Please help! Fudge Failures

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trillium

Assistant Cook
Joined
Dec 4, 2005
Messages
2
I am know close to starting my 5th batch of fudge....and I don't know where I am failing..

batch 1 - 3 was using the Hershey's Cocoa recipe, batch 4 is using the recipe off the back of the Marshmallow fluff jar..

batch 1 - got hard to quick, barely made it out of cooking pot. Had to push into pan. Hardened but a little to hard.

batch 2 - perfect

batch 3 - never set

batch 4 - followed directions but cooled to quickly and didn't pour easily. Had to press into pan.

Can someone please tell me what I am doing wrong? I am trying to get more then one perfect batch of fudge...

Thanks,
Donna
 
We put ours in the refridgerator for a while or overnight and it is just perfect!

Grace
 
Do you have and use a Candy Thermometer? I always use one. I read the info on all three of the links Corazon provided, and there are some good tips there!

The allrecipes site had probably the most important tip of all. WEATHER plays a most important part. The best time to be cooking candy is on a cold, crisp, day. If you notice that you are generating a lot of static electric as you walk around, then it's a good day to make candy.

I really like the tips about checking your candy thermometer for accuracy. That's something I've never done. I also liked the last tip, the one about lowering the temperature you need to cook candy to by 1°F for every 500' above sea level. Also, remember that when you boil water, as you go up in altitude (lowering the air pressure), water boils at a cooler temperature, so if you are calibrating your candy thermometer, you need to take that difference into mind.

A really big problem when making candy is pure physics. If you have a mass of molten sugar in a pan, and JUST ONE CRYSTAL of sugar enters the molten mass, the entire mass will crystalize.

Therefore, you always want to have a pastry brush (dedicated to making candy) that you can moisten, and use that to push sugar crystals down into the mix from the sides of the pan. The only time these crystals will get there is when you first add the ingredients, and, if you stir the mix.

Putting a lid on until it reaches a boil also helps, as the steam generated will help to wash the sugar crystals down into the mix.

You will know when you've cooked off all the water, as the bubbles will change size, frequency, and pitch, going from large, slow, and low-pitched bubbles to smaller, fast-forming, and higher-pitched. When you not this change, keep all crystaline sugar away from your mix.

While I was in college, I also learned that adding a little bit of corn syrup to the sugar before cooking will help keep the sugar from crystaling (this is why, when you read the ingredients for many candies, you'll notice corn syrup is one of them). Also, a little lime juice prevents crystalization, but I doubt you want a lime flavor in chocolate fudge.
 
My mom used to have trouble with the boiling process. She wouldn't cook it long enough. Check and see if you are.

Cameron
 
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