Hokey Pokey

When I first travelled to New Zealand, I didn’t try the hokey pokey icecream. I don’t know what I thought it was, but I wasn’t having it. Since then, I’ve gotten this thing for trying out local stuff. You know, it’s a way to really get to know a country. I was already familiar with, and loving, the famous TimTams. See this post for my favourite Down Under foods. I also tried the Jellybabies and Cadbury’s chocolate. For lack of better chocolate, nothing beats Belgian and Dutch chocolate in my opinion, but that’s another story! 😛

So last trip to New Zealand, now over two years ago *gasp*, on my tour through the Catlins we stopped for icecream in Curio Bay (and I stopped to stay for a few nights). And tadaaaa….hokey pokey! It’s SO GOOD!

Unfortunately, it’s a Kiwi thing and they don’t sell it on this side of the globe. But…lo and behold…it turns out to be so incredibly easy to make it yourself. All recipes out there boil down to the same thing. So here it is:

5 tbs white sugar
2 tbs golden syrup
1 tsp baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)

Put the sugar and golden syrup in a sauce pan and bring slowly to the boil, constantly stirring. The sugar will melt with the syrup and turn into a gooey mess. Simmer gently over a low heat for a few minutes, again, stirring constantly. The stuff burns easily, so watch it carefully. Then remove from heat and add the baking soda. Stir until it foams up and pour onto a piece of baking paper. Use a spatula or something to spread it out. Allow to cool off. You don’t have to, but I cool it off in the fridge. Then when it’s cooled off, break it into small pieces/crumbles. I find it easier to leave the hokey pokey on the baking paper, break it in half, fold it and then crush it up using a rolling pin. Then when it’s all done, keep it in an airtight container. I keep it in the fridge so it stays nice and crunchy, but I don’t think you have to. Then take out vanilla icecream and sprinkle some hokey pokey all over and you’re done! YUM! 🙂

Here’s my homemade hokey pokey!