Tough Hard Candy Experience

This might be almost the 10th time(over 2 years span haha) that I tried my hands at pulling hard candy. None of them have been perfect till now.. I just don't know what goes wrong. Its so damn frustrating. But Thomas Edison made thousands of trials before succeeding.. and probably I shud follow his positive influence in here and not despair. I believe my problem was because I did not succeed but I did not document the findings.. So, the improvement made were just based on whatever mind capacity I had over the mistakes I've made earlier. Which I shud the admit, that I am just terrible with my long term memory. So here I am, writing this, just to let myself know what I did and how I did it and perhaps plan some improvements over my next trials.

Some backgrounds over my encounter with hard candy experience. As usual, I love to sift thru youtube to watch how people made chocolates truffles and confections and what not. (At that time, my passion was for chocolates..and I do still have that passion now). And then I came across this video that I'm posting here, which is so damn cool, showing how lollies are made. I've never seen it being made or sold in Malaysia. It just brings back my memory over the kiwi candies we bought on our trip to New Zealand few years back. Strong kiwi flavored candy, a bit sour, with texture which are not so chewy but not so hard either. I can't remember what they call it either but those were just awesome. BTW, i also loved their Whittakers chocolate with kiwi bits in them.. Arghhh what a bliss..

Ok, back to my experiment on Sat morning. I have 2 recipes in hand. One was from about.com and the other from my Peter Grewling book. If I compare both, there's not much difference. The ingredients are the same, but the quantities varies a bit. But I wanted to experiment a little. I wanted to add some corn starch and see if this could minimize the stickiness of the resulting candy. Being in Malaysia, with 80% humidity almost all day, sticky sticky sticky is always a problem. So, here goes the 2 different recipes I got

1. From About.com

1. From Peter Grewling

Regardless of what the book or the website says, I decided to add the flavorings, the citric acid and the coloring based on my own jurisdiction.

Past problems that i think i need to address this time

1) The table or pan or whatever that holds the cooked sugar are not well oiled. The sugar sticked to the pan, to the scaper, to the table and I had such a great great time cleaning up the tough mess before. Even worse, it sticked to my thumb on my last attempt. That was so... excruciating...

2) The cooked sugar hardened and cooled pretty fast. Probably it took even less than 5 mins before it already hardens which makes pulling a pain. Problem maybe because I'm doing a small batch.

3) I did it using thin gloves. I definitely need a thicker glove.

So this time around, I made a few changes.

1) My marble table are well oiled.I am not going to pour the sugar in to the baking pan like before and shove it in the oven to prevent it from hardening fast.

2) My spatula, my scraper, my scissors, my steel bowl are all well oiled

3) I have a new pair of leather gloves. I bought it last week after sugar burning both thumbs on my last attempt. I lathered the glove with heck a lot of shortening to ensure, again the sugar won't stick to it.

4) I lined out the flavoring to add and the coloring as well. I intend to divide the cooked mixture into 2 portions to make 2 flavors, grape and apple. With green for the apple and violet for the grape. I mixed the 2 ingredients into a small panadol syrup measuring cup which I have been collecting from my frequent visits to the clinics. I pour around 2.5 ml of the flavoring and this turns out not to be too enough to flavor the 1/4 kg of sugar I had for each sugar portion. So, bear in mind....next time I need to add a little bit more flavor. And my approach of mixing the coloring with the flavor doesn't work huhu. The color sinks to the bottom of the small cup and stucked when I tried to pour it out of the small cup. Actually the violet color got stucked, but not the green one. Given the nick of time I had to work the sugar, I don't bother to scrape out the flavor, color mixture out of the small cup...heheh. I think that's why my candy lacks the flavor.So, next time... just use the measuring spoon. No need to be so creative....

5) I did this alone...no one to help... Hubby is not around. If he's around, he'll help me (although what he did was standing nearby with his blur2 face not knowing what and how to help haha.. pity him). Sorry dear that I'm complaining... But your moral support and a shoulder to cry on is nothing to beat... sob sob..and that is the reason why I need u by my side most of the time...when I get into trouble ... haha..

6) I am adding a little bit of salt(probably 1/4 tsp), a few tsp of corn flour(2tsp I think) and a bit of citric acid. The salt tone down the sweetness of the candy and that is good. The corn flour... urmmm I don't know really whether it works or not to curb the candy stickiness. Since this time, I've oiled everything pretty perfectly, I didn't get the sticky problem. I think I'll add them again in my next attempt. And the citric acid.... arghh.. I really don't know how much I need. Long time ago, I added too much and the candy irritates my throat although the sourness was acceptable. This time, the sourness didn't show up at all. How to balance this? Next time I think I'll try for 3/4 tsp of citric acid for this amount of sugar.

7) I cooked the sugar to about 293F as compared to 280F I did before. Cooking it to ~290F makes the candy harder. Cooking it to 280F makes it a bit chewier and the texture became more like the kiwi candy. (Actually I don't know whether the final cooked temp or rather the amount of agitation involved as the defining factor on the resulting candy texture. I believe its the temp). In fact the recipe in Peter Grewling stated to cook it to 313F, but I did not, coz I don't want it to be too hard.

Output

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Chocolate Syrup Recipe

Found this homemade recipe for Chocolate Syrup. Di zaman kemelesetan ekonomi ni ok jugak dapat buat sendiri all these things. The ingrediensts are simple and its definitely a lot less cheaper.... Enjoy it with your ice creams, with your morning bowl of cereals and whatever u can think of. I believe u can also make it in the microwave for convenience purposes if u like.. So enjoy..

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup cocoa
  
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 dash salt

Directions

1. Combine cocoa, sugar, and salt in a saucepan.
2. Add water, and mix until smooth.
3. Bring this mixture to a boil
4. Allow it to boil for one minute, be careful this does not over boil.
5. Remove from heat, when this cools add the vanilla.

Science of candy - The cold water sugar test VS Candy Thermometer.

Candy Basic
The most basic apparatus u need to make candy is a Candy Thermometer... and so they say. Dangg.... where the hell would I get to buy that? (Actually in KL , there are a few shops selling it.. I'll tell you where later on). But since its probably not an item which is commonly sought for I guess, the price are a little too pricey. Not unless u're planning to be a serious candymaker or just have a hefty sum of money boiling out of the ATM machine, then buying a candy thermometer would be your last thought. But don't despair yet..... There's a no-fail method that have been used during the old times probably even before any candy scientist exist... which is the cold water test.

The basic idea about candy making is boiling sugar and water until the water evaporates from the solution, making the concentration higher, and the temperature rises as this happens. (Remember my chemistry lab upon the mention of this.. who wouldn't hahahah..) Therefore, the temperature or rather the different stages the sugar is cooked, is the one determining the final product of your candy. The ideas are simple, the longer u cook it, the harder your candy will be. So, fondants are cooked at less time than lollipops will.

Anyway, lets start it by having the chart:

Candy Temperature Chart

Name	Temp	Description	Usage
Thread	223-235* F	The syrup drips from a spoon, forms thin threads in water	Glacé and candied fruits
Soft ball	235-245* F	The syrup easily forms a ball while in the cold water, but flattens once removed	Fudge and fondant
Firm ball	245-250* F	The syrup is formed into a stable ball, but loses its round shape once pressed	Caramel candies
Hard ball	250-266* F	The syrup holds its ball shape, but remains sticky	Divinity and marshmallows
Soft crack	270-290* F	The syrup will form firm but pliable threads	Nougat and taffy.
Hard crack	300-310* F	The syrup will crack if you try to mold it	Brittles and lollipops
Caramel	320-350* F	The sugar syrup will turn golden at this stage	Pralines

Caution: Please be careful when working with hot sugar, you can seriously burn yourself.

The Cold Water Test
Below are the various stages of the sugar and a video of the testing in cold water method. When using cold water, it should be cold water, water in your freezer, not "air masak" yg dah sejuk or tap water during the rainy days in Malaysia ok... huhuhu. These are infos I gathered from another page. So, u may end up somewhere else by clicking on the video. Do come back to this site when that happens. I'll be waiting....

Thread Stage 230° F–235° F sugar concentration: 80% At this relatively low temperature, there is still a lot of water left in the syrup. When you drop a little of this syrup into cold water to cool, it forms a liquid thread that will not ball up. Cooking sugar syrup to this stage gives you not candy, but syrup—something you might make to pour over ice cream.
1. Soft-Ball Stage 235° F–240° F sugar concentration: 85% At this temperature, sugar syrup dropped into cold water will form a soft, flexible ball. If you remove the ball from water, it will flatten like a pancake after a few moments in your hand. Fudge, pralines, and fondant are made by cooking ingredients to the soft-ball stage.	Quicktime | RealPlayer
2. Firm-Ball Stage 245° F–250° F sugar concentration: 87% Drop a little of this syrup in cold water and it will form a firm ball, one that won’t flatten when you take it out of the water, but remains malleable and will flatten when squeezed. Caramels are cooked to the firm-ball stage.	Quicktime | RealPlayer
3. Hard-Ball Stage 250° F–265° F sugar concentration: 92% At this stage, the syrup will form thick, "ropy" threads as it drips from the spoon. The sugar concentration is rather high now, which means there’s less and less moisture in the sugar syrup. A little of this syrup dropped into cold water will form a hard ball. If you take the ball out of the water, it won’t flatten. The ball will be hard, but you can still change its shape by squashing it. Nougat, marshmallows, gummies, divinity, and rock candy are cooked to the hard-ball stage.	Quicktime | RealPlayer
4. Soft-Crack Stage 270° F–290° F sugar concentration: 95% As the syrup reached soft-crack stage, the bubbles on top will become smaller, thicker, and closer together. At this stage, the moisture content is low. When you drop a bit of this syrup into cold water, it will solidify into threads that, when removed from the water, are flexible, not brittle. They will bend slightly before breaking. Saltwater taffy and butterscotch are cooked to the soft-crack stage.	Quicktime | RealPlayer
5. Hard-Crack Stage 300° F–310° F Sugar concentration: 99% The hard-crack stage is the highest temperature you are likely to see specified in a candy recipe. At these temperatures, there is almost no water left in the syrup. Drop a little of the molten syrup in cold water and it will form hard, brittle threads that break when bent. CAUTION: To avoid burns, allow the syrup to cool in the cold water for a few moments before touching it! Toffee, nut brittles, and lollipops are all cooked to the hard-crack stage. Note : There are few places that sells candy thermometer in KL, such as Bake With Yen.. ( I think it cost approximately around 100 ringgit. You can also find in shops carrying Wilton products such as the ICCA shop in PJ and the newly opened Wilton Shop in Dataran Sunway Damansara.But surely the would be a bit da bomb la kan...

Lollipops Recipe

Who doesn't like lollipops? Please leave this page immediately. Coz what I'll be showing u here are gonna be very graphic he he he... On how to make lollipops.

Actually, bukan susah pun nak buat lollipop ni. It uses basic ingredients. However, some of the ingredients are not found on the supermarket or kedai Ah Chai kat sebelah rumah tu. Instead, u can definitely find it in the bakery ingredients store. Anyway, without further much ado.. here they are . I'll try to explain a bit on the ingredients and some tricks we can do for us kat mesia ni, kalu nak wat lollipop ni. Anyway, any basic lollipop recipe u can find on the internet actually works. This one pun I got it from About.com with additional secret ingredient..(cream of tartar..) now its no more a secret.. duhhh...

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup light corn syrup ( gantikan dengan glucose syrup ataupun maltose)
  
• ¼ cup water
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• ¾ tsp extract/flavorings of your choice (vanilla, mint, strawberry, apple, etc)
• Food coloring (optional)
• Lollipop molds and sticks ( kalau tak ada pun xper. Sticks boleh gunakan lidi satay, mold boleh guna jelly mold yang kecik.)

Preparation:

1. Prepare your molds by spraying them with nonstick cooking spray and inserting lollipop sticks into the molds.

** variations : Boleh sapukan sedikit minyak masak ataupun shortening ke dalam loyang ataupun jelly mold.

2. Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Insert the candy thermometer and stir until sugar dissolves.

** variations : Masukkan gula , glucose syrup & air ke dalam periuk kecik. Put it on medium high heat. Keep on stirring until all the sugar has dissolved. Once all the sugar has dissolved, and the sugar starts boiling, add in the Cream of tartar and STOP stirring. Sekiranya glucose syrup tu susah nak handle, just nuke it in the microwave sekejap jer.. It will melt

a bit and is much more easier to handle. Another thing, periuk tu lebih senang kalau ada non-stick pan. And another tips I can tell is that, lightly oil the pan before u put in everything. This will make less sugar sticking to your pan during the boiling later on.

3. Allow to boil, without stirring, until candy reaches 295 degrees (hard-crack stage).

** note : make sure u do not stir this thing. Otherwise your lollipop wi ll be grainy later. Another thing, gunakan tuala basah and wrap it around a fork or something to wipe the sugar splashes around the pan. Do this with precaution k, coz we don't want to end up with lollipops and skin grafts fillings in it.. Another important note, IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A CANDY THERMOMETER........ do read my instructions on how to measure sugar crack stage menggunakan air sejuk.

4. Once the candy reaches 295, remove it from heat. Stir in the flavoring/extract of your choice, and, if desired, food coloring.

5. Spoon the candy into the mold cavities, making sure to cover the back o

f the stick.

** variations : DO NOT SCRAPE THE PAN for the leftovers.. it will make your lollipop grainy!!

6. Allow to cool completely and remove once hardened. So, there u go, your own handmade and homemade lollipop.

Additional Tip for cleaning up.

The thing I'm not keen of when making lollipop is the cleaning up. So, just a simple tip here, don't scrape off the sugar with spoons or your fingernails or etc etc.. What u can do is put in like a cup of water into the pan laden with sugar leftovers and boil it. The sugar will melt. It is easier this way than having to scrape the bottom of your pan with the "berus gosok periuk". And actually, u can use the sugar water solution to make ur "air gula" for making your sunquik drinks.. or sirap bandung or whatever .... jimat jimat.... Ok uols... happy lollicking...

Lollipop land art by deWhin.

Gambar hanyalah sekadar hiasan...

2009 Blog resolution

First off, well.. ni dah masuk bulan Feb, and only now would I want to make my 2009 resolution kikiki... Well, to be frank, I make my resolutions every now and then, whenever I feel like it.. So, whether new year ke tidak, it doesn't matter to me. What matters is, I think my blog needs and update huhuhu.. So that its more action packed... more know hows, more recipes, more products and more more more...

So, to start with, I've made a new header for the blog ... wuhuuuuuu... That's a tough one. I spent my whole weekend trying to work on Photoshop for this. Cantik ke tidak... whatever la.. as long as there's one. And I've changed the page again to fit it into 3 columns like the original template... duh.... I hope it's much more presentable this way.

Anyway,for u guys out there, do check us out often. Insyallah, I'll try my best to keep this tiny place updated ok.. So, take care everyone.

Anyway, for those who are keen on trying your hands in candymaking, I hope I'll be able to answer all your questions and help u guys... do leave some notes on the comments or the shoutbox and I'm more than happy to help u guys whatever I can.

So, take care uolss and happy candymaking...

Lime Creams

Lime Creams are a zesty, refreshing cream fondant candy dipped in smooth white chocolate. If you prefer, you can omit the chocolate step and serve the creams plain, topped with candied lime zest, or rolled in sugar or green sprinkles.

Ingredients:

4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1/4 cup butter, softened

3 tbsp lime juice

1/8 tsp salt

3/4 cup marshmallow cream

3 tsp chopped lime zest

5 drops green food coloring

1 lb white chocolate

1 tbsp shortening

Green candy food coloring (optional)

Preparation:

1. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.

2. Combine 2 cups of powdered sugar, butter, marshmallow cream, lime juice, salt, lime zest, and food coloring in a large mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until smooth and evenly incorporated.

3. Slowly add the rest of the powdered sugar in batches, stopping often to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until well blended. If mixture is too stiff, add a bit more lime juice. If it is too sticky, add a bit more powdered sugar.

4. Roll into balls ¾ inch in diameter, and place on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.

5. Chill for 30 minutes in refrigerator before dipping.

6. Melt the white chocolate with the shortening in the microwave or over a double boiler. If you are coloring the chocolate, stir in the candy food coloring at this point.

7. Dip the cream centers in the melted chocolate one by one and return to the baking sheet. After all centers are dipped, return the sheet to the refrigerator to set the candies before serving. Candies can be topped with a sliver of lime zest, if desired.

** note :

This recipe is excerpted from About.com.

Lemon Creams

Ingredients:

• 5 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 2.5 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup marshmallow cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp lemon zest
• 5 drops yellow food coloring
• 1 lb chocolate to dip--your choice

Preparation:

1. Prepare by placing a large mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer to chill. Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.

2. Temper the chocolate and place it in a warm (but not hot) spot to retain its temperature.

3. Combine 2 cups of powdered sugar, butter, marshmallow cream, lemon juice, salt, vanilla, rind, and food coloring in a large mixing bowl. Mix on medium speed until smooth and evenly incorporated.

4. Slowly add the rest of the powdered sugar in batches, stopping often to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until well blended.

5. Roll into balls ¾ inch in diameter, and place on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil.

6. Chill for 20 minutes in refrigerator before dipping.

7.Re-warm chocolate if necessary. Using dipping tools or two forks, dip creams one by one in chocolate and place on baking sheet. Allow to set before serving.

**Note : This recipe is excerpted from About.com

Raspberry Creams

Raspberry creams can be rolled in chopped nuts, or dipped in chocolate or melted fondant. You can use store-bought or Basic Fondant for this recipe.

* 3/4 lb fondant
* 1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
* 1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar, plus extra for dusting
* 1/4 tsp lemon juice
* Red food coloring

Preparation:

1. Place the jam in a small saucepan over very low heat, and cook it, stirring often, until it reduces to about 1/4 cup. The goal is to cook out the excess moisture, so that the creams will not be too moist and sticky. Once the jam is reduced, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature.

2. Dust your workstation and your hands with powdered sugar. Knead the fondant until it is soft and pliable. Roll it until it is about an inch thick, and cut several slits in the fondant.

3. Pour the jam, lemon juice and a few drops of red food coloring into the fondant, and sprinkle the powdered sugar over the top. Knead until the ingredients and color are evenly distributed throughout.

4. Pinch off small sections of fondant, and roll them into a ball between your palms. Place the creams on a baking sheet to set. Allow them to set in a cool room overnight before dipping them in chocolate or melted fondant.

** Note : This recipe is excerpted from About.com