FoodNet

Foods, their selection and preparation

1935

Page 35 · 1 recipe record on this page

Presented as published in 1935. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
Uncrystallized candies are easier to make than cream candies. In cream candies there must be a definite proportion of simple to cane sugar at the end of the cooking time. Too little simple sugar means a grainy candy, too much means a failure to cream. In the uncrystallized candies, an important require¬ ment is to have enough of the simple sugars; more does no harm. When granulated sugar is used alone, three or four times as much acid as that used in making cream candies is necessary. Sirups containing the simple sugars may be used to replace some or all of the granulated sugar. The concentration must be definitely de¬ termined. The desired concentration varies with the different candies of this group from the caramels, which are fairly soft, through the salt-water taffies, to the brittle taffy and toffee which may be cooked to the crack stage. Where large proportions of simple sugars are present, the boiling points given in Table X cannot be used as a measure of con¬ centration of the solution. The boiling point at a given concentration will vary directly with both the amounts and kinds of sugars present. This causes no practical difficulty in cream candies, where the proportion of invert sugar to sucrose is fairly constant. In the uncrystallized candies, however, where there may be a wide variation in the kind of sugars used, it is necessary to check the end temperature for a given recipe very carefully by the consistency of the mass formed in cold water. This temperature will hold in the future for that same recipe, provided of course the forms of sugar and sirups are the same. CANDYMAKINC The principles discussed above can be ap¬ plied in the preparation of typical candies. Candies are classified as crystalline or non¬ crystalline on the basis of the form in which the sugars are present. The addition of other ingredients gives special textures to other candies. Classification of Candies. All candies may be grouped under three heads: crystallized candies, uncrystallized candies, and special- texture candies. The following classification shows the basic candies in each group: I. Candies in which sugar is present in the form of crystals 1. Candies in which the sugar is present in large crystals (rock candy and the cover coat of certain other candies) 2. Cream candies, in which the crystals are too small to be felt separately; there¬ fore, the mixture is said to be creamy (fondant and fudge) II. Candies in which the sugar is present in an uncrystallized, or amorphous, form 1. Brittles (nut brittles, one type of nougat) 2. Hard candies (some taffies, toffee, glaceed fruits and nuts, butterscotch) 3. Soft candies (caramels, some taffies) III. Candies given a special texture by the addi¬ tion of egg white, gelatin, gum arabic, or pectin 1. Spongy candies (divinity) 2. Gummy candies (gumdrops, marshmal¬ lows, and fruit candies) From the standpoint of methods of prep¬ aration, candies will be discussed under three heads: cream candies, uncrystallized candies, and special-texture candies. Cream Candies. There are a number of popular cream candies. All follow the same general pattern with slight variations for flavor and texture. Fondant is the simplest. To make a pound of fondant, use 1 pound sugar (2 cups), 1 cup water, and J teaspoon cream of tartarFondant (or 2