Old Fashioned Homemade Hard Candy Food

OLD-FASHIONED HOMEMADE HARD CANDY

Steps:

• In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup. Cook, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved; then cook without stirring, lowering the heat and cooking more slowly during the last few minutes, to the hard crack stage (300 degrees F), If sugar crystals form on sides of pan, wipe them off with a damp brush.
• Remove from heat, add oil flavoring and enough food coloring to color; stir only to mix. Pour into 2 well buttered 9 inch pans. Set one pan of candy over a sauce pan containing hot water (unless you have a helper to help cut the candy). As soon as the other pan of candy is cool enough to handle, cut it with scissors into 1-inch strips. Then snip the strips into pieces. Work fast. Drop the pieces onto a buttered baking sheet. If the candy cools too quickly, set it on a saucepan over hot water to soften it, but if it gets sticky, return at once to the work counter.
• Toss in a small amount of powdered sugar to keep from sticking together. Repeat with the second pan of candy.

OLD FASHIONED HARD CANDY

Steps:

• Butter two 15x10x1-in. pans; set aside. In a large heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water and food coloring. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 300° (hard-crack stage). , Remove from the heat; stir in flavoring. Immediately pour into prepared pans; cool. Dust with confectioners' sugar; break into pieces. Store in airtight containers.

HOW TO MAKE OLD FASHIONED HARD CANDY

Steps:

• Before you make candy of any kind, read through the entire instructions for the individual recipe. You need to be thoroughly aware of what the recipe requires before starting because candy needs precise temperature control and precise actions at the times that the recipe states. Most importantly, remember that candy not attended to is candy that burns!
• Check the temperature before making candy. Candy should not be made when the weather is high in humidity or rainy or it has a hard time setting. Check the room temperature--it should be around 60ºF-68ºF (15.5ºC-20ºC), with low humidity. If you have no choice about cooking in sub-optimal temperature conditions, you may be able to compensate by cooking the candy 1 to 2 degrees higher than recommended by the recipe. Altitude will affect the outcome; if you live at high altitude, you may need to make adjustments in accordance with the usual recommendations for high altitude cooking.
• If you don't already have one, purchase a candy thermometer of good quality. You need to be happy about working with great precision when making candy--it's a science as well as an art. For more details on selecting a candy thermometer, see How to choose a candy thermometer. Never touch the base of a saucepan with a candy thermometer. The pan must always be long enough that the thermometer does not reach the bottom when hung on the pan lip.
• Avoid changing the ingredient amounts in a recipe. They are precise because they work. Even doubling ingredients in a candy recipe can result in a failure.
• For the heat source, choose the burner that is wider than the cooking pan you're using. This ensures more even heating.
• Know how to test the hardness of candy. This can be done manually or using a thermometer. The thermometer is easiest, but it's handy to know how to test the temperature manually, which you can learn to do before using a recipe by reading How to test candy hardness stages.

OLD FASHIONED HARD CANDY

Steps:

• Generously coat a cookie sheet with confectioners' sugar, and set aside.
• In a heavy bottomed saucepan, stir together the white sugar, water and corn syrup until sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil over medium-high and cook to a temperature of 300 to 310 degrees F (149 to 154 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms hard, brittle threads. Remove from heat, and stir in the flavored oil and food coloring.
• Immediately pour the sugar mixture onto the prepared cookie sheet in a thin stream (this helps it cool). When the candy is cool enough for the outer edge to hold its shape, cut into bite size pieces with scissors. Let cool completely, then store in an airtight container.

HARD TACK CANDY

Steps:

• Line a large baking sheet (at least 12x17") with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Place the sugar, water and corn syrup in a saucepan and place over medium heat. Mix constantly until the sugar melts and the mixture starts to boil.
• Continue to cook and stir. The first time you make this, you may want to keep the heat at medium. Once you are comfortable with the process, feel free to turn up the heat. Just continue to mix gently. Be patient!!! Temperature is everything. This recipe will not work if you take it off the heat too soon.
• Constantly measure the temperature of the boiling sugar mixture and cook until it reaches 280º Fahrenheit. At this point, add in the food coloring. Add a few drops at a time until it reaches the color you'd like.
• Continue to cook the mixture until it reaches 290º Fahrenheit. Don't rush this process! Make sure it hits at least 290º, but up to 295º is ok.
• Remove the sugar from the heat and stir in the flavored oil.
• Immediately pour the hot sugar on the prepared pan. Make sure you don't have a super thick layer or it will be hard to crack apart.
• Allow the mixture to cool completely (this will take about 30 minutes).
• Use a meat mallet to crack the candy into pieces.
• Place the candy pieces into a zippered bag. Add the powdered sugar and shake to coat.
• Store in an airtight container at room temperature. The candy will keep this way for several months.

OLD FASHIONED MOLASSES CANDY

Steps:

• Butter a jelly roll pan.set aside.
• In a heavy pan, combine sugar,corn syrup and vinegar.
• Cook over low heat till sugar is dissolved, stirring frequently, increase heat to medium.
• cook until candy thermometer reads 245* stirring occasionally.
• Add molasses and remaining butter (2 tbls) and cook, uncovered, until 260*, stirring occasionally --
• Remove from heat and add baking soda, beat well.
• Pour into prepared pan.let stand 5 minutes or cool enough to handle.
• Butter fingers, pull until candy is firm but pliable.
• Color will be light tan.
• When candy is ready for cutting, pull into a 1/2" rope.
• cut in 1" pieces and wrap in waxed paper or colored candy wrappers.

OLD-FASHIONED RIBBON CANDY RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Prepare four cookie sheets by spraying them with nonstick cooking spray or covering them with a light layer of oil.
• Preheat oven to 200 F. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring continuously, until sugar dissolves.
• Insert a candy thermometer and continue cooking without stirring until candy reaches 285 F (soft-crack stage).
• Once the proper temperature is reached, remove candy from heat immediately and stir in peppermint extract.
• Pour 1/3 of the mixture onto a prepared cookie sheet and place it in the heated oven to stay warm.
• Pour another 1/3 onto a second sheet and sprinkle green food coloring on top. Place this sheet in the oven as well.
• Add red food coloring to remaining 1/3 of candy.
• Pour candy out onto a marble slab or heat-safe cutting board. Allow it to sit briefly until it forms a "skin."
• Spray a bench scraper or heat-safe spatula with nonstick cooking spray, and use the tool to begin spreading candy out and pushing it back together, working it across the board and allowing it to cool. Don't forget to check out the instructions showing how to pull candy if you get confused about the process.
• As soon as the candy is cool enough to handle, but still quite hot, begin to pull it. If you have plastic gloves, put them on and spray the gloves with nonstick cooking spray-this will help prevent overheated or burned hands. Take candy in both hands and pull hands in opposite directions, stretching candy into a long rope.
• Bring ends of strands together and twist candy into a rope.
• Then pull rope out into a long strand.
• Continue to twist and pull candy until it has a satin-like finish and is an opaque red color.
• Once candy is still pliable, but barely warm, pull it into a strand about 2 inches thick, and place it on remaining prepared baking sheet. Put this sheet back into oven, and remove baking sheet with uncolored candy syrup. The pulled candy will remain pliable in the warm oven while you work the second portion.
• Repeat pulling procedure with the second, uncolored portion of candy. In the end, candy should be a pearly white color.
• Form into a log 2 inches in diameter, just like red candy.
• Repeat pulling procedure with last, green portion of candy. In the end, candy should be an opaque and satiny green color.
• Form into a log 2 inches in diameter.
• Remove candies from oven. Cut a 5-inch segment from each of the green, white, and red logs, and place them next to each other on fourth greased cookie sheet, with the white in the middle.
• Begin to pull candies together, gently molding them together as candy gets thinner. Try to end up with a very thin piece of tri-colored candy 1-inch in height.
• Once twisted candy is the shape you want, use oiled kitchen shears to cut them to into approximately 6- to 8-inch lengths.
• Immediately push them into a ribbon shape and place them on a baking sheet to set at room temperature.
• Repeat pulling and cutting with remaining candy.
• If candy gets too hard to pull, place in the warm oven for a few minutes to soften, but don't let it sit too long and melt.
• The ribbons will get very hard at room temperature, but if left out for long periods of time they will get soft and sticky, so be sure to wrap them in cellophane once set.

HERSHEY'S OLD FASHIONED RICH COCOA FUDGE

Steps:

• Line 8 or 9 inch square pan with foil; butter foil.
• In large heavy saucepan stir together first three ingredients; stir in milk, with a wooden spoon*.
• Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a full rolling boil.
• Boil without stirring, to 234 degrees F on a candy thermometer (or until syrup, when dropped in very cold water forms a soft ball which flattens when removed from water). Bulb of candy thermometer should not rest on bottom of pan. (This can take 20-30 minutes).
• Remove from heat. Add butter & vanilla.
• DO NOT STIR! Cool at room temperature to 110 degrees F (lukewarm). (This can take 2 to 2-1/2 hours).
• Beat with wooden spoon until fudge thickens & loses some of its gloss. (This can take 15-20 minutes. It really works best if you have someone to 'tag-team' with.) It starts to look more like frosting than a thick syrup when it is ready.
• Quickly spread into prepared pan; cool.
• Cut into squares.
• Store wrapped loosely in foil in the refrigerator.
• *it is very important not to use a wire whisk or the fudge will not set up. Also just stir gently, even though the cocoa will stay floating on top, it will mix in as the mixture heats up.

OLD FASHIONED HARD CANDY RECIPE

Steps:

• In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, combine the sugar, water and corn syrup. Cook, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved; then cook without stirring, lowering the heat and cooking more slowly during the last few minutes, to the hard crack stage (300 degrees F), If sugar crystals form on sides of pan, wipe them off with a damp brush. Remove from heat, add oil flavoring and enough food coloring to color; stir only to mix. Pour into 2 well buttered 9 inch pans. Set one pan of candy over a sauce pan containing hot water (unless you have a helper to help cut the candy). As soon as the other pan of candy is cool enough to handle, cut it with scissors into 1-inch strips. Then snip the strips into pieces. Work fast. Drop the pieces onto a buttered baking sheet. If the candy cools too quickly, set it on a saucepan over hot water to soften it, but if it gets sticky, return at once to the work counter. Toss in a small amount of powdered sugar to keep from sticking together. Repeat with the second pan of candy.