Maple Candy - Still struggling to get it right

[Lazarus]

OK, I've made sugar, cream, and lollipops, and I think I have those down pretty good. I am still struggling with the "soft" molded maple candy. I have read tons of literature on it, got the video on making it, read the Cornell bulletins 100 times, and still I don't seem to be able to make more than a piece or two correctly. I have made maybe five or six batches - none have been salvageabe.

I'm doing this by hand. My batch size is only about 3 cups of syrup, 1.0% invert sugar level. Using 3/4 oz maple leaf silicon molds. Tonight's failed batches went like this:

1) Batch 1 - heated to 244 degrees (water boiled at 211). Cooled to 185 degrees. Stirred 2.5 minutes. Color was pretty well changed. Got two candies poured, and the entire pot turned rock solid in like, a fraction of an instant. For five seconds it was fine, the next second I had a brick.

2) Batch 2 - heated to 243 degrees, cooled to 195 degrees. Stirred 30 seconds and started pouring when the very first color change was even suggested. Got 18 candies poured, pan solidified on the last two. While I got more poured, they are slightly sticky, and they have a slight crystalline look to them, like they have glitter on them. They are not totally un-glossy like the other ones (flat and without shine is what they look like in the store). I'm not sure if they should really be packaged like this, they don't seem quite right.

The other batches I tried had more or less the same results as batch #1, solidified in the pan before more than a few candies could be poured. So, I'm getting close to saying maybe we're not cut out to include molded candy in our product mix. Any thoughts? I can't seem to get this right.

Thanks!
-Laz

250+ taps
GBM 2 x 6

[nymapleguy607]

I would try to make another batch similar to Batch 2 as you indicated but cut the amount of syrup you using to like 2 cups. If your hand stirring a smaller batch will give you a little more time to get the syrup out of the pan.

[wiam]

When I hand stirred I found over 1.5 cups was hard to get out before it turned hard. You have to watch very closely for slight change and pour fast. If you do not stir enough you can put the molds in the freezer and the kids love them.:rolleyes: It is like sugar on snow with no snow.

[Father & Son]

I have done hand batches with mixed results. Over time this has worked best for me.

Use only early season syrup light or medium.
A digital thermometer is a must. A candy/oil thermometer with a long stem.
I do a two cup batch only because much larger always cools and hardens in the measuring cup.
I heat my syrup to 240F.
Take off the heat and cool to 160F, this will produce a smaller crystal.
I then transfer to a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup and immediatly begin to slowly stir.
As soon as you start to see streaks behind the spoon or feel the bottom of the cup starting to feel rough begin pouring into the molds.
If it sets up in the cup, place the cup in the microwave for 10-15 seconds or just long enough to re-liquify, stir and pour into molds.
The candy that comes from the re-liquifying in the microwave will have alittle different texture but not much.

The important thing to remember is there is no such thing as a failed batch.
It can be put back into the pan, add alittle syrup, and try again.

Hope this helps

Jim

[red maples]

by hand...
I heat to about 243-244* it will carry over to 245* just from the pot. I usually do no less than a quart(usually 1/2 gallon or more). it will evap to less than the thermo goes.

Then let it cool to about 185 to 190 and pour it into a warm pyrex 2 cup measuring cup and the rest stays in the pot I use electric stove. and turn the burner on high let it stand for a minute then shut it off and put the pot on the warm burner. basically you wanna keep it at 200*

Stir the cooked syrup until you get a slight swirls of opaque. and then pour this is the hard part and experience is key.

once it starts to set up and you can't pour anymore, mix in some of the reserve hot stuff still in the pot. stir and pour, its already forming crystal so as long as you break up the bigger chunks your all set. continue on repeating until you have used up the warm reserve.

once you have used up the warm reserve use the microwave in 5 sec intervals and stir and pour until you used it up. no waste and they come out really good most of the time.

I personally have never checked for invert sugars and stuff like that. a rule of thumb that I read somewhere and it works good. If you use only light syrup put a couple of TBLS of dark or good tasting grade B in there it will help, if you are using Medium add nothing. it works for me.

[GeneralStark]

by hand...
I heat to about 243-244* it will carry over to 245* just from the pot. I usually do no less than a quart(usually 1/2 gallon or more). it will evap to less than the thermo goes.

Then let it cool to about 185 to 190 and pour it into a warm pyrex 2 cup measuring cup and the rest stays in the pot I use electric stove. and turn the burner on high let it stand for a minute then shut it off and put the pot on the warm burner. basically you wanna keep it at 200*

Stir the cooked syrup until you get a slight swirls of opaque. and then pour this is the hard part and experience is key.

once it starts to set up and you can't pour anymore, mix in some of the reserve hot stuff still in the pot. stir and pour, its already forming crystal so as long as you break up the bigger chunks your all set. continue on repeating until you have used up the warm reserve.

once you have used up the warm reserve use the microwave in 5 sec intervals and stir and pour until you used it up. no waste and they come out really good most of the time.

I personally have never checked for invert sugars and stuff like that. a rule of thumb that I read somewhere and it works good. If you use only light syrup put a couple of TBLS of dark or good tasting grade B in there it will help, if you are using Medium add nothing. it works for me.

Great Advice! I also would suggest mixing some dark with fancy. I do test for inverts and generally find that most fancy is pretty low, like at the threshold or below for making candy. So I blend in good flavored dark (good flavor is key. don;t be thinking you can use you buddy syrup here.) to get the ideal invert for candy or I may use medium if I have it. My customers like that the candy has good maple flavor and is not just sweet. I often hear that comment.

I actually blend syrups for cream and sugar as well and find it works quite well for assuring a quality product.

I can't speak to making candy by hand as I use a machine, but it seems to me the advice you posted is spot on.

[Lazarus]

Wow, great suggestions all. Working through a few of the ideas, I was intrigued by the notion that some of you cook the syrup to 243-ish range, while others do it to the 236-238 degree range (in looking at older posts). Also, I never thought of the microwave trick (and I had been using a metal pan to stir). For all batches, I have been/am mixing two different invert sugar syrups to get to the range I want, one at .4% and one at 3%.

Here's batches 3 and 4, using 2-2.5 cups of syrup this time:

Batch 3 - Heated to 240 degrees (still popped to 242 after removing from the burner), cooled to 285 degrees. Transferred to a 4-cup pyrex glass and stirred about a minute. What a difference - poured 3/4 of the candies, then popped into the microwave, and poured the last six.

Batch 4 - Heated to 238 degrees (popped to 239 after removing from the burner), cooled to 282 degrees. Transferred to a 4-cup pyrex glass and stirred about a minute. Poured nearly all the candies, popped into the microwave for the last two.

On Batch 3, we are ALMOST there. the first six candies poured or so turned bright white on all the corners and I had to recycle them - why did it do this? The last six poured after the mircowave trick were flawless. I would have thought the microwave would have made those worse, but they were better. How come the first ones tuned white on the edges?

Batch 4 -Absolutely perfect in color, but a little soft and I lost a few to breaking when removing them from the molds.

There was not much difference between batch 3 and 4 in terms of process. Batch 3 broke less often that batch 4, but batch 4 had better color. I'm curious as to why batch 3 gave so much white edges. Fluke?

-Laz

[red maples]

I got my instructions from north american maple producers manual...which says 32* -34* over the boiling point of water. I am pretty close to sea level so I am usually right on 212* so 212*+ 32*=244*-246* Thats what I do and it works for me.

I think, (not really sure why as I am not an expert candy maker by anymeans), white tips might be larger sugar crystal resulting from stirring at too high of a temperature causing it to dry out get that white appearence. I have had that happen they usually get pretty hard(like a rock) pretty quick but still taste OK.

[maple flats]

Yes, stir in a plastic bowl and pour. When it solidifies, a minute in the microwave, stir 15-20 seconds and you're ready to pour again. We make 1/2 gal batches generally, mix by hand and use the microwave when needed. We cool to about 150 before stiring.

[220 maple]

I heard there was someway to reheat in the microwave, my question is If I get the left over candy out of the auger trough on my candy machine can I still reheat in a microwave and pour a few more small leafs? I may try that the next time I make candy!

Mark 220 Maple

[maple flats]

absolutely, it reheats no matter how it got to where it is, bowl, pig etc.

[Shaun]

I have been trying a few hand stirred batches. I seem to have some white streaks in some of the candy also. I noticed that as soon as I see a change it is time to pour, although the last bit i press into the molds with a butter knife has the best appearence once taken out of the molds.

[unclebuck]

here is my previous post

Originally Posted by unclebuck
I make about 45 pounds of molded sugar candy a year. I always boil to 243 degrees, then cool to 180 degrees. Do not move the pan with the syrup in it until it reaches 180 degrees, as you could cause crystallization to begin prematurely, which would affect the size of the crystals. At this time, start stirring the syrup under a bright light. You should be able to see through the syrup. As you continue to stir, the syrup will turn opaque (cloudy). As soon as you see the first swirl, pour immediately. As you are well aware, waiting too long will cause it to harden in the pan.

[SeanD]

I'm having trouble with my candy that is a little different than what is shared here, though I am going to use a bunch of the tips mentioned here in my next one. The trouble I had is that the syrup never turned the right color when stirring. It eventually stiffened up, but it took a lot of stirring - close to 20 or 25 minutes. The result was something that was closer to sugar on snow. It was caramel colored and chewy.

I am using Grade A Light and I went to +32 deg. which was 245 deg. this morning. It did spike to 250 after I shut off the heat and took it off the burner. Is that the trouble?

I am remelting/reheating it again and adding in a bit of dark syrup. Any other ideas why it was more like hard caramel?

Sean

[spencer11]

heat to about 150* let cool for about 5 minuites, stir for probably 5-7 minuites, if its not getting an opaque color let cool until it starts getting hard on the surface, then stir again and it should be ready to go into the molds right after that

[SeanD]

I should have mentioned that I let it cool to 190*. That was 15 minutes. The MMPA manual says to wait until it is under 200*. Do you put yours in an ice bath?

Sean

[sugarman3]

check your thermometer.it might be off,5 degress is a lot, don't take much over to make it hard,i wuld not add dark,stck to light,as long as it was early syrup,invert changes as season goes on,STEVE CHILDS MANUAL IS A GREAT TOOL TO USE MAKING ANY SYRUP BY-PRODUCTS

[SeanD]

Yeah, second batch was the same. I'll try a new thermometer when I try again tonight. Does a third try with the same syrup change anything or can I dissolve and reheat over and over again without limit. It does seem to be darkening.

Sean

[sugarman3]

dissolve and add a little water,enough to take it back a few degees,remember-low front-lower boiling pt of water also-so more than likely you were more likely7-8 degees high

[GeneralStark]

Too low or too high invert sugar levels in your syrup could yield odd results like you are describing. It sounds to me like you are not getting good crystalization, so assuming your thermometer is correct, your invert may be off. You say that you are adding some dark syrup. I have found some dark syrup to have invert levels as high as 9%, and that would definitely throw off your results.

[shane hickey]

Thanks jake i have never made candy before
That was very informative ill have to try it this spring

[The Sweet Spot]

That sounds much easier that what I was trying. I'm gonna get a pint and try. Thanks

[5 Oaks]

Last night i made my first. Heated to 242° without stirring, let it set until it was at 170°, stirred until the color changed. Poured into molds. It set up faster than I thought it would. I just held the pan over the heat and let it remelt and poured the rest of it into the molds. It was easy after some trial and error.

It foamed up much more than I thought it would while heating it up, so I had a mess on the stove to clean.

[Too Tall]

Thanks Moser! That is ridiculously good. I heated to 243, cooled to 170, stirred until it got thick, reheated while stirring, poured into a pre-heated pyrex measuring cup, poured from there into some flexible ice cube trays. They taste delicious! The kids are bouncing off the walls right now.

[meredith maple's]

to help putting into molds try using a confectionery funnel, heat then poor into that and then you can fill the trays quick and less of a mess and waste.

[Angela Rust]

I only tried making candy in December of 2011. We only made 175 gallons of syrup in 2012, so I couldn't have fun with it. This year, we are approaching 300 gallons today. Still not a great year but a good one and we are still going...slowly. My question is, I only have holiday molds, nothing appropriate for Spring. Any suggestions? Will mini paper cups work well? Mini metal muffin tins? I really need to make it soon as I work full time and my busiest season is about to begin. Thanks for any suggestions.