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

[Lorenz Wieland]

Phlip wrote:

>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 ;-)
>  
>
I'm not expert on candy techniques by any means, but I'm thinking the 
two most significant factors in the final texture and consistency are 
how hot you let the sugar get, and how you cool it.  The Hershey recipe 
matches other successful fudge recipes I've seen in these two aspects.  
First, you heat the batter to the soft ball temperature range, then you 
allow it to initially cool slowly back down to near-solid stage, 
followed by a rapid final cooling.  I have done at least one version 
that uses a rapid initial cooling and then follows with a longer final 
cooling, so I suspect the initial temperature is the more important 
factor of the two.

Sugar's an interesting beast.  Any time I read about candy techniques 
I'm reminded of nothing so much as forge metallurgy.  The range of 
different effects you can get from one basic substance just by varying 
how hot you get it and how you let it cool afterwards is amazing.

-Lorenz