Making Candy at Home is an Art

A concentrate of water and sugar are used to make candy. Colors and flavorings in many different varieties are usually added, and sometimes they are frozen.

In the United States there are many products called candy including gumdrops, chocolates, salty candy, tart candy, licorice, candy bars(a huge assortment), marshmallows, taffy, and many more. In many countries candies are called sweets, or confectioneries. Confectionery items include cotton candy, lollipops, jawbreakers, lemon drops, rock candy, peppermint drops, candy canes, and other flavored disks, plus many, many more.

The texture of candy depends on the ingredients used and to what stage you cook them. Many are cooked only to the soft-ball stage and stay in a soft easy chewable state. Whereas, any thing that is cooked to a hard-ball stage tends to have a hard consistency which are hard to chew.

Candies can be made with tools that most people already have in their kitchen. It is suggested that you use wooden spoons or paddles to stir the candy as it cooks. Use wax or oiled paper generously. Homemade candy nearly always tastes better and is purer and cleaner.

A book by James S. Wilson, "Modern Candy Making," which was published in 1904 may be the most important candy making manuscript of all time. The book gathered precise candy formulas from private recipes and those sold by confectioners. These recipes are simple enough that any school child can make candies for themselves or friends at a low cost.

This book may be accessed on the web at http://www.homemadecandy.info/homemade candy01.php, where the complete book is available for FREE.

Instructions for making your own colorings, flavorings, glaces, nougats, caramels, filling and many other things pertaining to candy making are included there.