Old-Fashioned Hard Candy Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How was hard candy made? ›

Recipes for hard candy use a sugar syrup, such as sucrose, glucose or fructose. This is heated to a particular temperature, at which point the candy maker removes it from the heat source and may add citric acid, food dye, and some flavouring, such as a plant extract, essential oil, or flavourant.

Hard candy is primarily made of fructose and glucose syrups mixed with purified water, flavorings, and colorings. Each ingredient needs to be prepared and heated according to the specifications for the desired product, before being mixed together.

If the candy cools too quickly, set it on a saucepan over hot water to soften it, but if it gets sticky, return at once to the work counter. Toss in a small amount of powdered sugar to keep from sticking together.

Hard candies can last up to one year if they're stored properly. Keep it in a cool, dry place away from humidity and heat. The coating of powdered sugar at the end of the recipe helps to keep hard candies from absorbing moisture from the air.

Hard candies, also known as lollipops follies, suckers, or boiled sweets, are generally made of sucrose, glucose, water, colour and flavour. Hard candies have retained their market share, especially with children, even with the proliferation of new candy varieties.

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.

Preventing sugar crystallization.

Cream of tartar can prevent your homemade hard candy, caramel, and toffee from forming a gritty texture due to sugar crystallization.

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Provides Smooth Texture: Corn syrup helps to create a smooth and glossy texture in candies, ensuring that they are not grainy or gritty.

In hard candy making, it is important to cook all the water out of the sugar/corn syrup/water mixture. 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.

When to add citric acid to hard candy? ›

Typically, a hard candy mixture includes sugar, water, and corn syrup. Once you have your basic mixture ready, and just before it reaches the hard-crack stage (about 300°F), it's time to add the citric acid.

Quickly pour the syrup into lightly oiled molds or on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and let harden. To prevent the candy from sticking, dust finished pieces with powdered sugar.

If the candy forms a firm but not hard ball, it is in the firm ball stage. The temperature of this stage is between 242—248°F. Caramels are cooked to the firm ball stage. If the candy forms thick threads when it drips from the spoon, it is in the hard ball stage or 250°—265°F.

Hard candy - Hard candies can last up to a year when stored at room temperature or in a cool, dry location.

This hard candy recipe can easily be adjusted by using different flavored extracts and food colorings. The hardest part is waiting for the sugar to reach the proper temperature. Be patient and use a candy thermometer for perfect candy.

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Origins. Islamic writers in the first half of the 9th century described the production of candy sugar, where crystals were grown through cooling supersaturated sugar solutions. One of the famed makers of rock candy in the Muslim east is Hafiz Mustafa in 1864 in Istanbul founded during the reign of Sultan Abdulaziz.

A supersaturated solution is unstable—it contains more solute (in this case, sugar) than can stay in solution—so as the temperature decreases, the sugar comes out of the solution, forming crystals. The lower the temperature, the more molecules join the sugar crystals, and that is how rock candy is created.

The process of turning sugar into a hard, smooth, transparent confection involves heating a sugar/corn syrup/water solution to 300 – 310° F. {150 - 155° C.}, or what is known as the hard crack stage of sugar. The use of a candy thermometer is not essential, but highly recommended and accuracy is critical.