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Dessert

French Candy

A sugar candy made by cooking sugar and water until a soft ball forms, then cooled and flavored.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By United Methodist Church (Grayville, Ill.) · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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French Candy

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the syrup

  1. Combine three cups sugar and two and one-half cups water.

  2. Stir until the sugar dissolves.

  3. Add a little butter.

  4. Cook until the candy forms a soft ball in the water.

Cool and knead

  1. Let the candy cool.

  2. Stir the candy fast and hard.

  3. Knead the candy on a marble slab.

  4. If the candy seems hard, work in a little warm water.

Flavor and finish

  1. Flavor and color the candy to suit taste.

  2. A variety may be made from this fondant, according to ability.

By United Methodist Church (Grayville, Ill.). Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Sugar
Forms the body of the fondant and provides its sweetness as it crystallizes.
Butter (in the method)
Adds fat that softens the texture and makes the fondant smoother.

The step that matters

Cook until the candy forms a soft ball in the water. The concentration of sugar reached during cooking controls the final texture. Stopping too early leaves a syrup that will not firm up, while cooking too long makes the fondant hard and grainy.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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