn't much like the hard
tablet either, and so he made batch after batch experimenting to find a 'fudge'
that we would both like and feel good about selling. He wanted that
irresistible buttery taste of Scottish traditional tablet, but with a softer
texture that melted in the mouth. Finally he was satisfied, and the basic
“Penuche” fudge we make was created.
Sadly for me, Marty decided to return
to Britain
not long after we opened our shop, but not before he had taught his
step-brother Noah the secrets of fudge making. Since then, Noah has done his
own experiments, and the fudge has developed and changed over the years. It is
now a little less sweet, and one important change along the way came from our
desire to offer a fully natural fudge, with no corn syrup or any artificial
flavors or colors. Noah came up with the idea of using honey as a substitute for
corn syrup and it worked! We have also added many creative flavors with equally
creative names such as, “Strawberry Fields Forever”, made with white chocolate
and real strawberries, and Little bit O' Heaven, made with Bailey's Irish
cream and white chocolate.
The flavor I am most proud of, took a year of trial and error till I was
finally satisfied with the taste. I can put my hand on my heart and say that
you will not find a better or more flavorful Scottish Whisky Fudge
anywhere in the world, even in Scotland!
Made with Johnny Walker's Red Label. I think Granddad Neil MacAulay Barr would
most definitely approve.
As our business takes many twists and
turns on the road, and we have to take greater and greater risks to ensure its
success, I am reminded of the motto on the MacAulay clan crest, “Dulce
Periculum”, Danger is Sweet.
Read more About Our Fudge