using golden syrup instead of corn syrup for candy-making....burnage problems :(

most candy making recipes seem to call for corn syrup, but its not readily available here in ireland (plus, even in the US its near impossible to find a certified non-GM one...) so it seems like golden syrup is the alternative. its time to make christmas candy to sell at the christmas markets at my vegan stall...im thinking peanut brittle and such. but i tried to make candy apples with it at halloween and just ended up with a burned-tasting mess. yet, it seemed like unless i turned the stove temperature up, the stuff was never going to get hot enough on the thermometer to reach hard-crack stage.... but then it ended up changing color and tasting burned...

does anyone have any tips for working with golden syrup for candymaking? and..not ending up with burned taste fail end results? ;)

thanks : )

From what I recall from childhood UK recipes for toffee and stuff like that tend to start with sugar rather than any kind of syrup. Could you try that? There is a bit of a discussion here as well: http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question...2072749AA60kaw