Cooking Candy in non stick pan

[Novice Chef]

Hi... New to the board.. love it!

Anyway... I have been into making candy lately. I am currently doing Pralines. I have to cook to about 240 degrees. I have one special pot that I use. In the past I have used other heavy sauce pans and wind up scorching my sugar before it gets up to 240 degress. But I was wondering.. can you cook sugar in a non stick pan? Just wondering...

 

[Wyogal]

I've been told that non-stick pans shouldn't be used for really high heat, but there are some out there that can handle it. Ont sure how that would prevent scorching. I know that in cooking school we reduced the amounts so ended up with a small amount of sugar to cook, and my partner kept burning it. I recommended that he try a larger amount, then just use what he needed for the recipe. It worked much better. I also had him take it off the heat before that temp, because by the time it was poured into the rest of the recipe, it reached the proper temp (by touching the hot sides of the pan as it was being poured out).

 

[Novice Chef]

Interesting... thanks Wyogal. I guess I will stick with my heavy sauce pan... it was just a thought

 

[GB]

I have another thought as to why non stick would not be the best choice. This is just pure speculation on my part as I have never made candy, but I would think there would be some benefit to being able to see the color changes take place when cooking the sugar. I know you probably use a thermometer anyway, but color change could be a good thing to pay attention to when making candy. You will not really be able to see that if you are using a non stick.

 

[Novice Chef]

Thanks GB.. I concur. Just trying to be lazy I guess

 

[GB]

Trying to be lazy is exerting too much effort to really be lazy. Don't try, just be