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No matter how good your recipes may be and no matter how careful you are, occasionally something may go wrong, and your candy doesn't turn out as desired. A number of factors, including the kitchen environment, simple errors in technique, or equipment malfunction may contribute to these candied disasters. Take a look at some of the sticky situations you may face and their solutions.
Fondant is too sticky
When you make fondant, you should expect a certain amount of tackiness, or a slight stickiness when you handle the finished product. However, sometimes the fondant feels like a large lump of paste, and you can't do a darn thing with it.
If you have a problem with excessive stickiness, you simply need to work some confectioners' sugar into your fondant. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time and knead the sugar into the mass of fondant. The stickiness will diminish, and your fondant will be fine.
Divinity falls flat
Several factors may cause divinity to fall flat when you scoop it onto a cookie sheet. Part of the cooking process for divinity involves removing moisture from the batch during the boiling process. Too much moisture — even from an excessively humid day — may cause this problem. If you pour the corn syrup mixture into the beaten egg whites and invert sugar too quickly, you may have a problem with the batch retaining its aeration. Additionally, if you don't beat the batch long enough after the cooked syrup has been added to the beaten egg whites and invert sugar, the batch falls flat.
- If you believe that moisture is the cause of the problem, cook the granulated sugar, corn syrup, and water portion about 3 degrees higher (to 253 degrees F). Cooking to a slightly higher temperature removes more water from the batch, which is especially important on a humid day.
- If you think that you're pouring the cooked part into the beaten part too quickly, pour in a slow, steady stream — like a water faucet running on medium speed. Good divinity involves good procedures, and this pouring method is important for you to master.
- If you suspect that you haven't beaten the batch long enough after the syrup mixture has been added to the egg-white mixture, be certain that the mixture has enough stability to hold its shape in the pot before you remove the batch from the mixer. You can check the stability by scooping one small kiss from the batch to see if it stands. If the kiss is going to flatten, it'll do so very quickly. If the kiss maintains its round shape, you're ready to dip.
Fudge is sticky and syrupy
You want your fudge, when it's set, to be creamy and firm. The cooking process is designed to remove a certain amount of moisture from the fudge to give you that nice creamy richness and that desirable firmness that gives the fudge its nice bite. Occasionally, though, you end up with something that's a bit gooey and not quite what you envisioned.
If your fudge is sticky and syrupy, your batch is undercooked. Check your cooking temperature (it should be 234 degrees F) and be sure that your candy thermometer is working properly .
Truffles develop mold inside their shells
If you see fluffy green growth inside your truffles (either hand-rolled truffles or those filled in shells), you're looking at mold. Mold forms in truffles because of trapped moisture, which allows bacteria to form.
If you're piping the centers into chocolate shells, be sure you don't allow air pockets to form because these spaces allow for condensation, which promotes bacterial growth. To avoid air pockets in your truffles, place the tip of your piping bag in the bottom of the shell and let the bag come up as you fill the shell.
Try using invertase, a special enzyme you add to your chocolate that prevents bacterial problems. You'll extend the life of all your truffles by weeks or even months. If you use invertase in your truffles, you can store them at room temperature for four to six weeks, frequently much longer. If you make truffle centers without invertase, you should consume them within 24 days or less or freeze them for up to two months.
Chocolates don't release from their molds
When the time comes to remove chocolates from their molds, occasionally the molds don't release, and the chocolates seem stuck, even though you've left the molds in the refrigerator for the right amount of time.
If the chocolate molds are too cool when you fill them with chocolate, they may not release the finished chocolates well. The molding process involves putting chocolate into room-temperature molds and refrigerating the molds for an appropriate period of time, during which the chocolate shrinks to release. The chocolate's release is based on the chocolate's shrinking and allowing space between the chocolate and the mold. If the mold is cold when you fill it with chocolate, however, the shrinkage of the chocolate in the refrigerator won't be significant enough to offset the cold mold, which has experienced some shrinkage itself.
Be sure that the molds are at approximately 70 to 75 degrees F before you fill them with chocolate, and you should have no problem getting the molds to release the chocolates. If you need to quickly reuse molds that have already been in a refrigerator, lightly warm the mold with a hair dryer and leave the mold at room temperature for 5 minutes; then refill and start the molding process.
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