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I seriously need some help with candy making

  • Thread starter Clint
  • Start date
Clint

Clint

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I figured out why my key lime pie ruined. I added 1/8th of the sugar that the meringue needed, so it collapsed and the water ruined the filling. I made another one (two actually, just in case...) and they turned out perfect. BUT Now I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong with fudge! Kids make this crap all the time and I'm making batch after batch trying to get it right, and it always comes out grainy and crumbly.

I'm using a candy thermometer that I know is right because I tested it with boiling water. I add the margarine (1/4th cup), sugar (1 cup), milk (1/2 cup), and a pinch of salt. I boil to the soft ball stage 240 degrees on low heat, then remove it and mix in the peanut butter (1/2 cup) and vanilla extract ( 1/2 tsp). I stir enough to mix it in while it's a liquid.

At first, I went ahead, stirred, and poured it out and let it cool. That method left me with grainy, crumbly (relatively dry) fudge. I tried stirring it just enough to mix it up, then stop and let it sit until it cools to 110 degrees. Then I read to stir it up then and at that temperature it's already too hard to work with. It just crumbles. It's not stirrable. I have tried cooking while stirring continuously until it reaches the soft ball stage, and I also tried stirring until it boils and then stopping stirring. I should mention I wash the sides of the sautier (I've tried sautier and pot, BTW.).

What am I doing wrong? I'm ready to give up. It's really dry, crumbly, and grainy. I should mention I've tried using butter over margarine, also tried using 10 x powdered sugar over granulated sugar but it doesn't seem to matter since it melts anyway. I've tried adding a little extra milk and/ or butter (not at the same batch), but it doesn't help. All of my ingredients are measured properly, and Ive tried a few different recipes.
 
I'm not a baker and I have no experience with fudge.

You should try to add that marshmallow in a jar stuff, I forgot the name. I have heard that will make the fudge more moist.

Clint, do you realize how hard it is to keep all the jokes to myself?
 
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Maybe try warming the peanut butter before adding it. It sounds like the sugar mixture is cooling too fast and is recrystalizing. Heavy or thick pots cool more slowly too.
 
Watch it, Mark. You're really on thin ice with me. If you're not careful I won't share my Spotted D ick with recipe with you :) You've already lost the right to know my kumquat pudding recipe. Don't test me :)

I should also mention I tried adding the peanut butter to it when I boil, so it can't be that the peanut butter (also tried different brands) is cold. Plus I'm in Georgia and it's pretty warm right now. Could it be humidity? I also didn't let the thermometer touch the pot/sautier, and they were like.. aluminum I guess.
 
I'm hurt that you didn't even acknowledge my suggestion.

[If you're not careful I won't share my Spotted D ick recipe with you/QUOTE]

No thanks I like tuna (hold the spots)
Click to expand...
 
I didn't want to make fudge with marshmallow cream... maybe I'm stuck up but I wanted to do it the old fashioned way. Although I did try adding velveta.. and that was a disaster. It was floating in it's own grease and tasted like crap. And it was still grainy and crumbly, but now just greasy.

And that would have been way funnier had you said Cherry pie instead of Tuna. You're losing your touch, old man :-O :)
 
I'm sorry but adding velveta to fudge sounds nastier than spotted d ick
 
Well if you can wait till tomorrow I'll ask my wife. She was able to mae gads of the stuff past 2 years for Xmas so she knows what to do...
 
Old fashioned fudge is really no fun. Unless you're a candy maker whose done it a million times and can tell if it's in soft ball stage just by looking at it, there's never really any gaurantee it will come out. Personally I'd find myself a really good candy store and pay an extra couple dollars for something you know will be good. If you're stuck on doing it yourself you'll get better at it the more you do it but you may still have many bad batches of fudge to go yet before you get it right.
 
  • #10
Well I talked to a family friend who used to turn this stuff out by the platter full every Christmas. She said the trick is getting the right temp (don't under or over cook) and in the stirring - once you start don't stop for any reason until the thick smooth texture is obtained. Finding the right speed and pressure is a matter of trial and error but once you get the knack it should stay with you.
 
  • #11
Wait a minute.....you added Velveta to your fudge?? You mean the cheese? Yuckers! :scratch:
 
  • #12
It was Paula Dean's idea.

Is the trick in stirring while it's boiling, or after it's been removed? Because I know the way you stir affects the sugar crystal formation after it's been removed... and that, and the moisture aspect, is what's getting me.
 
  • #13
It's all about the CRYSTALS! :D

The trick with fudge is you do not want to get any "seed crystals" into your mixture or it will breed more and larger crystals and you'll have grainy fudge. Fine crystals = creamy...larger crystals = grainy.

"If just one undissolved sugar crystal drops from your stirring spoon or a piece of big dust happened by, or if you just gave the mixture a little shake the molecules would start to collide together, and form into what is called a seed crystal. And seed crystals can result in very grainy messes."

Use a heavy-duty 2-quart saucepan and a wooden spoon. Wood does not conduct heat.

2 3/4 Cups Sugar
4 oz. Unsweeteened Chocolate
2 Tbs. Butter
1 Tbs. Corn Syrup
1 Cup Half & Half

Stir this mixture over medium heat until the chocolate and all the sugar is dissolved. When you are sure that all the sugar is dissolved, increase the heat and bring to a boil. Use a candy thermometer to check the temperature (234). Once it hits boiling...

Reduce the heat to medium-low and slap on a lid for three minutes. This is the point in time when crystallization could occur on the side of the vessel. We don't want that. The lid will cause condensation. Condensation will keep the walls clean. Three minutes.

Just turn it off and leave the pot alone. It will get a little hotter, but then it's going to start cooling down, and we want it to cool down to 110 degrees.

Don't shake it or stir it. Just let it sit or you could cause crystals to start bumping into each other growing larger crystals.

At 110 degrees, add two pats of butter to keep the surface from drying out. Start hand mixing with your wooden spoon. The faster you beat, the finer the crystals are going to be. And now watch it because when the shine goes to a sort of a matte finish, that means it's getting close. You can slow down. But now you want to test it. Do a blob, and if it falls in a clump, it's thick enough, and it's time to put it in a pan. Add vanilla and nuts at this point if you want them.

Use a spatula to spread the mixture into your buttered pan to cool.

It's all science related. *bowing in homage to Alton Brown* You are lucky...you don't live far from the science-food meister.

Here is the full transcript for the fudge episode of Good Eats:

http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/Season7/Fudge/fudgefactor.htm

I haven't made this but I can't imagine its not....GOOD EATS. lol
 
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  • #14
A lid! Good idea! One problem is that whenever my last batch got down to 110, it had already hardened and there was NO way to stir it. That really surprised me because the recipe I went by said to stir after you let it sit and cool down to 110, and by that time is was already crappy fudge.

Alton brown is so lame, but I like him. Do you know how much Peanut butter I'd add in place of chocolate?

About the person who said I should just buy it, it's not so much that I just like fudge lol. I enjoy cooking and making things myself. I've never made candy, however.
 
  • #15
Yeah, my friend was talking about the final stirring in the cool down phase.

Here's some more on the physical chemistry of fudge making. It says you can counter the tendency to crystalize too early by using a couple types of sugar - add corn syrup (glucose) or a bit of cream of tartar that breaks sucrose down to glucose and fructose. Plenty of other tips like not scraping the sides or bottom of the pot (crystal seeds) etc. Interesting stuff!

http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF8/871.html
 
  • #16
Awww! Alton Brown is NOT lame! :nono: He's funny...he's all about the science...and he's cute. I luv him.

I don't know about the peanut butter (I love peanut butter fudge). I got all that stuff from the Good Eats transcript because I know that A.B. understands the science of good fudge. Why don't you drive over to Marietta and ask him? :rolleyes:

:D
 
  • #17
PAK beat me to it... Also, yeah, humidity might be trouble. Fudge is hard - you might try starting with something easier like temperpd chocolate and truffles (tempering is forgiving and truffles have little regard for temperature at all.) Good luck and stick with it - candy skills are very valuable on a kitchen resumé. Plus, you'll never have to buy gifts again.
~Joe
 
  • #20
ROFL Everything is Better with Butter. :D
 
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