Homemade Candy Recipes: 30+ recipes from chocolate to hard candy! (2024)

FAQs

What is the hard crack in candy making? ›

300° F–310° F

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.

Humidity is the enemy of hard candy. It will turn it into hard, sticky, goo. I'd try sealing a few pieces in an air-tight container along with some dry rice (or better, silica gel packets) and see if that works better. Instead of powdered sugar, try dusting the candies with a tiny bit of cornstarch.

Instead of using molds, you can pour your hot candy onto a greased cookie sheet or other heat-resistant surface, then when the candy has cooled slightly, score it into a checkerboard pattern with a sharp knife. When the candy cools, it can be broken into small, square pieces.

Candy is made by dissolving sugar in water or milk to form a syrup, which is boiled until it reaches the desired concentration or starts to caramelize. The type of candy depends on the ingredients and how long the mixture is boiled. Candy comes in a wide variety of textures, from soft and chewy to hard and brittle.

Cream of tartar can prevent your homemade hard candy, caramel, and toffee from forming a gritty texture due to sugar crystallization. Adding a pinch of cream of tartar to your sugar syrup will help break down the sugar molecules and stop them from crystalizing early on.

Finally, if the candy forms hard, brittle strands that easily break, the candy is at the hard crack stage, between 300°—310°F. Butter toffee and peanut brittle are examples of candies cooked to this temperature.

If the sugar mixture is not cooked to the proper temperature (the hard-crack stage 300-310° F {149-154° C.} or if you are working in a kitchen with high humidity, chances are your candy is retaining too much moisture.

This is crystallization and it is sometime happens with hard candies. Crystallization can happen from storage conditions or other factors. There is very low moisture content in hard candy, which prevents mold from growing.

Generally, this type of mold is translucent and can only withstand heat to a moderate temperature. Ideally, you can use hard candy molds to make chocolates, but you cannot use chocolate molds to make hard candy.

Start by mixing the vitamin B2 pill and 150 ml of water. Then you will have to add the sugar and slowly heat the the mixture, while stirring until it's boiling. Let it cook until it has about 300°F, add the mint oil and the food colouring and immediately pour it into the forms.

How do you make hard candy flowers? ›

There are seven stages of candy making: thread, soft-ball, firm-ball, hard-ball, soft-crack, hard-crack, and caramel.

The first candy was used by the Ancient Egyptians for cult purposes. In ancient times, Egyptians, Arabs, and Chinese made candies with fruits and nuts that caramelized with honey. The two oldest candy types are licorice and ginger. The historical roots of licorice are found in the early years of man's appearance.

Sugar, mainly sucrose from sugar beets or sugarcane, is the major constituent of most candies. Other sweeteners employed in candy manufacture include corn syrup, corn sugar, honey, molasses, maple sugar, and noncaloric sweeteners. Sweeteners may be used in dry or liquid form.

Next is soft-crack stage, this happens between 270-290oF, sugar concentration is 95%, and forms solid, flexible threads. Hard-crack stage occurs between 300-310oF, sugar concentration is around 99%, and makes hard, brittle threads when dropped in water.

The difference between a hard ball and soft crack is that at hard ball stage, the sugar forms a firm but pliable ball rather than threads. The difference between soft crack and hard crack is that at the hard crack, the threads will not bend and will simply break if you try to bend them.

Most people agree that toffee is cooked to soft crack stage, which is at temperature of 135°C – 140°C (275°F – 284°F), or hard crack stage which occurs at temperature of 145°C – 155°C (293°F – 311°F). More precisely, this candy is usually cooked at temperatures from 140°C – 150°C (284°F – 302°F).

Continue boiling, uncovered, not stirring the mixture but shaking the saucepan occasionally to distribute the heat as the mixture turns amber in about 9 minutes, then darker amber as it registers 305 degrees on the thermometer (hard-crack stage ), about 3 minutes longer.