OOHHHH FUUUDGGGE! This is why I do not like to cook. As you may remember, we offered a batch of fudge as an Indiegogo prize on Giving Tuesday. Last week, Amanda and I set out to make said fudge. I guess we didnt let it boil long enough because it never set, and we had chocolate moose instead of fudge. Amanda just looked at me dumbfounded and said, I have been making fudge for three years! I have never had this problem. She then tried two more batches to no success. After we discussed it, I called the fudge expert, Dana to get some serious help!. She hooked me up with a recipe, talked about the issues, and genuinely encouraged me to give it a go on my own. Feeling assured that this wouldnt be so hard, I ventured to the store, got all of the ingredients (and 75% off Guardians of the Galaxy wrapping paper), and came home excited to try this easy task. I read the directions and measured all of my ingredients in advance just like you see on the cooking shows. I preceded to warm the sugar mixture as my mother dutifully watched. This time, I allowed the mixture to boil for seven minutes instead of 5, and I know it was hot as one boil bubble spit on me and burned my hand. While this stung (it was a very little burn with the worlds tiniest blister), I happily continued on. Now, here is your chemistry lesson for the day. Sugar, when heated, can form what is called a super solution. This means that you can put a lot more sugar into a hot solvent than you can a cold solvent. As the super saturated sugar solution cools, the sugar in solution becomes very unstable and can easily fall out of solution. In fact, this is exactly how rock candy is made. You provide a seed crystal for the sugar to form on, and as the water evaporates, voila. So here I was with an extremely hot batch of sugar/milk solution excited to make my first batch of fudge. As per the directions, I added the vanilla extract. At this point in time, my mother decided to run and hide so she would not get covered in hot sugar melt when the experiment exploded. Since this did not happen, I continued to proceed with an air of confidence that can only be attributed to the foolish and inexperienced. I proudly added my dark chocolate chips to the mixture and began stirring when, in horror, this experiment turned South. In the blink of an eye, all of the amazing solution turned into a chocolate brick with the consistency of sandstone! I just stood there in shock thinking, Is this what is supposed to happen? This is certainly not what happened at Amandas. Taking a deep breath, I decided to see if adding the marshmallow cream would help it get its consistency back while assuring myself that maybe it is supposed to be this way. Maybe? Well, as I continued to look at my brick, I decided with an air of great logic that I should probably warm the marshmallow in the microwave before adding it. Yes. This was a great idea because a liquid must certainly fold into a brick better than room temperature cream. So, I go ahead and remove the safety seal and place the lid back over the cream gently. As I placed the jar into the microwave I hear, Oh my goodness you are going to burn the house down. Annoyed, my brain has decided to turn off and not actually think about what happens to marshmallow as it heats. Then I hear it. The loud pop coming from the microwave. My heart stops as I imagine that I really have caught the marshmallow on fire. Fortunately, there was no fire. There was only a microwave full of expanded white mess. Really? How could I have missed this? I have a degree in Physics! I know that gasses expand when they get hot. I shake my head in shame thinking, Im a smart person. Im a smart person who is quickly remembering just how much I hate to cook. Well, folding in the new jar of marshmallow cream into the fudge brick did not solve the problems. So I decided to reheat the mixture. Of course, all of the oils from the chocolate and marshmallow decided they needed to separate during the reheating process and must be gently folded back into the mixture as it slowly cools. With extreme patients, I did manage to make the fudge look pretty and get it transferred into the cooling pan. Then, I did what anyone in my shoes would do. I texted Dana my surrender and thanked her profusely for making me fudge for the holidays. My advice to the rest of the world: If you have someone in your life that makes you fudge, hug and kiss that person. They really love you more than you will ever know. And yes, I will very likely try this again to see if I can do it right because I am a glutton for punishment. This is why I have a degree in Physics. :)
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 02:20:24 +0000