– Creation:
– Sugar syrup (sucrose, glucose, or fructose) is heated to 160°C (320°F).
– Citric acid, food dye, and flavoring are added to the heated syrup.
– The thick syrup can be poured into molds or trays to cool.
– Once cooled, the syrup becomes stiff and brittle, known as hard candy.
– Shapes can be molded after the syrup cools.
– Chemistry:
– Sugar candies are categorized into crystalline and amorphous types.
– Crystalline candies have a structured sugar arrangement.
– Amorphous candies have a disorganized structure.
– Hard candies are non-crystalline and contain at least 98% solid sugar.
– Medicinal use:
– Hard candies were historically used as cough drops.
– Apothecaries used sugar candy to make medicines more palatable.
– People with hypoglycemia use hard candies to raise blood sugar levels.
– Hard candies are part of diabetic management.
– Sugar-free:
– Isomalt is used as a sugar substitute in sugar-free hard candies.
– Artificial sweeteners like aspartame or sucralose are added.
– Xylitol, a sugar alcohol, is also used for sweetness.
– In Japan:
– Japanese hard candies are called bekkō ame.
– Legends mention using bekkō ame to distract yōkai Kuchisake-onna.
A hard candy (American English), or boiled sweet (British English), is a sugar candy prepared from one or more sugar-based syrups that is heated to a temperature of 160 °C (320 °F) to make candy. Among the many hard candy varieties are stick candy such as the candy cane, lollipops, rock, aniseed twists, and bêtises de Cambrai. "Boiled" is a misnomer, as sucrose (a disaccharide) melts fully at approximately 186 °C. Further heating breaks it into glucose and fructose molecules before it can vaporize.
 | |
| Alternative names | Boiled sweet |
|---|---|
| Type | Confectionery |
| Main ingredients | Sugar syrup (sucrose, glucose, or fructose) |
| Variations | Many such as candy cane or lollipop |
Most hard candy is nearly 100% sugar by weight, with a tiny amount of other ingredients for color or flavor, and negligible water content in the final product. Recipes for hard candy may use syrups of sucrose, glucose, fructose or other sugars. Sugar-free versions have also been created.