Read Field Guide to Candy: How to Identify and Make Virtually Every Candy Imaginable Online
Authors: Anita Chu
Field Guide to Candy: How to Identify and Make Virtually Every Candy Imaginable (3 page)
Easy alternatives to tempering chocolate.
Several products exist for those who do not want to temper chocolate. They are called
confectionery coatings
,
coating chocolate
,
summer coating
, or
chocolate bark coatings
. They are usually made of vegetable fats that melt smoothly and set up quickly to a finish that is very similar to tempered chocolate. They may not contain actual chocolate. Nothing can perfectly duplicate the taste and mouth-feel of tempered chocolate, but quality coatings can be good substitutes. They can be cooled and reheated quickly, and as often as necessary.
NOTES ON
WORKING WITH SUGAR
Many candies are made by boiling sugar and water at high temperatures to make sugar syrup. Sugar syrups heated to different temperature stages cool to different consistencies, making different types of candy. For example, soft, creamy fudge is cooked to a much lower temperature than hard, shiny lollipops.
There are two ways to determine the stage of sugar syrup: a candy thermometer or the cold water test. A candy thermometer is the most convenient, modern method for checking cooking sugar. The cold water test is the classic method for checking cooking sugar. It was devised by the English and French in the 17th century, before the general availability of home thermometers. Dropping a small amount of hot sugar syrup into a bowl of cold water halts the cooking and indicates the sugar stage. The names of the stages of boiling sugar are based on the forms they take in the cold water test.
Sugar
Cooking Chart
| Temperature | Sugar stage | Candy |
| 223°F–234°F | Thread: The sugar drips from a spoon and stretches into thin threads in cold water. | |
| 235°F–240°F | Soft ball: The sugar forms into a ball in cold water but loses its shape when taken out. | Fudge and fondant |
| 245°F–250°F | Firm ball: The sugar forms into a ball in cold water and remains a ball when taken out, but it loses its shape when pressed. | Caramels |
| 250°F–264°F | Hard ball: The sugar forms into a ball in cold water and remains a ball when take out. It keeps its shape when pressed but still feels sticky. | Nougat and marshmallows |
| 270°F–290°F | Soft crack: The sugar forms into long threads in cold water. The threads are stretchy and slightly sticky when taken out. | Butterscotch |
| 298°F–310°F | Hard crack: The sugar forms into long threads in cold water. The threads are brittle and snap easily when taken out. | Hard candies and brittle |
| 320°F and above | Caramel: The sugar turns golden yellow. Nearly all the water has been boiled out of the syrup. If it continues cooking, it will burn and turn black. |
Cook sugar on a clear, dry day.
Because sugar absorbs water, humidity can lengthen the cooking process or prevent the cooking sugar from reaching the right stage and setting up properly. If it’s raining, turn on air-conditioning to make your kitchen as cool and dry as possible.
Cook sugar in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan
with at least a 3-quart capacity. Aluminum and copper saucepans are best because they
conduct heat evenly. Copper saucepans should be unlined; some copper cookware is lined with tin or other materials that can melt under very high sugar-cooking temperatures. Many confectioners use a sugar pot, which is simply a large all-copper saucepan made for cooking sugar. Sugar pots and other copper cookware can be found at most cooking stores.
Watch for
crystallization that can ruin sugar syrup.
This happens when a stray sugar crystal or particle gets into sugar syrup. Agitating the syrup at the wrong time can cause crystallization. You will see crystals of sugar forming in the syrup, and the entire mixture may turn into a crackly, solid mass. Throw out the crystallized sugar mixture and start again with a clean saucepan.
Use ingredients that prevent crystallization.
Helpful ingredients called
doctors
or
interfering agents
guard against crystallization: acids, such as cream of tartar or lemon juice; glucose, such as corn syrup; and fats, such as butter or cream.
| TOOLS | |||
 stand mixer |  pastry bag |  fridge |  oven |
 stovetop heat |  spoon |  bowl |  sharp knife |
 small cookie cutters |  candy molds |  pastry brush |  whisk |
 baking sheet |  baking pan |  saucepan |  kitchen shears |
