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Fudge
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Post by
Queggy
Fudge
is a type of candy, usually extremely rich and flavored with cocoa. It is made by mixing sugar, butter, and milk and heating it to the soft-ball stage at 240°F or 115°C, and then beating the mixture while it cools so that it acquires a smooth, creamy consistency. Chocolate can also be mixed in to make chocolate fudge.
Origins
American culinary folklore has it that fudge was invented in the United States more than 100 years ago. The exact origin is disputed, but most stories claim that the first batch of fudge resulted from a bungled ("fudged") batch of caramels made on February 14, 1886—hence the name "fudge."
One of the first documentations of fudge is found in a letter written by Laura Elizabeth Simmonds, an ex-student at Malmesbury School in Malmesbury, Wiltshire. She wrote that her schoolmate's cousin made fudge in Baltimore, Maryland in 1886 and sold it for 40 cents a pound. Miss Hartridge got hold of the fudge recipe, and in 1888, made 30 pounds (14 kg) of this delicious fudge for the Vassar College Senior Auction. This Vassar fudge recipe became quite popular at the school for years to come.
Word of this popular confection spread to other women's colleges. For example, Wellesley and Smith have their own versions of this fudge recipe.
Fudge, especially the Cadbury variety, is well known for its healing properties. It is especially renowned for its ability to cure sore throats.
Geographical Consumption Patterns
Mackinac Island and other tourist cities in Northern Michigan are famed for making slab fudge. Slab fudge is made by pouring liquid ingredients onto large marble slabs for hand working. Fudge is the island's primary industry, and about 10,000 pounds of the confection are sold every day. The tourists there are referred to as "fudgies". Mackinac Island holds a "Fudge Festival" on the fourth week of August.
In the UK traditional English fudge has become synonymous with Devon, Cornwall, and sometimes Dorset and is traditionally made in a basic range.
American fudge
"Fudge" in the U.S. is usually understood to be chocolate. In fact, the word fudge is used on packaging of cakes and brownies with "extra" chocolate flavoring or with fluid chocolate in the mixture. Other non-chocolate flavors of fudge are sold in the U.S., especially peanut butter and penuche (sometimes referred to as original fudge), but these are designated by their flavor while the plain word, fudge, is understood to refer to chocolate flavored fudge. Penuche is most commonly seen in New England and is most similar to the original recipes.
Chemistry
Fudge is a drier variant of fondant.
In forming a fondant, it is not easy to keep all vibrations and seed crystals from causing rapid crystallisation to large crystals. Consequently, milk fat and corn syrup are often added. Corn syrup contains glucose, fructose (monosaccharides) and maltose (disaccharide). These sugars interact with the sucrose molecules. They help prevent premature crystallization by inhibiting sucrose crystal contact. The fat also helps inhibit rapid crystallisation. Controlling the crystallization of the supersaturated sugar solution is the key to smooth fudge. Initiation of crystals before the desired time will result in fudge with fewer, larger sugar grains. The final texture will have a grainy mouth-feel rather than the smooth texture of quality fudge.
One of the most important parts of any candy is its texture. The temperature is what separates hard caramel from fudge. The higher the peak temperature, the more sugar is dissolved, the more water is evaporated; resulting in a higher sugar to water ratio. Before the availability of cheap and accurate thermometers, cooks would use the ice water test to determine the saturation of the candy. Fudge is made at the "soft ball" stage which varies by altitude and ambient humidity from 235-240 °F or 113-116 °C.
Some recipes call for making fudge with prepared marshmallows as the sweetener. This allows the finished confection to use the structure of the marshmallow for support instead of relying on the crystallization of the sucrose. Fudge squares can be substituted for the marshmallows.
See also
* Praline - a confection using similar flavors as original fudge
* Scots tablet - Scottish confection with similar recipe
Post by
blademeld
I want some....
Post by
106701
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
Queggy
me? or blademeld?
Post by
106701
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
blademeld
Can we get back to fudge here?
What flavor is the best?
Post by
Elgarth
Chocolate...
Hmmmmmmmm
Post by
Raws
Meatloaf. Meatloaf fudge. With ground up pictures of cats.
Post by
92388
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
Post by
106581
This post was from a user who has deleted their account.
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