6 Tips for Perfect Homemade Hard Candy

There's nothing better than the juicy, flavorful hard candy from your local gourmet candy shop . . . unless you make it yourself, that is! Making perfect hard candy at home is easier than you think. You just need the right tools, a few simple ingredients, and your imagination.

Try these tips the next time you want to make something special in the kitchen. Your family will love it!

1. Stock up on basic candymaking tools.

You'll need a medium-size saucepan (3 or 4 quarts) with a heavy bottom and straight sides.

You'll also need a long-handled wooden spoon, a pastry brush (used to brush off any crystals that might form), and a good candy thermometer with a metal clamp that attaches to the side of your saucepan.

2. Get the weather forecast.

Did you know that humidity has an enormous effect on the outcome of your hard candy? Because sugar attracts water, rainy days can wreak havoc on even your best attempts at homemade delicacies. Make it easier on yourself-wait for a clear, dry day to try out your recipes.

3. Test your thermometer.

Test your thermometer by placing it in a pan of water and bringing it to the boiling point. It should now register 212 degrees at sea level. If it registers 214 degrees, you can correct it by adding two degrees to those given in the recipe; if 210 degrees, by subtracting. If it's more than a few degrees off in either direction, you need a new thermometer.

4. Use fresh ingredients.

Sugar is the most basic ingredient in hard candy. Be sure to use a new package of sugar each time you make your recipes to ensure that the sugar hasn't been contaminated by other common kitchen ingredients.

If your recipe calls for butter, be sure to use the unsalted variety. Salted butter and margarine can adversely effect the cooking time, texture, and taste of your efforts.

5. Go easy on the food coloring.

Colors like green and yellow look much more appetizing when they're applied lightly, so be sure to add food coloring gradually. You can slowly add more until you reach the intensity you want.

6. Use the proper storage techniques.

After cooling your candies, store them in airtight jars without wrapping them first. Never store hard candy in the same container as desserts that lose moisture, such as fudge.

Ready to begin? Try this basic hard candy recipe--and have fun!

BASIC HARD CANDY RECIPE
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
2/3 cup light corn syrup
Flavorings and colorings to taste (just a few drops will do)

Measure 2 cups sugar, 2/3 cup light corn syrup and 3/4 cup water into a saucepan and blend together. Place over low heat and stir until mixture boils. Cover the saucepan for 5 minutes so that any sugar crystals that have formed on the sides ofthe pan will be washed down. Now put in the candy thermometer and let the candy boil without stirring. Using a pastry brush or a fork wrapped with muslin and dipped in water, wash off any crystals that might form. After the candy reaches 280 degrees, lower heat so as not to discolor the candy. When candy thermometer registers 300 degrees, remove pan from the heat and allow it to stand until all the bubbles have simmered down. Then add the flavoring and coloring. There are many to choose from but one favorite is anise along with red coloring. One teaspoon of a flavoring extract should be used for this recipe, while only a few drops of an oil such as peppermint, wintergreen or cinnamon are enough. Coloring should be added gradually until the desired intensity is reached. It is important to stir these in as gently as possible. Too much stirring will cause the syrup to solidify into a hard sugary lump. Now the candy is ready to be formed. It may be poured into a pan, 7 by 7 inches, and marked into squares as it begins to harden. Or it may be poured in rounds on skewers or sticks to form lollipops.

Vanessa Kirkland is publisher of the cherished recipe collection, "Candymaking Secrets," by Virginia Pasley. This long-lost collection includes 67 vintage recipes for making delicious old-fashioned candies at home . . . without a single cooking class.

Barbecue Success With The Rule Of Thirds

Ever been to a barbecue party where the 'chef' placed as much food as he could possibly fit onto the barbecue grill, every so often stabbing the food with a fork and juggling it around so that it cooks evenly? Ever noticed how, within a few minutes, the flames start gently flickering under the food, the chef proudly standing back admiring the char grill effect that he's creating? Ever notice the panic that sets in when the flames suddenly leap up and around the food burning it black on the outside and leaving it raw on the inside?

The difference between great char grilled barbecue food and burnt offerings lies in a few small precautions. The chef that we've just described made a few fatal errors that could easily have been avoided. Before discussing the errors though, lets consider the equipment that we're talking about. Although the same can happen with gas as with charcoal, gas grills can be turned lower, or off, when the flames start getting out of control. The flames can also be controlled if the barbecue grill has a tight fitting lid, as with a Weber kettle grill. However most people seem to cook on an open top barbecue grill with the lid, if it has one, open. Note that we're talking about a barbecue grill here, where the food is cooked directly over the hot coals. True barbecue uses indirect heat with the food fully enclosed as though in an oven. So, the barbecue grill that our imaginary chef is using is an open top, charcoal, barbecue grill.

Now lets have a look at our imaginary chef's errors.

First, he filled the grate with charcoal along its entire length, providing a constant heat source, with no area of lower heat to place food if it started to burn. A simple solution is to use the rule of thirds. Imagine the grate of your barbecue being in thirds. Fill two thirds of the grill with charcoal and leave the remaining third empty. Cook your food over the hot coals and when your food is ready, or starts to burn, or creates out of control flames, move it over to the section above the empty grate. The food will stay warm but won't cook any more (or possibly it will but much more slowly), and wont cause any flare-ups. A further refinement can be had, if you've a large enough grill, by placing a double level of coals in one third of the grate, a single level of coals in the middle, and no coals in the final third. You now have three levels of heat!

A further mistake was to overfill the grill. Completely filling it leaves no room to manoeuvre the food. You're not able to turn it for even cooking and you've no space to move the food to a lower heat. Assuming that you're using the rule of thirds as described above, , when you first start cooking, leave empty the area of the grill above where you've placed no coals. You've then space to move the cooked food into. Secondly, don't pack the cooking part of the grill with food. Leave room to comfortably turn your food.

A second problem caused when over filling the grill is to use foods that require different cooking times. When the coals are first ready to use, they're at their hottest. This is the time to cook small, thin items of food that can be cooked in a short time with a high heat. These include items like sausages, burgers, kebabs and small pieces of meat off the bone. Don't forget that food, such as burgers and sausages, drip fat and juices onto the charcoal during cooking and it's this that causes flare-ups. So you'll need to constantly watch the items of food and move them to an area of lower heat if necessary (did I mention the rule of thirds? ). After the heat has died down somewhat, start grilling food that takes a little longer to grill like chops and steaks and meat on the bone. Finally when the heat is even lower, grill food like fruit kebabs that really only need heating through.

Last, but not least, our imaginary chef stabs his food with a barbecue fork to turn it over. During the initially few minutes of grilling, the heat seals the surface of the meat, sealing in the juices. When the meat is stabbed the juices flow out onto the coals, causing the meat to dry out and become tough, and producing a flare up which burns the food. When turning food, always use barbecue tongs.

With a charcoal barbecue controlling the heat is difficult. Instead you need to ensure that you cook your individual items of food at the most appropriate time and that you have separate areas of heat. Use the rule of thirds to provide separate areas of heat. When cooking your food, first grill quick cook food when the coals are at their hottest. Second, cook food that requires cooking at a mid temperature for a longer time. Thirdly, cook food that needs a low hea

Les Brand is the author of The Barbecue Hut website. Featuring free recipes, and hints and tips about barbecue grills and smokers.www.barbecuehut.com

How to Cook Rice Right

The easiest way to make rice well every time is to use a rice cooker. If you don't have one, or don't want one, though, here's a no-fail recipefor rice that one of my grandmothers taught my mother, who taught me. This one, I use mainly for seasoned rice dishes because things can beadded to it before boiling, or broth (a plain soup) can be used in place of water.

This is for 4 substantial servings (4 rice bowls).

You will need:

1 large saucepan, or a short pot.

2 cups of white rice, preferably persian, glutinous, or converted, depending on how sticky you like it.

2 tablespoons of butter, margarine, rendered fat, or vegetable oil.

water or broth as needed (usually 3 to 3.5 cups)

salt to taste

Directions:

1.Put the rice in the bottom of the saucepan, and wash it thoroughly by rinsing, and then pouring off the cloudy water. Repeat until you

can recognize grains of rice through the water, and then pour this last rinse out.

2.Put your middle finger in the saucepan until it touches the bottom, and put in water or broth until the level reaches the second line of

your finger.

3.Add your salt and oil.

4.Place on the stove, and cover loosely, which means there should be a centimeter of space between the side of the cover and the edge of the pot or saucepan.

5.Turn on the stove at medium/low heat, and leave it alone for about 20 minutes.

6.Check to see if it's done, and if not, come back every 5 minutes.

7.If you need to check, and can't tell from looking at the top, stick a spoon in the middle, and push gently to the side to see if there is any water left. If there is, then move the rice back to cover the hole. Try not to touch it too much.

8.If you run out of water before the rice is the level of softness you want, in the well you make in it for checking, just pour a quarter cup of hot water to the middle, and move the rice back over to cover the water.

9.When it's done, turn off the heat, and cover the rice completely, and let it sit for 5 minutes.

10.Stir, and then serve.Then, there is the other absolute sure-fire way that my other grandmother taught me. This is how I cook rice when I want it somewhat plain.

You will need:

However much rice you want up to 5 cups.

A pot of water, salted, with about a tablespoon of oil

A strainer

A large bowl

Directions:

1.Set the pot of oiled and salted water on high heat.

2.In a large bowl, rinse the rice repeatedly, until the water is somewhat clear.

3.Drain as much water as you can from the rice, and then wait 'til your water on the stove boils.

4.When the water reaches a fast, rolling boil, gently pour in the rice.

5.Stir to make sure the rice doesn't stick together, and then wait.

6.Occasionally stir the rice, and after 10 minutes, check to see if it's done.

7.Check every two minutes after that, and when it's as soft as you like, turn off the heat and then pour the contents of the pot into a strainer.

8.Shake the strainer a bit, to get out as much excess water as possible, and then return the rice to the now empty pot.

9.Season to taste, and then serve.Rice cooked this way can also be used for rice balls, unless it is parboiled rice. Parboiled rice should never be used if you prefer it sticky on its own, but is the best to use when making the deep fried breaded rice balls.

More Rice Tips

For golden coloured rice, stir a teaspoon of turmeric into the water before the rice begins to cook.

Seasoning blocks or bouillon give a nice flavor to rice. It will need to be stirred after cooking to evenly distribute it though.

Use leftover rice to make fried rice. It can also be used to add a bit of starch to a meatloaf in place of bread crumbs.

Never let cooked rice sit out for more than a couple of hours without keeping it very hot. Rice turns very quickly. To serve it at parties that may last awhile, but keep it from burning at the bottom, put it in a pan atop a pan of water that is over a tea light or other warmer. To cool it off quickly before it turns after a meal, transfer it from the pot to smaller containers.

If you are on a salt restricted diet but don't like your rice too sweet, use a couple of dashes of pepper and salt free chicken broth to enhancethe taste.

Niki SingletonWebmatron of http://www.freerecipeclub.com