Before you start getting ready to make candy, you need to check your cupboards for some essential ingredients. If you’re going to make candy regularly, put the basic ingredients from the following list on your candy-making shopping list so that you have everything you need when you’re in the candy-making mood:
Sugars: granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, and confectioners’ sugar
Sweeteners: corn syrup and honey
Dairy products: unsalted butter, heavy cream, whipping cream, half and half, and whole milk
Nuts: pecan halves, whole and sliced almonds, English walnuts, raw and roasted Spanish peanuts, cashews, and macadamias
Chocolates: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, unsweetened chocolate, and cocoa
If you have the storage space, you can keep a few specialty items around as well: invertase, powdered egg whites (called “egg albumen”), flavorings, and food colorings.