20 Easy Candy Recipes Perfect for Beginners (2024)

FAQs

What are the basic ingredients in candy? ›

Sweeteners. 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.

Hard candy making is easy, but does involve high temperatures. Caution should be used at all times when cooking and handling the hot sugar. Have a bowl of ice water on hand just in case of accidental exposure.

Principal Ingredients

The most commonly used is a sugar called sucrose, which is derived from sugarcane or sugar beets. Other sweeteners are honey, molasses, maple sugar, corn sugar, and corn syrup. Some candies are made with such artificial, noncaloric sweeteners as saccharin or aspartame.

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.

Not only are you crafting adorable miniature versions of your favorite foods, but you are also preparing yourself a tasty treat to enjoy once the crafting fun is done. Made with edible ingredients, they are as safe to consume as they are delightful to craft and eat.

What Age Can My Child Eat Candy? Children under 2 shouldn't have any candy (more on that below) and The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that children ages 5 and younger should not be given hard candies or gum.

300° F–310° F

sugar concentration: 99% 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.

If you ever wonder what gives off a burst of tartness, then it is likely citric acid. Citric acid is derived from lemons, grapefruit, and other citrus fruits. As you can imagine, this is what causes the sour tang to many sour sweets.

What is a candy maker called? ›

confectioner. / (kənˈfɛkʃənə) / noun. a person who makes or sells sweets or confections.

Soft-ball stage (235–240 degrees Fahrenheit): When you transfer a small amount of syrup to cold water, it forms a soft, pliable ball. Sugar at this stage is used for fondant, fudge, pralines, and Italian meringue.

Candies that are both hard and sugary pose multiple threats to your teeth. The sugar of these candies cause tooth decay and can lead to more serious problems. Chewing these hard candies exposes your teeth to chipping or even tooth damage. You could even cut your mouth if you are not careful.

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.

Hard candies are also potentially very dangerous for your teeth. If you have a habit of biting on or chewing hard candies, this could weaken, crack, or even break your teeth. Do not bite on hard candies because it may damage your teeth.

The ingredients include milk, sometimes sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup, sugar, oil, whey, calcium carbonate, salt, flavor, butter, another type of fat such as vegetable oil, molasses, and corn starch.

The traditional gummy bear is made from a mixture of sugar, glucose syrup, starch, flavoring, food coloring, citric acid and gelatin. However, recipes vary, such as organic candy, those suitable for vegetarians or those following religious dietary laws. Production uses a specialized machine called a starch mogul.