More maple candy questions

[relseek]

I have been trying to become proficient at making maple candies, and thanks to Moser Maple's posts and videos, I am having much more success this year than last. What I normally do is heat to 241.5 then cool to 165 then stir, let set up in pan, reheat to liquid and pour. The candies have been coming out good (although still fighting with white spots at times and the backs sometimes have holes in them)
My question is this... I know it has been said to not let it cool to less than 160, but why? What happens? Is it that you are sacrificing shelf life of the candy due to the smaller crystals?

The other night I was distracted while a batch was cooling and the temp got down to 150 before I realized it and started stirring. The candies still turned out good but they have a slightly softer and smoother texture when eating. As compared to other batches. My wife prefers this texture as do a couple of customers that I've had try them. I just don't want to have them melting or molding in the packages or something . Any input would be great.

[mellondome]

The cooler, the finer the sugar crystals.

[Moser's Maple]

yes lower temp=softer smoother candy
lower temp= decreased shelf life
you will also notice the candy will set up harder in pan, takes more heat to reheat and this equals to having a harder time getting temps blended correctly to not have white spots, and also greater chance to have the holes in the back side of the candy. all of these can be overcome, it just takes time, practice and for you to develop your own technique to what fits you the best

[relseek]

Thanks for the replies guys. And thank you Moser for all your tips! It seems like lately the white spots have not been quite so frequent as long as I stir awhile after removing from heat, after remelting (before pouring). but any tips on how to solve the holes in the back? It looks like they sort of cave in. But not every one in a batch, seems like this may be related to the temp of syrup while pouring?

[Moser's Maple]

after reheating make sure you are pouring somewhere around 180-190* Fill molds, actually over fill just slightly. either bang the table, or do a slight up and down bump to settle candy into mold. take a long bladed metal spatula, thin bladed chopping knife, or even have had some tell me they purchased a ss joint compound knife and scrape/swipe the top of the candy. add access to next batch to reuse.

[relseek]

Ok. I will definitely try that on the next batch. Thanks again