Maple Candy by hand

[optionguru]

After a couple of questionable attempts last year, I finally was able to make some great maple candies. Thanks to this forum, especially Father&Son. Used two cups of syrup heated to 240, turned off the heat, syrup continued up to 245 from residual heat. Let cool to 163 (many posts said 165 many said 160, I split the diff). Poured onto pyrex measuring bowl/cup started to stir. After about 2 minutes it started to look like caramel. Started pouring into molds right away, got about 3/4 done before it set up. Put in microwave for 30 sec stirred again for about 10 seconds and started pouring. Made about 40 candies, a few were sacrificed for quality control.

11301

Also made maple nuts, this one we've mastered thanks to the super easy instructions from mathprofdk. Heat 12 oz syrup to 240 pour in 3 cups of almonds, stir immediately and keep stirring until the sugar starts to granulate and harden (it will be obvious) then stir a few more times and spread out onto granite countertop or cookie sheet to cool.

11304

I love sugar season :)

[unc23win]

Nice job I love maple covered almonds myself. There are lots of tips and tricks and recipes floating around on here.

[BlueberryHill]

I was just staring at your almond pic for a while and now I need to buy some almonds on the way home and make this happen when I get home TONIGHT! Thanks for the post!

[maple flats]

Both pictures look like you have mastered it, nice job!

[Russell Lampron]

The almonds are great but we love the pecans and cashews here.

[n8hutch]

That is some nice looking Candy for sure. I am going to try my hand at making some this week. I've got some nice light syrup so hopefully it goes well. I've heard its harder with the darker grades.

[stoweski]

Thanks for the info on the candy. I'll give it a shot. Have been looking for a small scale recipe like this for a while. I have two molds and some packaging in hopes of making & selling a few to see how they go.

Last year I made maple nuts - almonds, pecans, and cashews. They were a hit. Sold out at every event we went to. Pecans are our favorite... Especially on vanilla ice cream. We also add a bit of syrup over the top for an even greater sugar rush!

[optionguru]

We give syrup to friends and family but we sell a small amount of the nuts and candies in our pawn shop. That's how we pay for the next years maple supplies. Try not to eat too many, we tend to over do it when we have a fresh batch.

[saphound]

I have a couple pints of really dark syrup. Can I use it to make candy and those nuts? They look so good!

[optionguru]

I use darker syrup and it works great. Made two batches this year so far with those directions and they both came out great. Good luck

[saphound]

Thanks Pete. I think I ordered the wrong candy molds tho..I ordered the hard plastic ones. Now I read here it's hard to get the candy out. Is there a trick to it with the plastic molds?

[optionguru]

Not sure, I have the thick rubber molds. When the candies cool they get hard pretty quick, I would guess you could hit the mold upside down on the counter top to get them out.

[Diesel Pro]

optionguru,

What size mold did you use? I ordered the 1oz thinking that they were about the size that you have and the 2 was the larger one. Apparently I was wrong. Yours must be the 1/3 oz mold?

I did a batch, but it seems to want to stay in the caramel stage. The very last one where I used the microwave to reheat got some crystallization going but only on the part that I reheated. The rest seem to be glued into the molds.

Kind of like Gorilla glue before it cures.

[stoweski]

L


Kind of like Gorilla glue before it cures.

I bet they taste better! :lol:

[optionguru]

I'm guessing you didn't get the syrup up to 240 or 245 or maybe your thermometer was off a bit. Don't stir the syrup at all while it's heating or cooling. When you stir after transferring into the pyrex bowl did you wait until it started to look like caramel or had streaks behind the spoon before pouring?

[Diesel Pro]

Is there a more to the instructions than what the first post here read?

I have the molds frozen so I can get them out. I poured to the pyrex and started to stir, but the temp seemed to drop like a rock so I got anxious and started to pour.

[Moser's Maple]

try this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9nBmlQdYeY

[Diesel Pro]

Thanks for the vid. How did you get to the point at which you started the vid with your "cake" of maple sugar?

[optionguru]

Here are the actual instructions I used from Father&Son

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.

[Diesel Pro]

I had decent results with second attempt. I reheated the failed attempt in microwave and got things going pretty decent. The thing I noticed is that it wanted to rise or foam on me during the stir process. I poured a handful and they turned out OK, but they "fell" a little bit in the middle. Just a minor flaw no big deal. From there there rest became sugar. I suppose I could just drop the sugar into the next batch correct?

[optionguru]

I always drop the sugar into the next batch, melts right in.

[saphound]

I made a batch last night out of a pint of dark using Jakes method. Came out great..big hit with the grandkids this morning.
Just one question tho, I read to let it cool to 110-120 in another thread, which I did, but now you recommend 165? I kinda like it softer, is that the difference?

[Russell Lampron]

I made a batch last night out of a pint of dark using Jakes method. Came out great..big hit with the grandkids this morning.
Just one question tho, I read to let it cool to 110-120 in another thread, which I did, but now you recommend 165? I kinda like it softer, is that the difference?

The cooler syrup makes smaller sugar crystals. I cool it to room temperature when I make cream for the same reason.

[optionguru]

My finished product ends up harder which helps the shelf life in my shop. The ones I made last year I let cool more but then after a week or so they started to melt in the packaging at room temperature. Trying fudge today, I'll let you know how it turns out.

[Diesel Pro]

So why the double process? Is it to make sure that it converts properly then remelt and you know it's right?

[n8hutch]

I made some this weekend, cooled to 160-165 start to stir, if your a little slow on pouring or you have a mess just reheat & use a high temp spatula to clean the edges of the pot. I may have had 2 tablespoons of wasted sugar

[Diesel Pro]

I used a butter knife to stir. Thin, adequate, and temperature resistant. Also scrapes pretty decent too.