Intro to Candy Making

By Kathryn Bailey

Do you have sweet candy memories? There is little more evocative to the senses than the recollection of favourite sticky and sugary homemade confections. Perhaps you hearken to cracking slabs of sponge taffy, watching your mother twist candy canes, or hunting through your great grandmother’s recipe box for her secret fudge recipe. If you’re tired of purchasing store-bought sweets and want to lend tradition and a more personal touch to gifting, why not try your hand at candy making?
Much like baking and pastry preparation, candy making is a precise culinary skill demanding an abundance of patience. There are tools to be used, measurements to be taken and rules to be followed. And, just when you think you have everything under control, even the weather becomes a consideration. But fear not. Though it may take years to work your way up to head chocolatier for Godiva, there are numerous recipes that can be followed with a degree of kitchen know-how, some basic utensils, the simplest of ingredients and some indispensable tips and tricks.


A Degree of Kitchen Know-How

If you can follow a recipe, you’re halfway to becoming a confectioner. Although in culinary circles candy making may be considered an art to which one must aspire, the greatest successes are generally the result of basic kitchen knowledge and attention to detail. The keys to successful candy making are: thoroughly reading through and following your recipes, taking accurate measurements, having all ingredients at hand, and ensuring timing is precise. Patience is crucial, as sugary concoctions can change consistency in a matter of seconds.

Some Basic Utensils

When stirring up sweets, you have three best friends: a sturdy saucepan, a wooden spoon and a candy thermometer. Most candy results from the tricky process of boiling or melting sugar; therefore a good-quality, medium-to-large-sized saucepan is a must. Choose one that holds at least three times the volume of ingredients, to prevent boil-overs. A wooden spoon prevents heat transfer, flavour contamination and sticking to candy or scratching your pots and pans. And, though not necessary, a candy thermometer reduces guesswork, particularly for beginners.

The Simplest of Ingredients

Sugar and butter are the two most essential ingredients in candy making. In its variety of forms, sugar is candy and it makes or breaks your recipe. Store it in airtight containers to avoid moisture and contamination. And, although acceptable in cooking or baking, butter should never be substituted in a candy recipe and should always be unsalted unless otherwise indicated. Ensuring correct measurements and using the highest quality ingredients will go a long way to candy-making success.

Tips and Tricks

Measure Out All Ingredients – because time is of the essence in the candy making process, ensure you measure out all ingredients before proceeding with your recipe. Boiling and melting sugar can be a precarious process and time is of the essence when you’ve got a boiling saucepan of syrup on the stove. If the correct measures of ingredients to be added are at hand, there is less risk of overcooking.
Check the Weather Report – this may sound a bit silly, but heat and humidity are huge determinants of cooking times. Ideally, candy should be made in a cool and dry environment, which promotes hardening and prevents crystals from forming.
The Right Temperature – when making candy, the key to success is boiling your syrup to the right degree. There are two ways of ensuring accuracy: the first is using a candy thermometer, and the second is performing the cold water candy test. Because candy temperatures can vary due to weather and other external conditions, the thermometer is handy as a guide, but should be used in concert with cold water testing. To perform the cold-water candy test, a small amount (less than a teaspoonful) of syrup should be dropped from a wooden spoon into a container of very cold water (not ice water). The syrup should then be quickly manipulated between your fingers. The following list indicates the most common cooking texture stages for candy/sugar syrup when dropped into cold water:
Thread stage (215-235 degrees F): a liquid thread that will not form into a ball. This stage makes syrupy confections perfect for pouring or drizzling.
Soft ball stage (235-245 degrees F): a flexible, sticky ball that will flatten in your hand when removed from the water. Cooking to this stage makes pralines, fudge and other soft-textured candies.
Firm ball stage (245-249 degrees F): a ball that holds its shape and won’t flatten when removed from the water and yet remains quite soft and flexible. Soft toffees and caramels are cooked to this stage.
Hard ball stage (250-264 degrees F): a hard ball that holds its shape when removed from the water and is slightly pliable. Rock candy, nougat and divinity are cooked to this stage.
Soft crack stage (270-290 degrees F): firm threads that are flexible and will bend without breaking when removed from the water. Candy canes and salt-water taffy are cooked to this stage.
Hard crack stage (300-310 degrees F): hard, brittle threads that break when bent. Hard toffees, lollipops and nut brittles are cooked to this stage.
Crystallization – this is one of the most frustrating characteristics of candy syrup during the cooking process. In order to prevent your smooth syrup from turning into a crystal-ridden glob, avoid stirring when it begins to boil, butter the sides of your pot (if the recipe includes butter), brush crystals down from the sides of the pot with a pastry brush dipped in hot water and avoid scraping the dregs from the pot when pouring your finished candy. If crystallization starts to happen, it’s not a disaster. Simply add a small amount of water to your syrup and begin cooking again.