Candy Making TipsHere are some candy making tips that I think are important to know before you turn on the stove to start making your candy.Tip 1: Always take the weather into account. Cooking time can increase substantially on rainy or humid days. The worse scenario is that your candy may never set up at all. This is because sugar attracts water and the water can adversely affect your recipe. It is best to make candy on a clear, dry day. Tip 2: Sugar is the most basic ingredient in candy. Make sure you use an unopened package of sugar. This is so the sugar does not get contaminated from the other ingredients commonly found in a kitchen such as flour or salt. Tip 3: Use unsalted butter. The reason for this is that the salt content of salted butter can affect your final product. Tip 4: Never use margarine in a recipe that calls for butter. Margarine has a higher water content than butter. This will affect the cooking time and results significantly. Tip 5: If you are cooking where the altitudes are high, you will need to make modifications to your candy recipes. For every 500 feet above sea level, decrease the temperature by one degree. For example: If you live at an altitude of 3500 feet and the recipe calls for cooking to 234 degrees F (112 degrees C), cook it to 227 degrees F (108 degrees C). Tip 6: Candy recipes may look simple. But, you will need a candy thermometer to make sure you reach the precise temperature in your recipe. Tip 7: Except for a candy thermometer, most tools needed to make candy, which includes fudge, can be found in a well-stocked kitchen. Here are the additional tools you need: Tip 8: Below is a candy making chart that shows different temperatures and what happens to your candy when it reaches those temperatures.
|