I wanted the title to read "New Formula Characterized" but figured that might not look so good even if it makes me smile.
For the ol' birthday I got a big thick textbook about artisan candy making. I've been working with compound coating instead of chocolate to at least get the basics down on manipulation. The other thing, I suppose one of my main goals, to replicate Grandma Bea's fudge as no one in the family has even come close. For the recipe in the book, there are two precursors required. Fondant and invert sugar. Invert sugar, easy to make. Look it up on Wikipedia and it's simple as it says. Fondant.... Requires a bit more finesse. After several attempts with sub-optimal results, success arrived! After recalibration of the thermometer, adjusting for altitude, checking the kitchen air temperature and humidity to make sure I was in bounds and cooking some sugar, corn syrup, and water, then pouring the resultant mass on the stone, cooling to 120 degrees F, and agitating for about 10 minutes, the whole mass crystallized! Upon sampling, there was no discernible grit on the palate and the grain had all the required characteristics for further use!!! Main use for this batch is to seed a subsequent batch and avoid as much agitation (hard on the arms and shoulders). Next time, I'll increase batch size, then try my hand at fudge and do some dipped centers! Grandma is surely smiling down from above. She was a master.
You think working with composites is a black art? Let's call this the Darker (or Blacker) Art of Candy Making. If you are interested, get a good book on the subject. Moms recipe book or Betty Crockers book just don't cut it. This book has both theory and technique and best of all, the recipes are given in units of grams or ounces or as percentages! How simple! Throw the pot on the scale, add ingredients, tare, add the next ingredient!
this is the book: May even have application to some rocket stuff!...
In other news I painted some of a rocket yesterday. As soon as it gets the clear coat, I'll do a brief build thread on the Blackhawk 66 scratch build!
-Ken
For the ol' birthday I got a big thick textbook about artisan candy making. I've been working with compound coating instead of chocolate to at least get the basics down on manipulation. The other thing, I suppose one of my main goals, to replicate Grandma Bea's fudge as no one in the family has even come close. For the recipe in the book, there are two precursors required. Fondant and invert sugar. Invert sugar, easy to make. Look it up on Wikipedia and it's simple as it says. Fondant.... Requires a bit more finesse. After several attempts with sub-optimal results, success arrived! After recalibration of the thermometer, adjusting for altitude, checking the kitchen air temperature and humidity to make sure I was in bounds and cooking some sugar, corn syrup, and water, then pouring the resultant mass on the stone, cooling to 120 degrees F, and agitating for about 10 minutes, the whole mass crystallized! Upon sampling, there was no discernible grit on the palate and the grain had all the required characteristics for further use!!! Main use for this batch is to seed a subsequent batch and avoid as much agitation (hard on the arms and shoulders). Next time, I'll increase batch size, then try my hand at fudge and do some dipped centers! Grandma is surely smiling down from above. She was a master.
You think working with composites is a black art? Let's call this the Darker (or Blacker) Art of Candy Making. If you are interested, get a good book on the subject. Moms recipe book or Betty Crockers book just don't cut it. This book has both theory and technique and best of all, the recipes are given in units of grams or ounces or as percentages! How simple! Throw the pot on the scale, add ingredients, tare, add the next ingredient!
this is the book: May even have application to some rocket stuff!...
In other news I painted some of a rocket yesterday. As soon as it gets the clear coat, I'll do a brief build thread on the Blackhawk 66 scratch build!
-Ken
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