Fudge.

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. Fudge has multiple meanings: Fudge is a type of candy, usually made with sugar, milk, butter and flavoring, often chocolate. ... Download high resolution version (878x658, 48 KB)A slice of Russian fudge, photographed by DONeil. ... Download high resolution version (878x658, 48 KB)A slice of Russian fudge, photographed by DONeil. ... For other uses, see Candy (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Cocoa (disambiguation). ... This article is about sugar as food and as an important and widely traded commodity. ... For other uses, see Butter (disambiguation). ... A glass of cows milk. ... Candy is a term for a type of confectionery prepared by dissolving sugar in water or milk and boiling it until it starts to caramelize. ... For other uses, see Chocolate (disambiguation). ...

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." ^[1] Caramel candy For other uses, see Caramel (disambiguation). ...

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.^[2] , Malmesbury is a south Cotswold town and civil parish in south west England in the county of Wiltshire. ... Baltimore redirects here. ...

Word of this popular confection spread to other women's colleges. For example, Wellesley and Smith have their own versions of this fudge recipe. For other uses, see Wellesley College (disambiguation). ... Smith College is a private, independent womens liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. ...

Fudge, especially the Cadbury variety, is well known for its healing properties. It is especially renowned for its ability to cure sore throats^{[citation needed]}.

Geographical consumption patterns

Logo of fudgemaker in Mackinaw City, Michigan (near Mackinac Island)

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,^{[citation needed]} 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. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2592 × 1944 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2592 × 1944 pixel, file size: 1. ... Mackinaw City is a village in Emmet County, with a small portion lying within Cheboygan County, in the U.S. state of Michigan. ... Mackinac Island (pronounced or MACK-in-aw) is an island covering 3. ... Mackinac Island (pronounced or MACK-in-aw) is an island covering 3. ... Northern Michigan - or more properly Northern Lower Michigan - is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan, popular as a tourist destination, resort area, and vacation area. ...

In the UK traditional English fudge has become synonymous with Devon, Cornwall, and sometimes Dorset and is traditionally made in a basic range. Part of the seafront of Torquay, south Devon, at high tide Devon is a large county in South West England, bordered by Cornwall to the west, and Dorset and Somerset to the east. ... For other uses, see Cornwall (disambiguation). ... Dorset (pronounced DOR-sit or [dɔ.sət], and sometimes in the past called Dorsetshire) is a county in the south-west of England, on the English Channel coast. ...

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. For other uses, see Chocolate (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Cake (disambiguation). ... In American cooking, a chocolate brownie, also known as a brownie or a Boston brownie, is a small, rich, chocolate baked cake slice, named for its brown color. ... Peanut butter in a jar. ... Penuche is the original fudge flavor and is made from brown sugar, butter and milk, using no flavorings except for vanilla. ...

Chemistry

Fudge is a drier variant of fondant. Fondant is a confection used as a filling or coating for cakes, pastries, and candies or sweets. ...

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. A glass of cows milk. ... Tate & Lyle brand Corn Syrup being moved by tank car Corn syrup is a syrup, made using corn (maize) starch as a [feedstock], and composed mainly of [glucose]. A series of two [enzyme|enzymatic] reactions are used to convert the corn starch to corn syrup. ... Tate & Lyle brand Corn Syrup being moved by tank car Corn syrup is a syrup, made using corn (maize) starch as a [feedstock], and composed mainly of [glucose]. A series of two [enzyme|enzymatic] reactions are used to convert the corn starch to corn syrup. ... Glucose (Glc), a monosaccharide (or simple sugar), is an important carbohydrate in biology. ... Fructose (or levulose) is a simple sugar (monosaccharide) found in many foods and is one of the three most important blood sugars along with glucose and galactose. ... Maltose, or malt sugar, is a disaccharide formed from two units of glucose joined with an α(1→4) linkage. ... Frost crystallization on a shrub. ...

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. Caramel candy For other uses, see Caramel (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Candy (disambiguation). ...

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. For the plant, see Althaea (genus). ...

References

Fudge origin

• Jones, Charlotte Foltz (1991). Mistakes That Worked. Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-26246-9. 

See also

• Praline - a confection using similar flavors as original fudge
• Scots tablet - Scottish confection with similar recipe

Pralines on a cutting board Pralines and box posed Pralines in a box Praline is a family of confections made from nuts and sugar syrup. ... Scots Tablet is a medium-hard, sugary confection from Scotland. ...

External links

Wikibooks Cookbook has an article on

Fudge

• Science of candy: Fudge