[Sca-cooks] A Sugar Dish Question

[Holly Stockley]

>I am sugar clueless. I don't care a great deal for sweets, so i've
>made very few in the recent past - just for feasts i've cooked. And
>i've never made jams or preserves. And i don't think i've made fudge
>since i was in high school... Lately i've been making beverage syrups
>(and i goofed and cooked the last one a little too long - it's still
>syrup, but rather, mmm, dense). So this sugar candy stuff is all new
>to me.
>
>Would this benefit by the addition of pectin?

No, because there isn't any acid.  Pectin won't set without it, so wouldn't 
be any kind of insurance here.

I'd say you're right about the hard ball stage.  I think you're looking for 
something about the consistency of a taffy, unpulled.



>See, with a meat or vegetable or fruit dish, i can test cook a couple
>servings. But with sweets, i don't want to be making quantities of
>the stuff that i'll just be tossing out - especially if it uses
>expensive items like pistachios...

You could do a dry run with roasted pumpkin seeds just to see how things 
work out, if you've any left after last night.  ;-)

Femke

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