Home-made candy, yes or no?

[_19disnA]

Have given up on making any of the cooked sugar recipes for candy. It seems regardless of how good the recipe is and even though I always use a good candy thermometer, they results aren't good 2/3 of the time. Comes out like taffy or else it is as hard as a rock and inedible. Room temperature and humidity the day you make the candy apparently impacts the results and have never found a recipe that indicates how to adjust the cook time/temperature to account for that. Saw a pro candy making recipe from a well-known candy store on YouTube recently and they mentioned the humidity issue but never said how to adjust for it, perhaps a trade secret to them.

Enjoy making all kinds of other desserts/pastries and have great success with those recipes. But candy making is a waste time/money if there isn't a way to get consistent results. I do laugh at the recipes that vaguely say to 'boil for 5 minutes'. I have NO idea how anyone gets consistent results that way. I suspect the people who wrote those recipes are doing it more by experience and feel.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Have given up on making any of the cooked sugar recipes for candy. It seems regardless of how good the recipe is and even though I always use a good candy thermometer, they results aren't good 2/3 of the time. Comes out like taffy or else it is as hard as a rock and inedible. Room temperature and humidity the day you make the candy apparently impacts the results and have never found a recipe that indicates how to adjust the cook time/temperature to account for that. Saw a pro candy making recipe from a well-known candy store on YouTube recently and they mentioned the humidity issue but never said how to adjust for it, perhaps a trade secret to them.

Enjoy making all kinds of other desserts/pastries and have great success with those recipes. But candy making is a waste time/money if there isn't a way to get consistent results. I do laugh at the recipes that vaguely say to 'boil for 5 minutes'. I have NO idea how anyone gets consistent results that way. I suspect the people who wrote those recipes are doing it more by experience and feel.

You might have success looking in an older version of "Joy of Cooking" (or possibly a newer edition, mine is 30+ years old). It's my go-to for basic stuff, like how to hard-boil an egg or roast a chicken. But, it also has a lot of good, basic cooking skills, like how to temper chocolate or prepare bear meat (which I use all the time, ha ha!). They have a section on candy with tips on humidity and altitude and stuff.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Room temperature and humidity the day you make the candy apparently impacts the results and have never found a recipe that indicates how to adjust the cook time/temperature to account for that. Saw a pro candy making recipe from a well-known candy store on YouTube recently and they mentioned the humidity issue but never said how to adjust for it, perhaps a trade secret to them...I suspect the people who wrote those recipes are doing it more by experience and feel.

That would be correct!

As for adjusting, what my mom adjusted was when she made the candy. She and my (honorary) aunt would just declare a day "candy day" because the conditions were right. We would go over there and I would help keep an eye on the littler kids while they made magic.

 

[mmouse37]

The only "candy" I consistently make is Brickle/Toffee. You know a hard amber colored sugar/butter base with a chocolate layer and then chopped nuts on top.

I always do chocolate covered pretzels for Christmas instead of cookies. I can never find a rolled sugar cookie recipe that yields a decent dough to roll and cut out shapes.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I've never made my own candy, either did my Mom. But I did buy a little bit from a local candy store yesterday. It's a tiny place and an older woman and husband run and own it. The husband is usually making something. It's such a cute store with delicious candy and the sweetest people. I like to buy from them.

 

[Wendy1985]

My step mom makes the best

 

[RAHaws]

I love making tiger butter and chocolate barks. Worth the time and effort. Mmm...

 

[fla4fun]

I make the easy candy with the Ghirardelli dark chocolate and sweetened condensed milk, adding a couple tablespoons of peanut butter to tone down the sweetness. I make it occasionally through the year and always around the holidays.

 

[scrump]

I've never made it, and can't see myself ever doing it due to the sheer effort involved, but what's not to love about homemade candy? Just those two words together are so special!

 

[Disneychick75]

My paternal grandmother, Maman, made delicious divinity. My Mom made the best fudge. When our children were young, I used to make their Easter candy every year. Might do it for our grandchildren this year. I did make them a bunch of sweets for their stockings this past Christmas.