Tips for Stress free life > Expert Zone > Cooking
Cooking Tips by experts
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
Tips for Stress free life > Expert Zone > Cooking Cooking Tips by experts |
|
|
|
|
6 Tips for Perfect Homemade Hard Candy
There's nothing better than the juicy, flavorful hard candy from your local gourmet candy shop . . . unless you make it yourself, that is! Making perfect hard candy at home is easier than you think. You just need the right tools, a few simple ingredients, and your imagination. Try these tips the next time you want to make something special in the kitchen. Your family will love it! 1. Stock up on basic candymaking tools. You'll need a medium-size saucepan (3 or 4 quarts) with a heavy bottom and straight sides. You'll also need a long-handled wooden spoon, a pastry brush (used to brush off any crystals that might form), and a good candy thermometer with a metal clamp that attaches to the side of your saucepan. 2. Get the weather forecast. Did you know that humidity has an enormous effect on the outcome of your hard candy? Because sugar attracts water, rainy days can wreak havoc on even your best attempts at homemade delicacies. Make it easier on yourself-wait for a clear, dry day to try out your recipes. 3. Test your thermometer. Test your thermometer by placing it in a pan of water and bringing it to the boiling point. It should now register 212 degrees at sea level. If it registers 214 degrees, you can correct it by adding two degrees to those given in the recipe; if 210 degrees, by subtracting. If it's more than a few degrees off in either direction, you need a new thermometer. 4. Use fresh ingredients. Sugar is the most basic ingredient in hard candy. Be sure to use a new package of sugar each time you make your recipes to ensure that the sugar hasn't been contaminated by other common kitchen ingredients. If your recipe calls for butter, be sure to use the unsalted variety. Salted butter and margarine can adversely effect the cooking time, texture, and taste of your efforts. 5. Go easy on the food coloring. Colors like green and yellow look much more appetizing when they're applied lightly, so be sure to add food coloring gradually. You can slowly add more until you reach the intensity you want. 6. Use the proper storage techniques. After cooling your candies, store them in airtight jars without wrapping them first. Never store hard candy in the same container as desserts that lose moisture, such as fudge. Ready to begin? Try this basic hard candy recipe--and have fun! BASIC HARD CANDY RECIPE Measure 2 cups sugar, 2/3 cup light corn syrup and 3/4 cup water into a saucepan and blend together. Place over low heat and stir until mixture boils. Cover the saucepan for 5 minutes so that any sugar crystals that have formed on the sides ofthe pan will be washed down. Now put in the candy thermometer and let the candy boil without stirring. Using a pastry brush or a fork wrapped with muslin and dipped in water, wash off any crystals that might form. After the candy reaches 280 degrees, lower heat so as not to discolor the candy. When candy thermometer registers 300 degrees, remove pan from the heat and allow it to stand until all the bubbles have simmered down. Then add the flavoring and coloring. There are many to choose from but one favorite is anise along with red coloring. One teaspoon of a flavoring extract should be used for this recipe, while only a few drops of an oil such as peppermint, wintergreen or cinnamon are enough. Coloring should be added gradually until the desired intensity is reached. It is important to stir these in as gently as possible. Too much stirring will cause the syrup to solidify into a hard sugary lump. Now the candy is ready to be formed. It may be poured into a pan, 7 by 7 inches, and marked into squares as it begins to harden. Or it may be poured in rounds on skewers or sticks to form lollipops. Vanessa Kirkland is publisher of the cherished recipe collection, "Candymaking Secrets," by Virginia Pasley. This long-lost collection includes 67 vintage recipes for making delicious old-fashioned candies at home . . . without a single cooking class. Find out more at ===> http://www.CandyMakingSecrets.com/
MORE RESOURCES: See the complete list of Articles on Cooking Tips here Have a look at Best Selling Books on Cooking Tips
See also : Other articles on
Depression,
Grief Loss,
Happiness,
Humor,
Inspirational,
Motivation,
Latest info on : Cooking tips
Google News Why not be an expert yourself ? If you can write on
any of the above topic, you are welcome to submit your Submit
your article here |
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Peppercorns & Ways To Use Them New and exciting varieties of peppercorns are becoming available to chefs everywhere. Pre-ground pepper out of the tin no longer provides the complex flavors and versatility that great cooks everywhere are looking for. Ten Proven Tips to Buy the Best Meat Available Ten Proven Tips to buy the Best Meat AvailableAs you look through the meat section at your local grocery store you are probably like so many others asking yourself if the steaks you have chosen is really good meat. Here are some tips on how to make sure you buy good meat. Chinese Cooking Technique: Thicken "Thicken", or "Thickening" is a very common technique used in both Chinese restaurants and household kitchens. It is very easy to prepare, but if not used properly, can really mess up the presentation. How to Bake: How Long Should My Bread Rise? It depends. The best way to tell if the dough has risen enough is not by time-though it helps to set the timer so you don't forget about your dough-but by look and feel. What Are Scoville Units? To understand what a Scoville Unit is, one must understand what they measure. All hot peppers contain capsaicinoids, natural substances that produce a burning sensation in the mouth, causing the eyes to water and the nose to run, and even induce perspiration. The Almighty Beer-Can Chicken A popular method of cooking chicken in recent years both in Barbeque contest as well as backyard barbeques is the beer-can chicken. Cooking a beer-can chicken couldn't be any easier but the results are worthwhile. Food Poisoning--An Overview What is Food Poisoning?Food poisoning results when you eat food contaminated with bacteria or other pathogens such as parasites or viruses. Your symptoms may range from upset stomach to diarrhea, fever, vomiting, abdominal cramps and dehydration. Substitutions for Commonly Called for Ingredients What should you do if you are in the middle of a recipe and realize you are out of an ingredient? You could send your child to the local convenience store for cream cheese and end up having to serve your caviar with Velveeta because to a 13 year old they are both soft cheeses. This really happened when my Mother sent me for cream cheese. Once-A-Month-Cooking: How to Make Your Plan Work As one of the oldest children in a family of nine, I know that cooking for a crowd can almost be a full-time job. Once-a-month-cooking has been a lifesaver for our family. Two for One Dinners: Turkey If you find leftovers boring, uninviting or downright "yuck," then here are some ideas to put the "zing" back into mealtime. With a little creativity your home-cooked meal can easily become a delicious meal another night. Two for One Dinners: Eggplant If you find leftovers boring, uninviting or downright "yuck," then here are some ideas to put the "zing" back into mealtime. With a little creativity your home-cooked meal can easily become a delicious meal another night. Pyrex Mixing Bowls - A Kitchen Favorite Pyrex mixing bowls typically come in sets of 3 with a small, medium and large bowl that sits snuggly inside each other. Pyrex has been around for almost 90 years. Caring For Your Wooden Cutting Board Researchers have found that bacteria have a tougher time surviving on wood cutting boards. However, plastic cutting boards are less porous than wood, making it less likely to harbor bacteria over a long period of time, but only if it is immediately cleaned. Picnic Tips and Tricks The most difficult task of a picnic is remembering everything. Make a list on the computer of everything you might need for a picnic. Fruit Cake Are you the fruit cake in your family? Before you raise your eyebrow, I would suggest you read on to know what I mean.The fruit cake has tantalized the world for centuries. Buying, Storing, and Preparing Apples When buying apples, look for those that are firm and brightly colored. Shiny red for Macintosh, Rome and red Delicious. Weber Grills Reviewed: Quality that Lasts Barbecuing has long been a favorite pastime for many and the grills people are buying have only become bigger and better as the years go by. But, with so many grills to choose from, how do consumers know which company produces the best? Well, the Weber Grill company has proven itself to be one of the greatest choices when purchasing gas, smoke and charcoal grills. Prepare the Best Garlic Mashed Potatoes Would you like to prepare the best Garlic Mashed Potatoes that you enjoy at your favorite restaurant, but have no idea where to start to achieve that wonderful and delightful flavor? There are a variety of ways to create the best garlic mashed potatoes that you have ever tasted but when it comes down to which way is best is according to your own taste buds.When you take a look at garlic you will see that there are various kinds of garlic that you can use for your mashed potatoes such as German red garlic, Spanish Roja garlic, Leningrad garlic, and Yugoslavian. Why do We Need to Knead? Bread dough needs to be elastic in order to capture the gases created by the yeast, stretch as bubbles form in the dough, expand, and rise. Without that elasticity, bread would not have the open texture we enjoy nor would bread be chewy. Using Bread Machine Mixes in Your Oven You don't have to own a bread machine to enjoy the variety of bread machine mixes. And you don't have to make blocky, square loaves with holes in the bottom.
|
|
You are here |
|
| Cooking Tips Home | All Cooking Tips- complete list | |
|
Main Home | | Meditation Corner | |
|
|
| Recommend us | |
|
[About
us] [Contact] [Privacy
Policy]
Copyright 2006, Meditation
is Easy.com, All
rights reserved
