In article >, Barbara
> wrote:

> I can not get my fudge to harden.
> recipe below
> chocolate fudge recipe
> 2 cups sugar
> 2/3 c milk
> 1/3c cocoa
> 2T butter
> 2T corn syrup
> 1/4tsp salt
> 1tsp vanilla
> Butter the loaf pan.heat sugar,milk,choc,corn syrup and salt in a 3qt
> saucepan over med heat.stirring constantly,until chocolate is melted and
> sugar is dissolved.cook stirring occasionlly,to 234*F on candy
> thermometer.
> Remove from heat add butter.Cool,without stirring to 120*f.Then add
> vanilla:beat continously with wooden spoon for 5-10 minutes until,no
> longer glossey.Spread in pan and cool until firm.
> All help needed.Please reply to the newsgroup.
> Thank you very much
> Barbara

Hi Barbara,

I use almost the same recipe, just with 2 squares of baking chocolate
instead of the cocoa and corn syrup (a change which I recommend). I
don't know that change will help though.

It should take at least about ten minutes to get to the soft ball stage
(which I guess is 234 degrees) over very low heat. The appearance of
the boiling fudge begins to change at that point although the effect is
very subtle.

You should try dropping a small amount of the fudge liquid (once it has
cooked for ten minutes) into clean cold water and see if you can easily
form it into a soft ball with your fingers. If it does then 1) it's
done, and 2) it should definitely harden.

Ignore any instructions about not getting any crystalline deposits
from around the edge of the cooking fudge into the fudge when you cook
and beat it. Those crystals act as nucleation sites for the
crystalline structure of the fudge as it cools. If you had no crystals
at all in the beating (very difficult) the fudge would be too smooth
(in my humble opinion - and that of all the people hanging around at
Christmas waiting to get some of mine!).

If you are at high altitude, say above 3000 ft, then things change.
But if I recall properly (it was 33 years ago[!] when I lived in
Albuquerque) the problem is the other way around - I seem to recall
pans full of chocolate cement!

Good luck and Merry Chocolate Christmas,

Rocky