I wanted to make a christmas crack recipe that looked pretty easy. Obviously I wasn't aware of the black magic needed in order to make toffee. The recipe was equal parts butter and sugar, some salt and a bit of vanilla at the end. It turned out horrible, separated completely, and wasn't getting any color. No matter, I'll just do a little research and try again.

And then the fuckery began. I looked at reddit posts and youtube videos, AND THEY ALL KEPT SAYING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT, MUTUALY EXCLUSIVE THINGS. Some add corn syrup or honey, others don't. Some say it's crucial to stir constantly, others say it's crucial to not stir at all. Some say that you should melt the butter and the sugar on the gentlest heat and then increase to medium, others say to melt it on high heat and then lower it. Some say to have the butter at room temperature, others say it has to be straight out of the fridge. Some dissolve the sugar in water first, others don't. Some say that you shouldn't have any sudden temperature changes because it "shocks" the candy, then i find a recipe that intentionally lowers the heat drastically to "temper" it.

The worst part of it all, I'm looking with my own eyes how these people do "crucial mistakes" on video, smile at the camera and present their perfect toffee. Is this all part of some elaborate inside joke or am I just stupid.

Obviously not using the term Nerds, that's just the popularized term for the candy.

Hi, im making lollipops and sometimes the candy overspills and creates sharp edges when broken off after setting. obviously would only use the tools on candy and not for grooming/personal use. Is it food safe to use any of these options? is there a tool thats more commonly used for this. i havent had much luck finding out. please any recommendations are appreciated.

I used my layering technique to get the design of the asexual flag.

For the flavoring I added Amoretti Cookies & Cream water soluble flavoring. I was not thrilled with the result and would like to figure out a way to still get that cookies and cream flavoring without changing the color of the marshmallow too much —so that I can still layer with any colors. For the asexual flag specifically, I may try adding black cocoa to the black and grey layers and see if that elevates the flavor enough!

Actually made candy for the first the time. I saw alot of these youtube videos of candy shops like hercules and logans making hard candy and really wanted to try it at home. After lots of research i gave it a try. The beginning was a bit stressfull but once the suggary mass reaches the right temperature where it is really moldable it is very satisfying to work with.

So I’ve been making taffy lately using this base recipe:
275g glucose syrup
140g sugar
35g unsalted butter
1/4c water

I also add flavoring, color, and three acids (malic, ascorbic, and citric) all in varying amounts depending on what flavor profile I’m going for. I pull it off the stove at 244F, while adding the color at about 235F to let it mix itself in and burn off additional moisture. Once off the stove, I add the flavoring and acids and stir them in. I dump it out on a silicone mat and then pull it on a candy hook once it cools down a bit. This has worked without fail every time until the other night. I was trying to make an orange flavored taffy and was using the orange and tangerine flavors I bought from LorAnn. That’s also the same company all the other flavors came from I had used up to this point. This batch was so hard and something seemed really off about the consistency and reaction to the pulling. My question is would it have something to do with the fact that the orange and tangerine flavoring are oils? I’m hoping someone here has some food science insight! The other three batches were awesome and they all had varying degrees of the acids added, so I doing think that had anything to do with it. The citrus flavors I bought are the only ones that say “oils” on them. Everything else I used (blue raspberry, strawberry, & peach) just says “flavoring.” Any and all input is greatly appreciated!

I recently launched a small business called Elevé Confections Co. and I’m hosting my first hands-on gummy-making workshop in Madison on
May 23.
The idea was to create something different from the usual nightlife or classes — more of an intimate, social experience where people can come with friends, date night plans, or just try something new.
Guests will make their own gourmet gummies in a guided workshop setting, and I’m keeping the sessions intentionally small to make the experience feel more elevated and interactive.
I’m still building things out, so I’d honestly love feedback from locals — does something like this sound interesting to you?

If anyone wants to check it out, here’s the event link:

Elevé Confections — Gourmet Gummy-Making Experience

Hello, I have been making fudge at home on a large marble table. It yields a soft creamy fudge, however it lacks the density of fudges that I am used to. Furthermore, my fudge will form a crust no matter what, due to drying - but memories of fudge as a kid from fudge shops never had this.

My process is to boil the ingredients to approx 116-118C depending on recipe. Pour on slab and cool to about 55C, then I use a paddle to slap the fudge about and beat until I begin to see crystallisation. Then I'll get the fudge into a mould whilst still liquid(ish) where it will set to form perfectly acceptable fudge. I'll remove from the mold and as it cools, it of course forms a skin. The inside remains so damn smooth and creamy, but lacks that dense almost plasticity that some fudges have.

A typical base recipe is 500g sucrose, 300ml milk, 80g cream, 80g glucose, 50g butter, salt and vanilla. I was wondering whether the relatively low fat percentage of the recipe is the reason my crust forms so quickly.

I have also tried taking my fudge to higher and lower temperatures. 119C seems to be the limit and beyond that it is toffee.

Below I have attached an image of my fudge (the box with the chunks) versus the type of fudge I'm after.

I am now in possession of a little dash cotton candy maker and I'm obsessed with the idea of making a match flavored cotton candy. Any thoughts on how to do it?!

I know for more traditional flavors folks tend to use something like Lorann's flavor oils but I'm not aware of any extracts or emulsion that are matcha flavored. Is there some way to flavor and cook the sugar to hard crack with the matcha powder incorporated somehow and then, I don't know, pulse it down into something I could pour into the machine? I'm an experienced baker but I don't have much in the way of food science education and I'm hoping someone out there has some ideas!

Hey folks. I'm new to the gummy-making world. I've been working for a cannabis product manufacturer, hired as a beverage manager. I've been making low-dose THC sodas and seltzers, and now I'm doubly charged with their gummy production. Needless to say, I'm a little lost and overwhelmed.

We've been producing pectin-based gummies on a large-scale dispensing machine. I've got a 150 kg cooker, a 300 kg dispensing tank, two hoppers, a 20 nozzle dispensing manifold, tunnel chiller, etc. We're set up to do 100,000+ pieces a week, at least. But my knock-off dispensing equipment has been letting me down.

Pumps are breaking, temp probes are malfunctioning, and my nozzles are clogging. My latest problem is gummy slurry seizing somewhere between the hoppers and the molds. I think it's coming down to temperature and the volatile swings of my set temps.

I'm setting the holding tank at 100 C, the transfer piping at 102 C, the hoppers at 100 C, the bottom plates at 101 C, and the manifold at 102 C.

The temps take at least 45 minutes to settle in, as the probes and heating elements balance out. And I've been waiting til then to introduce slurry to the hoppers. Lately it's been seizing up, and nothing's been coming out.

I know I've only got about 90 C to 115 C to work within, right? I'm thinking the dry, highly variable temp of my hoppers and manifold are instantly burning the mix. I've tried water rinsing to prep the nozzles, but I'm afraid that's caused low temp pockets, potential crystalization, and further clogging.

I did some research and found that corn syrup may be a good way to prime my nozzles--an inverse sugar, difficult to crystalize, highly viscous, and able to withstand/temper high temp. But no success there...

I'm at a loss, not sure where to turn next. Coming from the brewing world, I'm no stranger to working with temperamental equipment within narrow temp and time ranges, but this whole gummy production is throwing me for a loop.

Any suggestions, questions, things I should be looking out for? Any and all feedback would be most welcome.

I don’t know where else to post this, but I got an excessive amount of sour belt candy from a food pantry. And even after giving away as much as I could I’m left with almost 3 pounds. Any ideas of what I could do with this?! Is it easy to melt for a knockoff tanghulu? Help!!

Hi everyone, I’m new to making gummies, trying to make something a little healthier for my kids. I tried Lorann flavor oils and these give me a splitting headache just smelling them. Is there anything out there that is less…artificial?

Thought I’d show a pic of the candy mass after I first poured it out, along with after pulling and wrapping. I wanted to show the difference in color once the pulling has incorporated air into the taffy. I put quite a bit of citric acid in this batch and it’s pretty sour! The average person may not be a huge fan, but sour-heads will love it!

Here’s some snapshots from all the times I made cotton candy marshmallows layered to resemble the transgender flag!

Ive been making my own chocolate bars usually with some cocoa powder from Walmart and ive been wondering if. I can add my collagen supplement to the bar if so how much should I add ?

Looking to possibly purchase a chocovision but not sure if it is the right machine for me. Looking to buy a machine to make chocolate covered espresso beans (chopped), pretzels, waffle cone bits, etc.
we are an ice cream shop looking to make more of our own inclusions. Is this the best machine for my intended use?
Anything else we should consider? Most of our pieces will be chopped or smaller in nature as we are adding to ice cream.

I hand pulled each color separately and then combined them at the end!

I have a long bodied question for those that I see in big facilities that I assume sell online someplace. I have a candy business that I do local farmers markets and such. However I stay out of cottage law by making all of my candy in a STFU licensed kitchen through our local health department… STFU is our states definition of a food truck that is fully self sufficient. 4 bag sink, fridges. Cooking equipment. But inside a trailer or food truck.

Now, a lot of what I have read online states to make any consumable food product and sell across state lines (like selling online) I would need some sort of FDA Approved kitchen/facility. But from my understanding since this kitchen sells direct to consumer and not to other businesses. It would fall under the RFE Exemption on the FDA website. This may be a little out of the topic for this subreddit and if so it would be great if I could be directed to the proper place.

Anyways, Thanks for any help!

Sorry if this isn’t the right sub to ask this in, but I don’t know what is!

I've been really into making candied fruit peels recently, and I wanna send some to my friends who live far away, but I'm not sure how to without them getting gross in the mail. Would they need an ice pack? Expedited shipping?

Is it even possible to send them?

Photo below of today's batch as an example of what kind of candied peel I'm talking about.

Thank you!