Candy is a popular sweet-tasting food. Candy is also called confection. The main ingredient in most candies is sugar, but some candies are made with saccharin and other artificial sweeteners. Candies may also include a variety of other ingredients. These ingredients include eggs, flour, fruits, milk, nuts, and natural or artificial flavorings.
People in the United States purchase about 5 billion pounds (2.3 billion kilograms) of candy each year, or about 20 pounds (9 kilograms) per person. In Canada, about 450 million pounds (205 million kilograms) of candy are eaten each year, or about 17 pounds (7.7 kilograms) per person.
Candy is sold in a variety of forms and packages, including bars, bags of wrapped candies, boxes of assorted candies, rolls, and single pieces.
Types of candies
Candies vary in their ingredients and the way they are made. There are four major types of candies: (1) chocolate candies, (2) hard candies, (3) chewy candies, and (4) whipped candies. Candies also may be grained or non-grained. Grained candies, such as creams and fudges, have fine sugar crystals. Nongrained candies have no crystals. They include caramels and some types of hard candies.
Sugar is the main ingredient in most candies. The most commonly used sugar is sucrose, which comes from sugar cane and sugar beets. Manufacturers also sweeten candy with corn syrup, honey, and invert sugar. Invert sugar contains the sugars fructose and glucose. Some candies also contain cereals, fats, flour, fruits, milk products, nuts, and peanut butter. Such natural ingredients as cocoa, peppermint, and vanilla provide flavor and color for many confections. But some candies contain artificial dyes and flavorings.
Chocolate candies
are the best-selling confections. Solid chocolate and chocolate-covered bars are the most popular. Chocolate consists mainly of cacao butter, sugar, and chocolate liquor. Chocolate liquor is produced by grinding cocoa nibs (shelled cocoa seeds) with cocoa butter, the natural fat of the cocoa bean. In making chocolate candies, additional cocoa butter, sugar, and chocolate liquor are mixed and ground into fine particles.
To form chocolate bars, melted chocolate is tempered. In tempering, chocolate is heated, stirred, and cooled in a precise fashion to ensure the cocoa butter forms an ideal crystal structure. It is then poured into molds and allowed to harden. A process called enrobing is used to make many chocolate-covered candies. In this process, pieces of candy or cookie are placed on a screenlike conveyor belt, and melted chocolate is poured over them. Chocolate candies with liquid centers are produced by shell molding. In this process, molds are partly filled with melted chocolate, which is allowed to cool and form chocolate shells. The shells are then filled with syrup and then sealed with a layer of chocolate.
Hard candies
include fruit drops, mints, and sticks. They are made from a solution of sugar, corn syrup, and a small amount of water. This mixture is boiled and forms a hot syrup, to which flavoring and color are added. After the syrup cools somewhat, it becomes easy to shape. The candy is then pulled into long, thin cords and cut into various shapes.
Butterscotch and brittles are hard candies made with butter or a vegetable fat. Most brittles contain peanuts or some other kind of nut. Some include milk.
Chewy candies
include caramels, toffees, jellies, and gums. Caramels and toffees contain milk cooked with sugars and vegetable fats. The cooked mixture is flavored, cooled, and cut into pieces.
Jellies and gums are made with a solution of sugars and a jelling agent, such as gelatin or starch. The solution is boiled, and the jelling agent, color, and flavoring are added. The mixture is then poured into molds and allowed to set.
Whipped candies,
such as nougats and marshmallows, are aerated (mixed with air) to produce a smooth texture and to increase their volume. Most whipped candies are concentrated syrups that contain a whipping agent, which makes them easier to aerate. Whipping agents include gelatin and egg whites.
In one method of producing whipped candy, air is beaten into the hot syrup with a vertical whisk. This device resembles an electric food mixer. In another method, the syrup is aerated inside a closed mixing chamber and then poured into molds or onto sheets and allowed to set.
Other candies.
Cotton candy is made from sugar crystals that are melted and spun in a heated whirling device called a centrifuge and then wound on a stick. Marzipan is produced by grinding almonds and sugars into a paste. Licorice contains wheat flour dough that has been sweetened, dyed, and flavored. Its flavoring comes from the roots of the licorice herb (see Licorice ).
Jellybeans, malted milk balls, and sugared or chocolate-covered nuts are known as panned candies. The center of the candy is placed in a rotating pan and sprayed with chocolate or syrup. Repeated coatings form the outer shell.
History
The earliest records of candymaking date back 3,000 years to ancient Egypt, where confections were made by mixing fruits and nuts with honey. People in ancient India became the first to make candy with sugar cane. Candy making remained a fairly small industry until the 1800’s, when advances in technology enabled large quantities of candy to be produced cheaply.
During the 1900’s, candy making developed from a craft involving much handwork to a chiefly automated, computer-controlled industry. Modern candy factories have long production lines. Machines perform such tasks as measuring and mixing ingredients and packing shipping cases.
During the 1970’s, the rising costs of raw materials, particularly cacao beans and sugar, led to the development of new candies. For example, many candy makers began to substitute carob beans and imitation cacao butter for cacao beans in chocolate candies (see Carob ). Reduced-calorie candies also were developed for people who want to limit the amount of sugar or fat they eat.
