Roberta A. Mazzucco
Definitely the highest temperature I cooked at was when I made lollipops. I also learned how right the advice was in most of the recipes that it is difficult to make lollipops in humid weather. I made the pops and they were not bad but leaving them out they started to run - I was skeptical about putting them in the fridge but finally did. Hopefully, before I try them again, I will get some lollipop molds. The only ones I could find were recommended for chocolate which is melted at a much lower temperature. The other consideration I haven't gotten to fully explore is the question of flavoring. I tried making orange pops. Some flavors are considered to be lighter and they recommend you use more while others that are stronger need less. This is something you may have to experiment with to find what you prefer.
Materials: 1 cup sugar, 1/3 cup corn syrup, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar, 1/4 to 1 tsp flavoring, food coloring
Process:
1.
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Turn a cookie sheet upside down and cover it with parchment paper. Spray it with oil. The upside down cookie sheet helps to cool the pops.
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2.
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In a pan over medium heat cook the sugar, corn syrup, water, and cream of tartar. Stir with a wooden spoon. If sugar crystals are on the sides of the pan wash down the sides with a wet pastry brush. Stop stirring as soon as the mixture starts to boil.
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3.
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Place a candy thermometer into the pan and let it cook until it reaches 300º F.
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4.
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Remove immediately from the heat and let it cool to about 275º F before adding flavoring and food color
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5.
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Working quickly, add flavoring and food color. Spoon into prepared molds or pour onto the greased parchment paper
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6.
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Let the pops sit for about 10 minutes and then wrap them in plastic bags, or cellophane and store in a dry place.
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Usually the way to discourage crystallization is to add an acid such as lemon juice or cream of tartar. When this is done the sucrose breaks up into two simpler sugars: fructose and glucose. The larger sucrose crystals have a harder time forming when glucose or fructose is present. Another way to do this is to add a non sucrose sugar like corn syrup. Most lollipops contain as much as fifty per cent corn syrup to prevent crystals from ruining the texture of the candy.