Fat Nutrition

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The Science of Candy
by Allen Lemaitre
http://www.anacandy.com

Candy is a universal sweet that is enjoyed by both
children and adults alike. There are many different
types of candy that can be bought all around the
world, many of them with an ethnic touch to them,
such as Swiss chocolate from Switzerland or Lemon
Drops from Great Britain. But with so many
different kinds of candy to choose from do you ever
stop to wonder how many of the world~s candies are
made?

Candy making is a fun hobby that you and your
family can enjoy to make candy for all occasions.
But making candy is much more than a fun pastime;
making candy is an exact science since you~re
taking some basic ingredients and turning them into
sweet and tasty treats.

You can probably guess that the number one
ingredient in candy is sugar. A sugar molecule is
comprised of 22 hydrogen atoms, 12 carbon atoms,
and 11 oxygen atoms. The first step in most candy
recipes is to do a saturation process on the sugar.
This means that the sugar must be completely
dissolved in a liquid, usually water. This is done
because you don~t want your candy to be gritty with
sugar crystals, it should be smooth as velvet.

Once the saturation is complete the sugar solution
must be heated to a very specific high temperature.
At this high temperature the liquid will boil away
but the sugar will remain in a liquid state. Once
cold, the resulting solution that is left is super-
saturated with sugar. This means that there is a
very high concentration of sugar per small amount
of liquid.

This is the time that you need to start working with
the sugary solution or it will start to turn back into a
crystallized state and become solid. Candy recipes
will call for either a crystallized solution to be used
or for a non-crystallized solution. Be careful not to
stir the sugar solution or to bump it around too
much if you~re using a recipe that does not use the
crystallized sugar.

Candies that use the crystallized solution include
fudges and fondants. And non-crystallized candies
include caramels, taffies, and lollipops. Follow the
recipe directions carefully, which will tell you how
high you need to heat the sugar solution. There are
different candy temperatures such a soft crack and
hard crack. You~ll want to use a candy
thermometer to get the solution to the right
temperature and consistency.

Making candy at home is a fun activity for the
entire family. As long as you follow the recipe
carefully you~ll end up with some sweet candy
treats that everyone can enjoy.

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