FoodNet

Experimental cookery

1932

Page 55

Presented as published in 1932. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
In substituting cocoa for the chocolate in fudge, Reese found that the quantity of cocoa was a matter of individual preference, although 3 to 3^ tablespoons to each cup of sugar was preferred by the majority of judges. But, if other conditions were standardized, the final temperature to which the sirup was cooked depended upon the proportion of cocoa used. Cocoa contains considerable dextrin. It is probably the presence of this ingredient that affects the consistency of the sirup so that with increasing amounts of cocoa the temperature to which the sirup is cooked should be lower. For a sirup cooled to 40°C. and requiring about 12 to 15 minutes to beat to THE AMOUNT OF MILK IN CARAMELS 67 bring about crystallization, the fudge containing 1 tablespoon of cocoa is cooked to 112.5° or 113°C. For each additional tablespoon of cocoa the temperature to which the sirup is cooked can be lowered one-half degree. These conditions hold for the recipe given in the laboratory outline. With larger proportions of butter, the temperature to which the sirup is cooked should be elevated. Caramels Caramels, taiiy, and brittles are types of candy that are firm but not crystallized. To prevent crystallization larger quantities of dextrose, levu- lose, corn sirup, or other substances are added than when making fondant or fudge. If these substances are not added directly, then larger quantities of substances that produce inversion of sucrose are used, thus giving a higher percentage of invert sugar. Corn sirup and molasses are the materials most commonly used in caramels to prevent crystallization. The temperature to which caramels are cooked depends upon the ingredients used to prevent crystallization and their proportion. With increasing amounts of corn sirup, because of its dextrin content, the temperature to which the caramels are cooked is lowered. But with molasses or honey the temperature to which the caramels are cooked is much higher than when corn sirup is used. In the recipe given in the experimental outline with 1 cup of corn sirup to 2 cups of sucrose, a temperature of 119° to 120°C. produces the degree of firmness liked by most people. If the corn sirup is increased to 2 cups and the sucrose re- duced to 1 cup the same firmness is produced by cooking to a lower tem- perature or 116° to 117°C. If dextrose, honey, or molasses is substituted for the corn sirup, the temperature to which the sirup must be cooked to give the same firmness is above 120°, sometimes as much as 126°C. or higher, the temperature depending on the type of molasses or the pro- portion used. Sugar reactions with proteins. Ramsay, Tracy, and Ruehe found that when milk, albumin, or casein is heated with lactose or dextrose a brown discoloration occurs. As the temperature is raised dextrose and casein become so firmly attached to each other in a protein-sugar complex that no amount of washing will remove the sugar.