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

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