Home Candy Makers

“ A color may look dainty at night, but be hideous in day time, especially yellow and lavender. Colors and flavors should be delicate as the taste of the candy seems to improve with its appearance. When adding colors always add a little at a time. More may be added but none can be taken out.
You will find from experience that it will always be necessary to melt more fondant than you will need to coat the centers you have made, because you must have a certain amount in the double boiler in order to dip them successfully. ”

“ Take as much center cream as you wish, and put it into the double boiler with hot water underneath it, set on the fire and stir until it melts, and do not allow any water to get in with the cream. As soon as it is thin, color and flavor any way you wish, and let it remain on the stove until it gets good and hot. It must be hot or it will not harden in the starch, but remember the hotter you get it, the harder it will be after it is cool, and as you do not wish them to be too hard, be careful and not allow it to get too hot. ”

“ Very few people know how glucose is made and are under the impression that it is an injurious adulteration. Because glucose is used extensively in cheap candy, there is a certain amount of prejudice against it. ”

“ Always use winter wheat flour for cake baking. One pound of pure baking powder is composed of one-half pound cream of tartar, one-fourth pound of soda, and one-fourth pound of rice flour. In all recipes that call for baking powder, use just one-half as much cream of tartar as it calls for baking powder, and one-half as much soda as you use of cream of tartar; that is, if a recipe calls for two teaspoonfuls baking powder, you simply use one teaspoonful of cream of tartar and a scant half teaspoonful soda. ”

“ The ordinary gelatine cannot be used as a substitute.
Nonparaf must be used instead of paraffine in all candy made for sale, on account of the pure food laws. It is used in chewing taffy and caramels; it keeps them in shape and preserves their good qualities. It may be omitted, but by so doing a certain chewing quality of the candy is destroyed.
Chocolate. Only coating chocolate should be used for candy making because it is stronger in flavor and imparts a delicate taste such as no other kind does. It may be bought of any confectioner, who makes his own candy, in ten pound cakes. ”

“ Take the desired amount of chocolate; break it into pieces, put them in a double boiler, and place it over the fire. The heat of the water in the lower part of the boiler melts the chocolate. Do not put on a lid or add water because moisture or water that gets into the chocolate ruins it for chocolate coating, but it may be used for cocoa or baking. In most cases where the chocolate becomes too thick to coat with, you can save it by adding cocoa butter, of which we will tell you later on. Stir the chocolate occasionally while melting, to help break up the lumps. ”

“ The condition of the weather plays an important part in candy making, especially in the chocolate coating. Never attempt to coat on a rainy day, as the moisture in the air, prevents the chocolate from setting quickly, and the chocolates become grey. Dry weather is by far the most satisfactory, as the chocolate is easier to handle, works better, and coats with more luster. ”

“ As nearly all bon-bons are made in the same manner, we will explain very carefully how to make one or two kinds, and after you understand the idea, you may make any shape, color, or flavor you desire. We will now tell you how to make pink, rose flavor bon-bons, in several shapes. Take a small amount of bon-bon cream, and from one third to one half as much ground cherries and citron (see article on Bon-Bon Fillings) as you have bon-bon cream, and with your hands work and knead them well together. ”

“ Marshmallows cut in two and dipped are also very fine. Candied cherries are really the prettiest fruit that you can dip in this manner, as they show up very nicely in decorating a box. As soon as you see your syrup commencing to get cloudy looking, you must stop dipping, and as quickly as possible, scrape the remaining syrup out into a kettle, and it may be used for making table syrup but must not be used for this work again. It will be necessary for you to cook more sugar in the same manner as you did before, if you are not through dipping. ”

“ The non-paraff may be left out entirely if you wish, as that is simply put in to make them retain their shape after being cut up. In stirring it, do so very gently, but aim to cover the whole bottom of the kettle. If you stir it hard [44] they might possibly sugar for you, and your only idea in stirring is to keep them from sticking. It is very essential to use glucose in order to make a good caramel. If you should overcook it and they are too brittle, or undercook it and they are too soft, the batch may be put back in the kettle with a little more milk or cream, and cooked again. ”

“ That is, when you have dipped about a dozen pieces of candy, you must set them in the refrigerator, so that the chocolate on them will harden quickly. In cold weather you will not have to use a refrigerator, but you must set the chocolates in a cool place as soon as you have about a dozen pieces coated. In real cold weather they may harden very quickly after being placed on the tray. Remember, you must have them cool quickly after being coated, for if they do not, it is liable to make them grey or streaked, and this is as important as working the chocolate. ”

“ The thermometer is too expensive to take any risks. There is no danger of its breaking when put into the boiling syrup, for that is the use for which it is intended.
Always remember when making candy, that as soon as the thermometer registers the right degree, lift it out of the syrup very quickly, and set it in a pan of water and get your batch off the fire as soon as possible. You must move quickly, or the candy is liable to go up one or two degrees and that is sufficient to spoil your batch. ”

“ If you use maple syrup instead of maple sugar, allow two pounds of syrup for every pound of sugar desired. You will find this cream very sticky, and it takes longer to cream it up than the other, but it makes a delicious chocolate cream. Do not get discouraged and think it is not going to cream for you, for if you cooked it to the right degree, it will never fail to cream. ”

“ The egg whites have a peculiar action on the cream, and sometimes it sets very quickly and gets hard enough to handle easily, and at other times it seems as though it never will set, and even when it does, on such occasions it is very soft and difficult to coat. Each batch you make will probably vary a little from the other, owing to the peculiar nature of it, but it will all come out the same when coated, and allowed to stand awhile. ”

“ It does not make a particle of difference which way you beat your cake, or whether you put all of the flour or milk in at once or a little at a time, as some cake makers direct you to, so long as you beat it thoroughly, which is a very essential point. Always put all of the flour and milk in at once, as it is much easier than adding a little at a time. ”

“ You may use any combination of nuts or fruit that you wish in these centers, but always put in enough of either in order to have them taste sufficiently. We will now give a few ideas in regard to making other colored and flavored bon-bons, but if you have any ideas of your own you may adopt them.
Many candy makers make fine cream, but spoil it when melting the same because no matter how good the cream is, [32] it can be spoiled when a little too much heat is applied. ”

“ Ground pecans, English walnuts, hickory nuts, and Brazil nuts (sometimes called nigger toes) , are about the best nuts to use for centers. It is also best to grind as many of these at a time as possible, as they will not spoil in cold weather. Fresh grated cocoanut may also be used, by working it in your bon-bon cream, for centers of cocoanut bon-bons; but we will tell you a much nicer way to make a cocoanut filling later on. Any bon-bon with the ground fruit center in it will keep fresh much longer than one in which you use only nuts. ”

“ When almost cool, run a knife under the batch to loosen it from the slab. Then cut or saw the batch in bars as desired, but do this while it is yet warm. Have the raw peanuts ready so that when the thermometer registers 240 you can take it out, put in the paddle and peanuts [60] and start stirring immediately, and remember, if the fire is too hot, but not allowed to just simmer, it is liable to scorch the candy before the nuts are half roasted. It is best to wrap this candy in wax paper, or put it in air-tight cans or jars in wet weather. ”

“ If the syrup gets too cold, it may be reheated. Take the spun sugar carefully off the rods from time to time and fold it around a pan turned over, or roll it into nests or any form desired. Place the spun sugar under a glass globe as soon as made. Under an air tight globe with a piece of lime, it may be kept crisp for a day or two, but it readily gathers moisture, and it is better to make it the day it is to be used. Do not attempt to make it on a damp or rainy day, and do not have a boiling kettle in the room. ”

“ These nuts are much finer in flavor than the large peanut, and by using the raw ones and roasting them in the candy as we direct you in the recipe, you will find the flavor of your candy much nicer. Of course, if you wish to use peanuts for the centers of bon-bons or chocolate creams, any kind of roasted ones chopped up will answer the purpose.
In chopping your nuts, it is much better to lay them on the table and use a butcher knife with which to cut them up, than it is to put them in a bowl and use a chopping knife ”

“ As you get to the bottom you will find it thickens very quickly and you will have to add more water. Do not get into the habit of adding too much water while dipping the bon-bons as it will spoil their looks; it is liable to dilute the coating so that it will not be hard enough.
If you have melted too much it is not wasted. Have some shelled nuts ready and coat them after you have finished with the centers, or flavor the remaining cream with either peppermint or wintergreen, as these flavors will kill any flavor that you have used. With a spoon, drop it on wax paper in wafers. ”

“ If your batch should happen to grain and turn to sugar, put it back in the kettle with a little more glucose and another pint of cream or milk, stir over a slow fire to dissolve, then cook up as before. When these caramels are set or cold, mark them in perfect squares with a knife and one of the bars, then cut up with a large knife, in a sawing motion. If the milk curdles, do not stop stirring and set the batch off, but simply cook according to directions, and the curd will not show. These caramels should be wrapped in wax paper to prevent sticking together. ”

“ The ones that break may be chopped up and saved, to be used in the centers of the bon-bons.
Almonds are very easily cracked and you will have no trouble with them. Always crack hickory nuts on the edge. Black walnuts should be cracked on the broad side, as you never use them only in small pieces, and it is not necessary to use any care in cracking them. In some candies, these walnuts are finer than any other nut, as they give the candy a peculiar flavor, especially in caramels and different taffies. These are the ordinary walnuts that grow wild all over the country. ”

“ Cook until it is very brittle when dropped in water or until you can distinguish it just commencing to burn. Then take off the fire and pour it over about ten quarts of popped corn, stirring it constantly as you pour the syrup over it, so that it will all be covered, and as soon as this is done, it is best to scoop it out of the pan and spread it out on your slab somewhat, so that it will not pack down any, which it would do if you allowed it to remain in the pan. ”

“ Your cake should first raise in the oven, before it commences to brown on the top, if you wish to make a success of it. If you follow the directions exactly as written here, you need have no fear of your cake falling, from opening the oven doors and looking at it at any time, or from jarring the oven in any manner, as you may take any of these cakes out of the oven when they are only partially done, shake them around, then put them back in the oven, and they will raise perfectly, providing your oven is not too hot, and you mix these cakes exactly as we direct you. ”

“ Some candies boil up considerably and it is necessary to have a large kettle to avoid its running over. If you make only a pound or so of candy at a time, take a smaller kettle, so the syrup [9] will not scorch and that the bulb of our thermometer will be well down in the boiling syrup. If possible get a round bottom kettle, which is better than a flat one, because there are no edges for the syrup to stick to, and it is much easier to stir, especially those that must be stirred while cooking. ”