You don’t have to twist our arm to celebrate National Fudge Day, June 16th. We love the stuff—particularly if it’s an elegant recipe (photo #1) that isn’t so cloyingly sweet that we can’t taste the chocolate for the sugar. Or the peanut butter, the vanilla, nuts, etc., etc.

Fudge is a drier version of fondant*, an icing made of sugar, water, and cream of tartar. It’s cooked to the soft-ball stage and then kneaded to a smooth, soft paste.

The history of fudge is disputed, but an acknowledged American invention. Some food historians peg the date to February 14, 1886, but the exact origin and inventor are disputed.

Most stories claim that the first batch of fudge resulted from an accident with a bungled (“fudged”) batch of caramels, when the sugar was allowed to recrystallize; hence the name derived from the interjection, “Oh fudge!”

Here’s more of the history of fudge.

Now, you can head to the best candy emporium in town and buy yourself some fudge. Or you can take a gander at these recipes.

> The History Of Fudge

> The History Of Chocolate
 
 
RECIPE: THREE CHOCOLATE FUDGE

Why use only one type of chocolate when you can use three? Thanks to Taste Of Home for the recipe.

If you don’t like nuts, how about thin pretzel sticks, broken into pieces?
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. LINE a 15x10x1-inch pan with foil. Leave enough foil overlap on the sides so you can lift the finished fudge out of the pain. Grease the foil with 1 tablespoon butter.

2. COMBINE the sugars, milk and cubed butter in a large, heavy saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the marshmallows and vanilla until blended.

3. GRADUALLY STIR in the chocolate chips and chopped chocolate until melted. Fold in the pecans. Immediately spread into prepared pan.

4. REFRIGERATE for 1 hour or until firm. Using the foil edges, lift the fudge out of the pan. Remove the foil and cut the fudge into 1-inch squares. Store between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container.
 

MORE YUMMY FUDGE RECIPES

[1] Yes, thank you, we want every flavor (photo © Nathana Reboucas | Unsplash).

[2] How can you make fudge richer? Cut it into “sandwich” slices with a caramel filling (photo © The Mill Fudge Factory).

[3] Make chocolate fudge with walnuts or pecans—or whatever nuts you prefer. The recipe is at left.(photo © Eagle Brand).

[4] The better the chocolate, the better the flavor in the fudge. We chop up our favorite chocolate bars (photo © Juliette G | Unsplash).

*Fondant can be colored or flavored and used as a center for chocolates, or as an icing for cakes. You may have run into it at a wedding: It’s especially popular as a covering for wedding cakes.

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[1] The Vesper Martini, created by the novelist Ian Fleming in his first James Bond novel (photo © LT Bar & Grill | Hackensack, New Jersey).

[2] Chill the cocktail shaker and the spirits in the freezer to get the coldest Martini (photo © Williams Sonoma).

[3] Gordon’s London Dry Gin was James Bond’s choice of gin. Although the proof was cut in the U.K., there is a 94.6 proof* export version (photo © Gordon’s Gin | Diageo).

[4] Bond specified Polish or Russian vodka, but no brand (photo © Ibrahim Unal | Pexels).

[5] A classic Dry Martini. Here’s the recipe (photo © Dante NYC).

[8] This Caviartini is garnished with a cucumber slice and a Petrossian Caviarcube® (photo © Petrossian).

[9] Not just any olives: These are stuffed with premium blue cheese (photo © Ruth’s Chris).

How about a special Martini for Father’s Day? This Martini has a legacy: It’s James Bond’s Vesper Martini recipe.

The drink was invented and named by Ian Fleming in his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale (1953).

Thanks to Fleming, the Vodka Martini entered the cocktail culture. By the second Bond novel, Live and Let Die, Bond is drinking vodka Martinis, starting the trend that pretty much replaced the classic gin Martini recipe for many fans.

In Casino Royale, Bond orders a Martini with vodka in addition to the classic gin; then replaces the vermouth with Kina Lillet, a different fortified white wine.

“A dry martini,” [Bond] said. “One. In a deep champagne goblet.”

“Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?”

Later in the book, he names the drink Vesper, after his love interest, Vesper Lynd. It more properly is called simply a Vesper, since the ingredients have strayed from those of the Martini.

The catchphrase “shaken, not stirred,” entered our jargon in “Diamonds Are Forever” (1956).

Below:

> The Vesper Martini recipe.

> 50 more Martini recipes.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of gin.

> The different types (expressions) of gin.

The year’s 14 gin holidays.
 
 
RECIPE: THE VESPER MARTINI

The cocktail first appeared in Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, which was published in 1953. It was named for the fictional double agent—and Bond love-interest—Vesper Lynd.

Called a Vesper for short, the formulation of the drink has changed slightly.

 
But it’s easy enough to substitute and recapture the original flavor of the drink [source].
 
Ingredients For One Drink

 
Preparation

Our tip: To get Bond’s “extra-cold” temperature, chill the glass and the ingredients—gin, vodka, Lillet, and shaker—in the freezer in advance.

1. ADD the ingredients to a shaker and shake until the contents are ice-cold. Here’s how to shake a cocktail (video).

2. STRAIN into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish and twist a large, thin-cut lemon peel over the top.
 
 
50+ MORE MARTINI RECIPES

 
And for fun, but not a drink:

*Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire, American Beefeater, and Broker’s gin provide the traditional flavor of the original Gordon’s 94 proof gin. In the U.K., Gordon’s has been cut to 75 proof; a 94.6 proof version is exported.
 
 

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Need a special gift? Want a special treat? We recommend the Gourmet S’mores Kit (photo #1) from L.A. Burdick, one of America’s finest chocolatiers.

It’s a limited edition: a summer special, available from June 1st to September 2nd.

We’ll be ordering several for our own summer festivities and for Father’s Day gifts.
 
 
WHAT DO YOU GET?

You get high-end classic s’mores components, handmade with all natural ingredients and no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.

Instead of extracts, for example, the flavors come from real vanilla beans, fruits, coffee and honey.

Everything in the kit is handmade in-house:

 
The items are packaged in a lovely little corrugated tote that someone will make a bid for.
 
 
GET YOUR S’MORES

Head to BurdickChocolate.com.
 
 
MORE S’MORES RECIPES

The classic s’mores cookie sandwich is perfect as is: graham crackers sandwiching toasted marshmallows melty chocolate.

Because the classic is so beloved, amateur and professional cooks alike have put their own spins on the recipe.

Here are some s’mores recipes with twists that we’ve published. They’re just a smattering of the thousands of s’mores recipes out there.

 
 
PLUS

[1] Gourmet S’mores Kit from L.A. Burdick (photos #1 and #2 © L.A. Burdick).

[2] Burdick’s exceptional chocolate makes the s’mores extra-delicious.

[3] Do you like your marshmallows slightly toasted, or extra toasty (photo © Dandies).

[4] You can personalize the s’mores with your own ingredients, like toasted coconut or fresh raspberries (photo © Chocolat Moderne).

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