Description
Richard W. Hartel, PhD, University Of Wisconsin-Madison. Presented at the 2012 conference
Hard candy is produced by boiling a sugar syrup to the hard crack temperature which, on a candy thermometer, is about 149°C (300°F).At hard crack, water content is low and the sugar mass is extremely viscous.After flavoring,the candy mass is either deposited into molds or cooled to a highly plastic state that can be easily formed into desirable shapes. Upon cooling to room temperature,the piece sets into a sugar glass that, if protected from heat and humidity, retains its quality for years. After touching on the basics behind hard candy manufacture, this review will discuss the numerous chemical and physical changes that occur in the sugar mass during the manufacturing process that can potentially influence finished-product characteristics and quality
