[Sca-cooks] Candy question, mostly...

[Phlip]

This weekend, Rob and i made some chocolate fudge, using the following
recipe, off of the Hershey's Cocoa can :

Rich Cocoa Fudge

3 cups sugar
2/3 cup cocoa
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 tsp vanilla

Mix sugar, coacoa and salt in heavy saucepan; stir in milk. Cook over medium
heat, stirring constantly until mixture boils. Boil without stirring until
234 f or to soft ball. Remove from heat. Add butter and vanilla; DO NOT
STIR. Cool at room temp to 110 f. Beat with wooden spoon until fudge
thickens and just begins to lose some gloss. Spread quickly into pan, cool.
Cut into squares.

Well, cantrary to Rob's usual experiences, it did set up OK as fudge, but
his usual experiences mean that whatever he tries for, he winds up with
something else- fudge if he wants syrup, syrup if he wants frosting, or
frosting if he wants fudge ;-)

Can someone tell me what are the important factors that determine how thick
it sets up? As I said, this was OK, but I'd rather have it a bit firmer at
room temp- this was fine refrigerated, but would have been too soft at room
temp (I say "would have been" because it sorta vanished ;-)

I've done fudge before, but it was many years ago, and I'd never done it
with cocoa before- we always used the unsweetened chocolate chunks. Any
information on the process would be very helpful.


Saint Phlip,
CoDoLDS

There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well
please.
And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the
consequences. -- P. J. O'Rourke