Pull Candy Recipe - making candy the old fashioned way (2024)

FAQs

Why do candy makers pull candy? ›

Using hands, the batch is repeatedly pulled and put back for at least 30-60 minutes. This is necessary to help incorporate air bubbles into the batch. Aeration of the batch helps in making the candies lighter thus easy to chew. Pulling is done repeatedly until the batch turns white.

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.

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.

You can lay a sheet of wax paper flat on a clean surface or inside the airtight container you plan to use and place the candies across it, making sure they do not touch. You can continue to fill the container by placing another layer of wax paper on top of the first layer of candy and repeating the process.

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.

The two oldest candy types are licorice and ginger. The historical roots of licorice are found in the early years of man's appearance. In particular, many licorice were eaten by Pharaohs and Prophets. The licorice comes from a plant called “Glycyrrhiza” which in Greek means «sweet root».

Corn Syrup: Solid sugars aren't the only sweeteners used in candy making. Liquid sweeteners like corn syrup are incredibly common for making hard candies since using corn syrup creates a smooth texture. Invert Sugar: If you're making candy in bulk, consider using invert sugar, a sugar made primarily of sucrose.

In general, candy is made by dissolving sugar into water to create a solution. Granulated sugar, the most common type used in candy-making, is sucrose, a disaccharide molecule made up of glucose and fructose.

Vinegar is acetic acid, which reacts only with certain kinds of substances and sugar is not one of them. In fact candy might dissolve more slowly in vinegar. Since acetic acid molecules don't dissolve sugar as well as water. Acids don't break up compounds in your food.

Why won't my homemade candy harden? ›

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.

Most candies will keep 2 to 3 weeks (if not longer) if stored tightly covered in a cool, dry place or in the refrigerator. It's best to avoid storing different types of candy together in the same container because hard candies will become soft and sticky, and soft candies will dry out.

The process of pulling taffy adds air to the taffy mixture, which in recent years has been made from corn syrup and sugar. The process of adding air to the taffy is important to keep it soft. Adding the aeration to the taffy will also make it lighter and chewier.

It's fitting that folks have stretched the truth about taffy over the years, since stretching is an essential step in the taffy-making process. Stretching or “pulling” the cooked mixture aerates the candy, creating the tiny bubbles that give taffy its magnificently chewy consistency.

(Most people seek out the candy aisle primarily on Halloween or other holidays.) Stores put small, cheap items for quick consumption nearest the register because they're easier for customers to toss into their carts instead of, say, an eight-pack of paper towels.

Throwing Candies On The Ground

In Candy Box 2, throwing 1,630 candies on the ground results in receiving a chocolate bar. When you throw candies on the ground, you are displayed a message: You threw 10 candies on the ground. You threw 20 candies on the ground...