Candy Making for Beginners

By
Elizabeth LaBau
Sweet Book of Candy Making Elizabeth LaBau
Elizabeth LaBau
A professional pastry chef, cookbook author, and writer, Elizabeth LaBau has published more than 600 articles on baking and candy making.
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Updated on 03/19/19
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So you’ve decided to start making candy at home—great! Whether you’re a novice in the kitchen or an experienced cook looking to try your hand at candy, these tips and instructions will provide all the information you need to get started.

Common Candy Ingredients

There are two main factors that affect the taste of your candy: the ingredients you use and the procedure you follow. By educating yourself about common candy ingredients such as chocolate and sugar, and by selecting the best ingredients you can find, you will go a long way toward ensuring successful, delicious candy.

Working With Sugar

There is nothing terribly mysterious or complicated about making candy, but if you are new to the world of confectionery, you might find some of the recipe instructions confusing. Candies that are based on a sugar syrup—sugar and water boiled together—often give instructions to boil the syrup to a specific temperature. To make these recipes, you will either need a candy thermometer or will need to be familiar with the “cold-water method” of temperature checking.

Additionally, some traditional recipes call for the candy to be “pulled,” as in taffy or ribbon candy. Pulling candy takes a little practice, but it's easy once you have the hang of it.

Working With Chocolate

After sugar, chocolate is probably the most common candy ingredient, so it is important to know how to successfully work with chocolate. You'll need to properly perform the most common chocolate tasks, from chopping to melting to tempering. But don't worry, if you make a mistake while working with chocolate—and who hasn’t?—there are ways to salvage your chocolate.

Equipment for Making Candy

In general, candy making does not require much in the way of specialized equipment. Many candies can be made using basic kitchen tools that most people already possess. But there are a few tools that reappear in recipes over and over again, like a candy thermometer, and if you anticipate making candy on a regular basis, it will be helpful to familiarize yourself with the most commonly used candy and chocolate equipment.

Candy Recipes

Are you ready to make some candy? Browse the complete Candy Recipe Index and get started.