Oh , fudge , that wonderful candy with a rich , cryptic flavor and thick texture . It ’s the guilty pleasure of choice for manychocolatelovers , and fudge , in all of its many flavorful incarnation , is n’t that hard to make , especially if you understand a mo about cook chemistry , crystals and the advantage of a small patience .
Fudge — an American Original
Although the origins of many foods are in doubt , there ’s a potent suggestion that fudge was first make in the Eastern United States in the late 1800s and is the resultant of a happy accident made by one , or possibly a group of Vassar College educatee attempting to make caramels . We determine the first mention of it in a letter written by Emelyn Battersby Hartridge about a formula she ’d obtained from the first cousin of a school day friend .
No one knows if fudge started life with its typical name , or just exactly how the name became democratic , but by 1895 , carrying the " fudge " moniker , it come out in a nationally syndicate write up in the Boston Globe . Fudge had made the big clip [ source : Practically Edible ] .
The Secret of Fudge
To look at a simple fudge recipe , you ’d reckon that making this big businessman of confection would be a breeze . You are n’t just heating up the mixture , though , and that ’s where potential problems take off . Even though most fudge recipes use a simple combination of butter , sugar , flavoring and milk , there ’s more exit on than meets the centre .
Good fudge is all about the sugar quartz . Big sugar crystals make fudge taste grainy , while very tiny sugar crystals result in a creamy , sweet fudge that tastes like , well , great fudge . It takes timing and solitaire , but once you ’ve made a successful good deal , you ’ll never feel the same fashion about store - bought fudge again .
There are some ingredient that have been used in fudge recipes over the geezerhood to make it well-to-do to rip off your way to a consistently OK product , like condensed Milk River and corn syrup , are n’t necessary . A mere formula that prognosticate for the canonic four ingredient above is all you really take .
Fudge-making Tips
Now that you have the mystery to superior fudge , you’re able to become the go - to fudge guru in your family and develop signature varieties , like pistachio fudge and orange macadamia nut fudge . With a little avail from science , you may have consistently dense and creamy fudge every time . That ’s a tasty confidential deserving study .
