New to making fudge

[AnnieDrews]

but watched the temp. and also checked for the soft ball stage oftten (my favorite part as a child-we ate the fudge out of the water cup).

Yep, that's what my Mom did, too. She also let the pan sit in cold water while the butter melted in it and came to the certain temp she wanted.

 

[guineapig0121]

I had never heard of the soft ball stage. I may try some fudge this weekend.

 

[mollyanne]

My grandmother made the recipe that used to be printed on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa can. It was the best and easy! It had a more crumbly sugary consistency but I liked that texture better than creamy. If you prefer creamy then just substitute the milk with part (or all) evaporated milk.

I don't remember her using a candy thermometer though...she just dropped a little in water until it formed a soft ball.

Here it is:

Hershey's Original Fudge
2/3 c. Hershey's cocoa
3 c. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Thoroughly combine dry ingredients in a heavy 4 quart saucepan; stir in milk. Bring to a bubbly boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring to 234°F (soft ball stage). Bulb of candy thermometer should not rest on bottom of saucepan.
Remove from heat add butter and vanilla. Do not stir. Cool at room temperature to 110°F. Beat until fudge thickens and loses some of its gloss. Quickly spread in a lightly buttered 8 or 9 inch square pan. Cool. Makes 3 dozen squares.

 

[chopper]

My grandmother made the recipe that used to be printed on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa can. It was the best and easy! It had a more crumbly sugary consistency but I liked that texture better than creamy. If you prefer creamy then just substitute the milk with part (or all) evaporated milk.

I don't remember her using a candy thermometer though...she just dropped a little in water until it formed a soft ball.

Here it is:

Hershey's Original Fudge
2/3 c. Hershey's cocoa
3 c. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Thoroughly combine dry ingredients in a heavy 4 quart saucepan; stir in milk. Bring to a bubbly boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring to 234°F (soft ball stage). Bulb of candy thermometer should not rest on bottom of saucepan.
Remove from heat add butter and vanilla. Do not stir. Cool at room temperature to 110°F. Beat until fudge thickens and loses some of its gloss. Quickly spread in a lightly buttered 8 or 9 inch square pan. Cool. Makes 3 dozen squares.

This sounds like the stuff that used to be cooking at my house when I was little! Yum! Thanks.

 

[guineapig0121]

I am going to be trying this recipe tomorrow without the nuts any tips for me?

No, wish I could... but my only suggestion would be to stick with one recipe and get that one down pat before trying another. Meaning, don't change the ingredients at all but maybe mess with the methods.

I'm sure the differences in instructions are due to the different ingredients and how they interact with one another and with heat. I'm sure an expert could give a better breakdown of why one method works and another not so well.

I stick to the easy ones, like:

Original Fantasy Fudge
Kraft Foods / Yields 3 pounds

3 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 12-oz. (340 g) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 7-oz. (198 g) jar Kraft Marshmallow creme
1 cup chopped nuts (optional. Both walnut and pecans are good. I use walnuts)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine sugar, margarine and milk in heavy 2-1/2 quart saucepan; bring to full rolling bail, stirring constantly. Continue boiling 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring and not letting to scorch. Make sure your heat is at medium.

Remove from heat, stir in chocolate till melted. Add marshmallow creme, nuts & vanilla beat till blended.

Pour into greased or parchment lined 9 X 13-inch baking pan. Let cool and cut into 1-inch squares.

(I prefer parchment lined as it's so easy to pop out and cut into pretty squares. Here's a little parchment paper trick for you: Cut your piece to fit down into pan with paper coming up sides. Spray your baking pan with cooking spray on bottom and up sides. Immediately lay your paper down inside and press down onto cooking spray. Spray will help your paper stick in place and form to the pan better.)

Note: Can be made in a smaller pan for thicker squares.

I'm interested in what the real candy makers have to say though. It's something I should learn how to do. I guess if I can master a pie crust I can learn to master candy too!

 

[cmarchibald]

I had never heard of the soft ball stage. I may try some fudge this weekend.

I never had either until I got set to make some fudge this last Christmas. All the "easy" recipes we're seeing here are very close to the ones I had used in the past but this time they weren't working because my fudge was coming out chewy. I got some great advice on this board, you can see for yourself how it turned out here:

http://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f17/help-me-fix-my-fudge-69048.html

 

[AnnieDrews]

Mollyanne-I'm almost positive that was the recipe my Mom used, too.

Guineapig-I think that fudge will turn out just fine without the nuts. I wouldn't adjust the recipe at all. We always make it without nuts.

 

[guineapig0121]

I hate nuts. I am excited to make the fudge