Tag: candy

Croccante: Italian Almond Candy Made into Tart Molds

Croccante: Italian Almond Candy Made into Tart Molds

Croquant is a French almond-caramelized sugar and lovely crispy confection that is eaten by itself or used in all sorts of sweet applications. Croquant is simply a mixture of almonds and sugar. I use chopped almonds for this, and this is different from the common 

Dakota Caramels

Dakota Caramels

Looking for a simple, straight forward caramel candy – but richly flavored? These caramels are flavored with molasses and brown sugar, and the recipe comes from the Rumford Complete Cookbook by Lily Haxworth Wallace, 1927. The recipe is missing from the updated 1929 version of 

Checking Sugar Stages Using The Cold Water Test Chart

Checking Sugar Stages Using The Cold Water Test Chart

Kitchen thermometers are about as common as skewers and are now in just about any supermarket’s kitchen supplies aisle. But what if you were making candy say 80 years ago and they weren’t so common, or more expensive than your budget allowed? Well, you’d still make candy; you’d just use the The Cold Water Test.

The Cold Water Test is a way to test the stages of sugar, which is indicated by the harness of the sugar when dropped into a cup of cold water. A very long time ago, I used the same test in the kitchen, not because I didn’t have a candy thermometer available, but I didn’t have enough of the them. When you are making several things all at once, or when you are staging several batches of whatever needs hard sugar, knowing what the sugar syrups look and feel like at their respective stages is very important.

The Cold Water Test Chart

Begin with a boiled sugar syrup. Gather a 2 cup clear glass liquid measure (such as Pyrex) and fill it half way with cold water. Not iced water, just cold water. Pour a teaspoon of the hot syrup into the cup of water and pick up the resulting sugar ball in the water. The table below tells you the approximate temperature reached by the look of the ball. You will notice as the sugar boils, it produces a thicker product with a darker color, too, as it cooks and continues to cook.

  • Soft Ball Stage – 236°F – 238°F
    You’ll get a soft ball that you can lift from the water.
  • Medium Soft Ball Stage – 238°F – 240°F
    You’ll get a soft ball that you can actually hold its shape for about a half a minute before losing it.
  • Firm Ball Stage – 242°F – 245°F
    You’ll get an actual firm ball of sugar that will hold it’s shape for several minutes.
  • Hard Ball Stage – 245°F – 254°F
    You’ll get a hard, stiff ball that can be pressed and molded with your fingers.
  • Light Crack – 264°F – 270°F
    You’ll get a ball or clump of sugar that is hard enough to clink on the rim.
  • Medium Crack – 270°F – 280°F
    When the sugar is dropped from a spoon into the cold water will actually thread in the water, and is very hard and strong.
  • Hard Crack – 282°F – 290°F
    This produces the hardest sugar clump in the water, but it is also the most brittle.
Old Time Candy Favorites

Old Time Candy Favorites

I just posted links to favorite old time candy that have been discontinued for various reasons by their manufacturers. Let’s see if you remember any of these: Bar None Clove Gum Marathon Bars Carefree Sugarless Gum Reggie Bars Tart n Tiny Wonka Bars I also 

College Fudge: Vassar, Smith College, and Wellesley

College Fudge: Vassar, Smith College, and Wellesley

The chocolate themed cookbook from 1909, Chocolate and Cocoa Recipes, by Miss Parloa has many great recipes all revolving around chocolate products such as chocolate blocks, cocoa powder, baker’s chocolate squares, and German sweet chocolate. The book also contains Home Made Candy Recipes by Mrs.