Reg wrote:
> King's Crown wrote:
>
> > I've tried over the years to make real Chocolate Fudge. The main problem
> > has been the crystals. This year I was watching Alton Brown and he walked
> > the viewer through making fudge. I thought I followed the recipe to a T,
> > but I have weird crumbly fudge. It took a really long time to get the
> > thermometer to register 234 degrees and I wonder if I cooked it too long. I
> > kept checking to make sure the thermometer wasn't touching the bottom of the
> > pan and yet was well into the chocolate mixture. I was wondering if there
> > was an approximate time it should take the mixture to the soft ball stage.

I think it would depend on your pan, but you don't want it to heat up
very quickly. Just moderately quickly. Getting a heavy bottom pan
(saucier) might help.

these instructions might also help

1. Combine milk and chocolate in medium-size heavy saucepan; cook
over low
heat until chocolate is melted. Add sugar, corn syrup and salt and
cook,
stirring constantly, to boiling.
2. Cook, without stirring to 234F on a candy thermometer. (A
teaspoonful
of syrup will form a soft ball when dropped into cold water.) Remove
from
heat at once. Add vanilla and butter or margarine, but do not stir
in.*
3. Cool mixture in pan to 110F-120F, or until lukewarm; beat with
wooden spoon
until mixture thickens and begins to lose its gloss. (This will take
about
15 minutes.)
4. Spread in a buttered 8x8x2" pan. Let stand until set and cool;
cut into
squares. Makes about 2 pounds.

*Stirring makes grainy fudge. (So does stirring before it cools to
luke warm.)

> Don't know it it was overcooked. You could have undercooked
> it, too.

Overcooking could possibly do it. Undercooking would not allow it to
set up.

> In any case, have you calibrated your thermometer? Either
> measuse boiling water and make sure it reads 212F/100C at
> sea level, or, measure ice water and make sure it reads
> 32F/0C.
>
> Also, I always make sure I have more than one thermo
> at hand. They're cheap, and if you have more than
> one you can quickly cross check things. They dp break,
> even the expensive ones. Usually right at the worst
> possible time.

I like my digital thermometer. I hang it from the exhaust cover so it
is in the fudge, but not touching the pan.

> --
> Reg