Candy Making

All sugar candies — brittle or creamy or chewy — are essentially mixtures of sugar and water. The astonishing range of textures comes from managing two variables: how concentrated the syrup gets (set by cooking temperature) and what the sugar molecules do as the syrup cools (crystallize into ordered solids, freeze into disordered glass, or get trapped in a matrix of protein, fat, or gel). Mastering confectionery means mastering crystallization science.