Wednesday, August 25, 2010

All You Should Know About Candies

By Rich Kruger

Candy is really a favorite of small children in addition to many grown ups. The famous sugar candy is made of thick solution of sugar water which can be then made tasty and attractive by adding various flavors and colors. These cadies are sometimes made into ice pop candies by freezing them.

Candy is a broad term this includes chocolates, liquorice, toffees, candy bars, chewing gums and many more. Fruit or vegetable coating is placed on add shine to these candies. Most often they are referred to as confectionery or sweets. Lollipop is called a sugar candy with a stick. Types of candies like fairy floss or cotton candies are quiet famous and are favorite of numerous children.

Candy is manufactured with the diluting sugar in milk or water that is then boiled to find the required consistency. The outcome from the product is dependent upon the timeframe used for boiling the mixture and also the ingredients used in the process. These are available in various forms and textures like chewy, soft, brittle and hard. Peppermint sticks, gum drops, lollipops, cotton candy, toffee, praline, rock candy, peanut brittle, taffy, caramel and candy bars are a few of the varieties, that exist in the market.

The consistency of the candy depends upon the quantity of sugar put in the mixture. This mixture is boiled till the water gets evaporated. The higher the temperature where the mixture is boiled the harder the candies become and the lower the temperature used for boiling the softer the candies become.

All the stages for boiling the sugar are: soft ball- temperature 234-240 F, 112-115 C, sugar concentration 85 %, thread- 230 -233F, 110-111 C, sugar concentration 80%, and soft crack- 270-290 F, 132-143 C, sugar concentration 95 % are a couple of the stages used for making different candies.

Gelatin is added in certain candies like gummy bears and marshmallows which is made from animal bones thus restricting the vegetarian people to eat them, for e.g. kosher gelatin which is made from fish bone. Some candy may contain pectin, gum arabic, agar agar which can be substitute for gelatin, but the final expertise of the products may vary from the original usage of gelatin. Other common non-vegetarian product would be the carmine, which might include wings and also other body parts of some insects.

The candies can be edible for the period of two weeks close to one year. The edibility from the candies and sweets can be increased if they're stored in dry and cool places. These candies contain high amount of sugar which is often harmful to health. So it's better to have this confectionery in limited quantities. Our mouth contains bacteria which reside on sugar thus creating acid in mouth and then the cavities. To avoid the cavities and spoiling of the teeth it is necessary to brush your teeth regularly and neatly preferably after every meal or after eating something sweet.

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