..sometimes courage is called for. I am in the middle of making a batch of fudge - the real thing,

[NRaleighLiberal]

not the marshmallow fluff kind. Candy thermometer, soft ball stage - real kitchen chemistry!

So far so good - it is cooling in preparation for the final beating and spreading into the pan.

I made it last year for a gift and it worked....but fudge is temperamental, so let's see how this one turns out - I use an Alton Brown recipe, here.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chocolate-fudge-recipe/index.html

It's actually quite easy - and last year's product was just delicious, with a perfect texture.

Wish me luck!

[Major Nikon]

1. True candy making is all about the temperature

Basically what you are doing is using sugar as a hardening agent and controlling the level of hardening between the soft ball and hard crack with a few intermediate stages in between. Fun stuff.

[cbayer]

2. I was just thinking last night about how much I loved my chemistry

set when I was a child.

And it occurred to me that that is why I love cooking now.

It's so much science and fudge is one of the best experiments.

Hope it turns out great!

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. I was a mediocre cook until I realized a recipe is just a science experiment.

Now that I know the chemistry behind it all, I get rave reviews.

[cbayer]

5. Agree and I have a lot more fun with it.

My husband calls the galley "her laboratory" and that suits me.

When something is not quite right, I find myself taking more of a scientific approach to solving it and less of a creative one.

I've never been very creative, so this approach has worked really well for me.

[trixicopper]

3. A candy thermometer is a must have when making candy.

Humidity can also affect candy making. We've always had best results when it's cold and clear. Especially for things like peanut brittle and almond roca. Since I live in the PNW finding that clear night in December can be a challenge!

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

9. Well, you have to know that sugar is extremely hygroscopic

Which is chemspeak for "soaks up water". So the humidity will affect the amount of water in the candy.

[Warpy]

6. I did that one year, no candy thermometer, just a glass of cold water to test the sugar

What's really fun is inviting people over for a taffy party. Part of it is the kitchen chemistry and getting the sugar just the right temperature. The rest is having everybody get greased up and start pulling the sugary blobs apart to turn them from a transparent mass of nothing special into cafe au lait colored taffy. And of course they get boxes of it to take home at the end of the evening.

It's a messy process but alcohol makes even the mess more fun.

[sir pball]

10. Alcohol and melted sugar does not sound like fun to me

Then again, I'm intensely aware of what culinary napalm can do when you're sloppy with it...scars fade slowly. The last thing I'd want to do while toasted would be slop around a pot of boiling sugar but to each his own..

[Warpy]

11. It's great fun when the sugar has cooled enough to be handled

"Taffy pulls" used to be a pretty popular party idea and not nearly as messy as it sounds. People got exercise and at the end of it, taffy.

[japple]

7. In the South, the humidity is always a factor. Last week, when my carport was damp with

condensation, it wasn't a good time for making candy. This week, it's dry and clear, so I'll go ahead and do it. Hoping to make fudge tomorrow.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

8. I use the Kraft Marshmallow Creme recipe.

Except I put in half as much chocolate and twice as many nuts. Walnuts of course!

So many recipes now put in so much chocolate that it's bitter.

[azurnoir]

12. with that kind of fudge if you use white chocolate omit the nuts and add mint extract

you come up with reasonable facsimile of mint meltaways of course you can melt some dark or milk chocolate for a drizzle on top -yummy

oops forgot pour it or spread it out thinner too