Candy is prepared from sugar syrup. The syrup is heated for a long period so that it starts to solidify. Candies come in variety of textures, from soft and gummy to hard and brittle. The type produced depends on the temperatures and cooling period of syrup during its preparation.
The History
In Old days steam power was used in factories. Candy making and consumption increased during 19th century. In early days of its development preparation was done mostly by hand. It used to be prepared at home or in small, local shops. Increased machine involvement caused prices to come down and consumption increased.In the late 19th century early 20th century, candy was considered sweet and friendly, so preparing it at home, giving to friends and relatives was the trend. But over time its manufacturing developed in to a big industry. There had been a time when it even got the status of alternate meal. At that time there was very little awareness about nutrition. It was only in late 20th century that people were made aware, that these give empty calories and their popularity came down.
Safety
Making candy can be hazardous at times, due to the high temperature of sugar. The temperature often exceeds 150 degrees Celsius. Even small splashes can cause burns.
Types Of Candies
They are basically 2 types of candies. Hard Candy and Soft Candy.
1. Hard candy
Hard candy, is a candy prepared from syrups heated to a temperature of 160 °C. After heating the syrup to this temperature, it is poured in moulds and then cooled till room temperature we get hard candy. To add color, food grade color is used.
2. Soft candy
Soft candy is subdivided in to two categories:
a. Cotton candy
Cotton candy is made by spinning sugar. The Machines used to make cotton candy has a spinning head covering a small bowl. Granulated sugar is poured in the bowl while it spins. Heaters melt the sugar, and this melted sugar is squeezed out through tiny holes by centrifugal force, and the molten sugar solidifies in the form of strands, then a stick, cone, or hands are used to collect the strands.
b. Marshmallows
The use of marshmallow to make a sweet dates back to ancient Egypt. It is prepared using egg whites, corn syrup and sugar. Now a days, marshmallows are prepared by process of extrusion. Extrusion is the process in which we force semi solid paste of sugar through small orifice to give it cylindrical shape.
I have covered common varieties here but there are many more types of candies available in the market.
