Hard candy woes... boiling too fast

[SI_baker]

Hi all,

I just joined this forum, b/c I am in such desperate need of help!

I am trying to make lollipops, and after three attempts, just can't get them to work. Try one, despite no mixing, no sugar drips on the side of the pan, and my candy thermometer, the syrup started boiling up until it was over the side of the pot! I got it to hard crack, by turning down the temp, but it was all a foamy mess. Try two, I kept the temp lower, just what was needed to boil, and cooked it for nearly an hour! It managed to caramelize, and practically burn without ever getting to hard crack--the lollipops were bitter, and they would sort of bend with pressure. Trial three went like trial one, at a higher temp, the syrup got hot without burning, but it was almost foaming over.

Any help? I see that the very last posted thread was similar, but the solution of turning down the temp might help with carmilization, but not with this weird foam problem, I think?

I am using a large pyrex pot, a gas stove and metal or wooden spoons.

any help would be sooooooo much appreciated! thanks

 

[CakePoet]

Bigger pot could help how much room do have to the edge of the pain before the liquid is boiling?

 

[SI_baker]

don't think so..

Thanks for the idea. I was thinking about using a deeper pot, but the syrup doesn't look like I see in pictures. there are just so many bubbles. I would say I have a good 3-4 inches between the syrup and the top of the pot--it's a 2 qt.

 

[dcSaute]

you need a flame tamer / diffuser to heat viscous liquids slowly and evenly.

glass is a very poor conductor of heat, sounds like you're getting boiling-turning-to-foam at the hot spots. things might improve with a decent multi-ply/core stainless pot or the classic candy maker $tandby of copper.

I use a copper plate flame tamer on stuff like soups and stews - it's especially useful on gas, since you really can't change the temperature of the flame, only make it bigger or smaller.

 

[SI_baker]

Hot spots!

You might just have it dc! I've used this pot to carmelize sugar water for flan for years, so I didn't think of it. But I've never done it on this stove, and furthermore, the burner I am using is a bit temperamental. And candy syrup is tricker, I can't just let it boil super low for 40 minutes.

Ok, I'm going to try again with a skillet as diffuser and use a different burner tomorrow. I'll also swirl a bit more. I'll report back!

 

[letscook]

on another note of making candy, make sure you have cane sugar not beet sugar.
one year making my holiday candies and fudge nothing was coming out right. then I realize I purchased the store brand sugar that they had a big sale on and it was a beet sugar not cane. So I always buy Domino's sugar. Never have problems
Lesson learned: Sometimes a sale Item isn't the best item.

 

[jd_1138]

I've made 2 batches of hard candy using this recipe:

Hard Candy Recipe - Allrecipes.com

It's came out perfect even though I've never made candy before. Like someone else said, sounds like you need to switch pans. I just use a copper bottom Revere metal pan (sides that are plenty high so the candy doesn't boil over).

I keep it at medium until it starts to boil a little, then I give it a quick stir to make sure the sugar is dissolved, then I start turning up the heat to get it to 310. I think I had it on 3/4 of the way on the knob.

After it gets to 310, I move it over to the other side of the stove off the heat, then I stir in the flavoring and food coloring. And then I pour it onto a sheetpan dusted with powdered sugar. I then immediately put the pan under water and let it soak in soapy water (to the top). The candy doesn't have a chance to stick to the pan that way.