Grrrr why is old fashioned fudge so hard to make?!

[kari_dawn]

Quote:
Happy chocolate dreams to you too! Guess you need to go pick up some cocoa!

 

[Royd]

Rookie/apprentice in training here. The internet is a good place to learn...Just type in the secret to making good fudge.

#1 Keep the edge of the pot COMPLETELY clean...I've found that using a spatula dipped in water worked best for me. They suggest a pastry brush. If any of the sugar crystallizes, and it will, even with the slight difference in temp, 1" up on the pot, it will cause a chain reaction, when the fudge starts to cool and return it to a course sugar.

#2 No matter how much heat you put on it, it will only go to soft ball stage-236 degrees- when it's ready.

#3 At 110 degrees, work it like it says, until it becomes dull. You'll know it, when you see it....This is a bit of exercise for the shoulder and elbow.

 

[StupidBird]

I found my new thermometers just don't cut it...my old trustworthy glass one got broke and these new non-digitals don't cut it. Perhaps my old one was the one off a bit, but my fudge never failed with it. I did get a huge batch of fudge sauce once, but never a fail. Now it always fails.

Something changed; is it the temperature, something with the corn syrup, or did I just get lazy?

My favorite cookbook is the "Mennonite Community Cookbook" by Showalter. It even has a list of food for a barnraising.

 

[cravenchx]

I was always told humidity has
a lot to do with it!?!

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

I think the difference between then and now recipes is that the manufacturing process has changed for pretty much everything from cocoa powder to butter to the vanilla extract, and that is bound to make a difference in the finished product. I have a chocolate chip cookie recipe that I started perfecting back in the 60's and I have had to change it several times just because the flour has changed over the years even though I always use the same brand. The chocolate chips have too, and I have had to adapt the recipe to compensate.

Personally I think ingredients change from year to year, and that could easily explain there are such different success rates from batch to batch of ANYTHING we make from scratch.

JMO


Rusty

 

[mom'sfolly]

Even buying a bigger bag of flour affects what the flour is like. Larger bags are likely to be higher protein flour because the companies figure that people buying 25 pound bags are baking bread, hence a slightly higher protein or gluten content in larger bags.

I have made every kind of candy imaginable from soft candies like caramels and taffy, harder candies like penuche and divinity and hard candies like brittles and toffee. I cannot make old-fashioned fudge. I've tried many recipes, many times, and followed all the tips. I just can't do it. I think it is one of the most difficult candies to make. The other thing to remember when making any kind of candy, that sugar is very affected by humidity, and what works on a dry day might be slightly different than what works with 95% humidity.

 

[TYLERSNIDOW]

OK..ABOUT this hard fudge candy. I have also always made it by my grandmother's recipe (the one with baker's chocolate squares instead of cocoa powder). It's so temperamental that I only attempt to make it on the coldest day when there is NO humidity. So on super-cold days, someone usually suggests I make it. A few days ago was one of those days - and I went to my recipe box to get out that old recipe and WHA! the recipe box was completely empty. I'm at a complete loss for the recipe. Can one of you share your exact ingredients and process so I can save this family tradition.

Tried to make it from memory and it was grainy. Doh! Hopeful in Richmond, VA!

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. My mother always made the Hershey's Cocoa recipe that seems to have disappeared from the label. I hit and miss with it too, but I sometime forget and add the butter in the beginning without paying attention. Also I try to double the recipe, and that is also a no-no. Here is the one my mom always made: https://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipe-details.aspx?id=5303