Thread: More fudge questions

Doc wrote:
> I followed zxcvbob's recipe in a previous thread and I've gotten
> closer to what I'm looking for as far as consistency, however it's
> still a tad soft at room temp, which I'm assuming is due to my
> technique.
>
> When cooking to soft-ball, should the fudge be taken off the heat the
> instant it reaches the temp or be allowed to cook there a while?
> Wondering if cooking a little longer will yield a somewhat firmer
> final product.
>
> Btw, this is a real eye opener as to how much sugar is involved in
> this kind of thing. It's pretty much chocolate-flavored sugar.

If you continue to cook it the temperature will rise and it will reach the
hard stage. So take it off the heat promptly.

Janet wrote:
> Doc wrote:
>> I followed zxcvbob's recipe in a previous thread and I've gotten
>> closer to what I'm looking for as far as consistency, however it's
>> still a tad soft at room temp, which I'm assuming is due to my
>> technique.
>>
>> When cooking to soft-ball, should the fudge be taken off the heat the
>> instant it reaches the temp or be allowed to cook there a while?
>> Wondering if cooking a little longer will yield a somewhat firmer
>> final product.
>>
>> Btw, this is a real eye opener as to how much sugar is involved in
>> this kind of thing. It's pretty much chocolate-flavored sugar.
>
> If you continue to cook it the temperature will rise and it will reach the
> hard stage. So take it off the heat promptly.
>

Right, but there's a couple of degrees of wiggle-room, plus his
thermometer might be off. (try cooking to about 236°, I don't
remember but I *think* you can go almost to 240°)

Bob

On Tue, 1 Dec 2009 22:45:41 -0800 (PST), Doc <[email protected]>
wrote:

>I followed zxcvbob's recipe in a previous thread and I've gotten
>closer to what I'm looking for as far as consistency, however it's
>still a tad soft at room temp, which I'm assuming is due to my
>technique.
>
>When cooking to soft-ball, should the fudge be taken off the heat the
>instant it reaches the temp or be allowed to cook there a while?
>Wondering if cooking a little longer will yield a somewhat firmer
>final product.
>
>Btw, this is a real eye opener as to how much sugar is involved in
>this kind of thing. It's pretty much chocolate-flavored sugar.

Yes Doc, cooking a little longer will give a firmer product. Don't
overdo it.

If not using a good thermometer, the ball dropped into the water
should be allowed to stand for a minute or so before testing its
firmness.

Terry

Wondering how stiff/firm fudge is supposed to be? The first batch I
made came out clearly too hard, the next essentially like thick
frosting,

In article
<[email protected]>,
Doc <[email protected]> wrote:

> Wondering how stiff/firm fudge is supposed to be? The first batch I
> made came out clearly too hard, the next essentially like thick
> frosting,

Somewhere in between.
You should be able to cut it cleanly without it crumbling and the cut
pieces should hold their shape.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller - Who Said Chickens Have Fingers?
10-30-2009

> Doc <[email protected]> wrote:

What a great nick! I love those books.

>> Wondering how stiff/firm fudge is supposed to be? The first batch I
>> made came out clearly too hard, the next essentially like thick
>> frosting,

Sounds like maybe you haven't got the temperature just right yet... I'm
not sure which recipe you're using, but my mum always used the Eagle
recipe with condensed milk, mini marshmallows, sugar, vanilla, butter
and chocolate chips. She always said to let it boil five minutes before
adding the chocolate chips and marshmallows, stirring those in well, and
then immediately turning into a baking tray. That's always worked for
me! I did do some testing in the late nineties and 5 minutes does let
it get to a good temperature for soft ball stage. You get a nice,
creamy fudge that holds up well, but isn't a brick. A bit like a
soft caramel that's been left to get a little warm, but not gooey.

-Jen

Doc wrote:
> Wondering how stiff/firm fudge is supposed to be? The first batch I
> made came out clearly too hard, the next essentially like thick
> frosting,

This is pretty much the experience that most folks will have in making
fudge using sugar. The temperature you cook it up to is critical. Also
critical is timing your pour into a pan - you only have seconds. My
suggestion is that you find a recipe that uses condensed milk in the
recipe instead of going the old school, Alton Brown route - you'll get a
smoother, tastier, fudge instead of a crumbly or non-setting mess.

On Dec 8, 1:37*pm, dsi1 <d...@spamnet.com> wrote:

> This is pretty much the experience that most folks will have in making
> fudge using sugar. The temperature you cook it up to is critical. Also
> critical is timing your pour into a pan - you only have seconds. My
> suggestion is that you find a recipe that uses condensed milk in the
> recipe instead of going the old school, Alton Brown route - you'll get a
> smoother, tastier, fudge instead of a crumbly or non-setting mess.


Yeah, I hear you but pursuing the "old school" way seems intriguing to
me - that Olde World Craftsmanship thing. Curious to see if I can get
it to work right. I've still got some time, thinking about mailing
some out for Christmas.

I tested my $2.98 WalMart-wonder candy thermometer by boiling water,
it seems to be right on the money - it's calibrated in 5 degree
increments, and after several minutes in boiling water it hangs at
just a skosh over the 210 degree mark not quite halfway to the 215
degree mark.

Do you think adding bourbon could in any way be affecting the final
product? Adding about a 1/4 cup when doing the final stir, at the same
time as adding the vanilla extract.

Doc wrote:
> On Dec 8, 1:37 pm, dsi1 <d...@spamnet.com> wrote:
>
>> This is pretty much the experience that most folks will have in making
>> fudge using sugar. The temperature you cook it up to is critical. Also
>> critical is timing your pour into a pan - you only have seconds. My
>> suggestion is that you find a recipe that uses condensed milk in the
>> recipe instead of going the old school, Alton Brown route - you'll get a
>> smoother, tastier, fudge instead of a crumbly or non-setting mess.
>
>
> Yeah, I hear you but pursuing the "old school" way seems intriguing to
> me - that Olde World Craftsmanship thing. Curious to see if I can get
> it to work right. I've still got some time, thinking about mailing
> some out for Christmas.
>
> I tested my $2.98 WalMart-wonder candy thermometer by boiling water,
> it seems to be right on the money - it's calibrated in 5 degree
> increments, and after several minutes in boiling water it hangs at
> just a skosh over the 210 degree mark not quite halfway to the 215
> degree mark.
>
> Do you think adding bourbon could in any way be affecting the final
> product? Adding about a 1/4 cup when doing the final stir, at the same
> time as adding the vanilla extract.


The bourbon could very much be affecting the final product -- you're
adding over 1/8 cup of water. The fudge will be too soft unless you
compensated for that (and I'm not sure how much you would have to
compensate.)


Try this: Add powdered sugar to the bourbon to make a stiff
"frosting". Add this to the warm (not hot) fudge just as you start to
beat it.

Bob

Doc wrote:
> On Dec 8, 1:37 pm, dsi1 <d...@spamnet.com> wrote:
>
>> This is pretty much the experience that most folks will have in making
>> fudge using sugar. The temperature you cook it up to is critical. Also
>> critical is timing your pour into a pan - you only have seconds. My
>> suggestion is that you find a recipe that uses condensed milk in the
>> recipe instead of going the old school, Alton Brown route - you'll get a
>> smoother, tastier, fudge instead of a crumbly or non-setting mess.
>
>
> Yeah, I hear you but pursuing the "old school" way seems intriguing to
> me - that Olde World Craftsmanship thing. Curious to see if I can get
> it to work right. I've still got some time, thinking about mailing
> some out for Christmas.
>
> I tested my $2.98 WalMart-wonder candy thermometer by boiling water,
> it seems to be right on the money - it's calibrated in 5 degree
> increments, and after several minutes in boiling water it hangs at
> just a skosh over the 210 degree mark not quite halfway to the 215
> degree mark.
>
> Do you think adding bourbon could in any way be affecting the final
> product? Adding about a 1/4 cup when doing the final stir, at the same
> time as adding the vanilla extract.

The truth is that I've made fudge only a few times. One thing is certain
- you'll feel like a king when you make that first batch that comes out
right. I sure did. :-)

If I was to make an old-school fudge these days I'd probably do the
mixing and forming on a marble slab using a scraper - just like the pros
do.

I don't know anything about mixing booze and fudge. It's an interesting
problem and may require the patience of a monk to figure it out. Good
luck in that endeavor - if you're able to figure that one out, people
will be bugging you to cook them up a batch for a long time. :-)

In article
<[email protected]>,
Doc <[email protected]> wrote:
> Do you think adding bourbon could in any way be affecting the final
> product? Adding about a 1/4 cup when doing the final stir, at the same
> time as adding the vanilla extract.

Sure do. You can easily turn creamy fudge into thick sauce with that
much additional liquid.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller - Who Said Chickens Have Fingers?
10-30-2009

On Dec 8, 7:36*pm, dsi1 <d...@humuhumunukunukuapuapa.org> wrote:

> I don't know anything about mixing booze and fudge. It's an interesting
> problem and may require the patience of a monk to figure it out.


Funny you should say that, the first time I had bourbon fudge was the
stuff made by the Trappist monks in Ky., which is what I'm attempting
to emulate. Theirs is great but you can buy a lot of fudge-making
materials for the cost of a couple of boxes.

Doc wrote:
> On Dec 8, 7:36 pm, dsi1 <d...@humuhumunukunukuapuapa.org> wrote:
>
>> I don't know anything about mixing booze and fudge. It's an interesting
>> problem and may require the patience of a monk to figure it out.
>
>
> Funny you should say that, the first time I had bourbon fudge was the
> stuff made by the Trappist monks in Ky., which is what I'm attempting
> to emulate. Theirs is great but you can buy a lot of fudge-making
> materials for the cost of a couple of boxes.

I've had this too. Our friend has sent this as a Christmas present a
couple of times. It's kinda strong for my weak constitution but I can
see how it's an excellent present!

"Melba's Jammin'" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
> In article
> <[email protected]>,
> Doc <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Do you think adding bourbon could in any way be affecting the final
>> product? Adding about a 1/4 cup when doing the final stir, at the same
>> time as adding the vanilla extract.
>
> Sure do. You can easily turn creamy fudge into thick sauce with that
> much additional liquid.
> --
> -Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
> http://web.me.com/barbschaller - Who Said Chickens Have Fingers?
> 10-30-2009

Why don't you use Bourbon extract instead?
http://cooksvanilla.com/index.php?p=...&product_id=33
Janet

On Dec 8, 7:41*am, Melba's Jammin' <barbschal...@earthlink.net> wrote:
> In article
> <1201d6fc-3841-45cb-8517-80cd2f172...@k17g2000yqh.googlegroups.com>,
>
> *Doc <docsavag...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > Wondering how stiff/firm fudge is supposed to be? The first batch I
> > made came out clearly too hard, the next essentially like thick
> > frosting,
>
> Somewhere in between.
> You should be able to cut it *cleanly without it crumbling and the cut
> pieces should hold their shape.
> --
> -Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJhttp://web.me.com/barbschaller- Who Said Chickens Have Fingers?
> 10-30-2009

In my old-fashion fudge recipe (BH & G), you can't cut it cleanly
(without crumbs along the edges) unless you score it before it cools
completely. That's the way I like it, uh-huh, uh-huh. I like to be
able to break it into pieces - when it's too soft, it won't do that.
It turns out (cooking to 234 deg.) as a matte-finish solid piece of
candy. In my opinion, perfect.

N.

In article <[email protected]> ,
"Janet Bostwick" <[email protected]> wrote:

> "Melba's Jammin'" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]..
> > In article
> > <[email protected]>,
> > Doc <[email protected]> wrote:
> >> Do you think adding bourbon could in any way be affecting the final
> >> product? Adding about a 1/4 cup when doing the final stir, at the same
> >> time as adding the vanilla extract.
> >
> > Sure do. You can easily turn creamy fudge into thick sauce with that
> > much additional liquid.
> > --
> > -Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
> > http://web.me.com/barbschaller - Who Said Chickens Have Fingers?
> > 10-30-2009
>
> Why don't you use Bourbon extract instead?
> http://cooksvanilla.com/index.php?p=...&product_id=33
> Janet

Me? I'm not interested in booze in my fudge unless it's a little Kahlua.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://web.me.com/barbschaller - Who Said Chickens Have Fingers?
10-30-2009

My fudge saga continues. I was advised by a lady a the grocery store
that after the boiling and cooling the fudge should be stirred
manually with a wood spoon, not with an electric mixer, which is what
I've been doing.

Do you agree that an electric mixer shouldn't be used? If so why?

Thanks

Doc wrote:
> My fudge saga continues. I was advised by a lady a the grocery store
> that after the boiling and cooling the fudge should be stirred
> manually with a wood spoon, not with an electric mixer, which is what
> I've been doing.
>
> Do you agree that an electric mixer shouldn't be used? If so why?

It probably adds too much air.

On Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:52:56 -0800 (PST), Doc wrote:

> My fudge saga continues. I was advised by a lady a the grocery store
> that after the boiling and cooling the fudge should be stirred
> manually with a wood spoon, not with an electric mixer, which is what
> I've been doing.
>
> Do you agree that an electric mixer shouldn't be used? If so why?

Uh, because a mixer is never used for home made fudge?

-sw