Alan wrote:

> On Fri, 15 Dec 2006 16:53:00 GMT, cathy
> > wrote:
>
>>
>>Y'know, I think I have a problem with the instruction "reduce heat and
>>simmer". You don't want it to just "simmer" you want it to boil fairly
>>vigorously. It should take no more than 10 minutes to reach a soft
>>ball stage. Try it without reducing the heat, keeping the candy at a
>>rolling boil. You may have better luck that way.
>>
>>Cathy
>
>
> You're right, Cathy. I didn't catch that!
>
> The point of boiling it is to evaporate the water to the
> proper point so that fudge crystals will form when it cools
> and is stirred. Simmering it would take hours!
>

It doesn't take hours I can assure you, though Cathy's
point about variance between stoves applies.

I cook candy containing milk or cream a bit slower
because of it's tendency to scorch. If you crank the
burner all the way you'll have to stir it almost constantly
to avoid scorching.

At a medium setting the recipe mentioned should take
about 20-25 minutes.

--
Reg