About This Book in .NET

Paint QR-Code in .NET About This Book

This book is about basic candy making, and it includes virtually everything you need to know to produce fine candy at home I tell you where to find utensils, ingredients, packaging materials, and any other essentials that you need to be a happy and prepared candy maker And in the recipes I provide, I lay out every step you need to follow to produce remarkable results, even if you ve never cooked before I also explain the terms of the candy-making trade so you re down with the lingo

Whatever the occasion, you ll find a suitable recipe in this book to satisfy your needs If you re looking for something to make for the family, treats to keep around the house, or candies suitable for giving as a special gift, I offer you a variety of recipes to choose among; just follow the simple instructions, and enjoy the candy With the knowledge of where to find what you need and the methods I describe in this book, you re well on your way to becoming a skilled candy maker! One great feature about this book is that it s written in a modular format, meaning you don t have to read it from cover to cover (but I certainly don t mind if you do!) When skills in one chapter are helpful to completing recipes in another chapter, I tell you where to go for that information

By measuring carefully and accurately and by using the best and freshest ingredients I learned long ago not to cut costs by using cheaper ingredients you ll produce the best candies As you read the recipes in this book and as you begin to cook some candy, keep these few points in mind: Temperatures are expressed in Fahrenheit at sea level See the Appendix for info on how to convert temperatures to Celsius Room temperature is between 70 and 72 degrees Sugar is granulated unless otherwise specified Milk is whole milk Butter is unsalted and is not margarine Heavy cream is 40 percent butterfat Whipping cream is 30 percent butterfat Baking chocolate is unsweetened Chocolate is real chocolate, not chocolate-flavored Use premium chocolate or chocolate of the highest available quality, and make sure that the white chocolate you use contains cocoa butter Dark chocolate is semi-sweet

In addition, I use the following nonrecipe conventions to help you find your way around this book: Italic points out defined terms or emphasizes a word Boldface text indicates keywords in bulleted lists and the action part of numbered steps

Every once in a while, I go off on a tangent where I show off my technical knowledge, but you can skip this information, which I highlight with a Technical Stuff icon, because it s not critical to your understanding of candy making You can also skip reading the sidebars (the shaded boxes throughout the book) because, while they re interesting asides, they don t contain information that s essential to the candy-making process If you skip the sidebars, I ll get over it

When writing this book, I made a couple of assumptions about you: You ve never made candy at home and would like to find out how You have some candy-making experience but would like to gain more ideas and knowledge about it In my business, I have the opportunity to hire a lot of young people who are entering the job market for the first time They re true novices in the business world During the interview process, I tell them that on their first day on the job, they ll feel a little stupid; on the second day, they ll feel confused; and on the third day, they ll feel smart because they ll suddenly understand what they re doing And I stress to these young people that they ll learn only by doing Getting the most out of a book like this can be the same experience for you If you ve never made candy at home, you may feel a little stupid the first time you try (I know I did 29 years ago); you may feel a little confused for a while (I did, too); but then the processes begin to make sense I promise that when you start using these recipes, you ll understand what I m trying to tell you When that light comes on, you ll suddenly feel so smart And you ll become a great candy maker