• Reply by Mike Nolan on February 16, 2012 at 6:15 pm
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What kind of thermometer are you using?

The things most likely to affect cooked sugar candies are temperature (eg, an inaccurate thermometer), high humidity and low barometric pressure/high altitude.

For some candies, the type of pan you use makes a difference, that's probably not an issue here.

I don't use the KAF recipe, but the one I use (from the Pope School New Candy Cookbook) is similar enough that I don't think that's the problem, either. (I think the biggest difference is it has you add the gelatin to the sugar, rather than add the sugar to the gelatin.)

Could your gelatin have gotten damaged? When you 'bloom' it, you should get something like Jello. (I prefer to bloom it in warm water and let it cool, I think it dissolves better that way.)

Have you changed brands of sugar recently? Some candymakers swear that beet sugar doesn't cook right, though I've never noticed any problems myself.

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• Reply by GinaG on February 16, 2012 at 11:07 pm
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Mike has touched on a subject that I learned very early on in both candy-making and cake decorating classes:

Only use pure cane sugar. Generic, slightly cheaper brands are generally made with beet sugar. Just read the pkg. to see what you are buying.

As Mike said, an accurate thermometer is important and it's also easy to test; Does it reach the register 212 degrees at boiling a pot of water? Then that should be indication your thermometer isn't faulty, but the results you describe point to allowing the candy to reach beyond the firm-ball stage.

keep the beet sugar for stirring in your coffee and use cane sugar for all your baking and sweet-tooth creations.

GinaG.

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• Reply by HerBoudoir on February 16, 2012 at 10:31 pm
• 

On the other end, if you test your thermometer in a glass of ice water (lots of ice, stir for a minute or two), it should read 32 or 33 degrees ~ sometimes that's a little safer/more accurate than boiling water.

I'm sitting here enjoying a cuppa hot chocolate with entirely too many marshmallows from the KA recipe in it, so I'm interested in seeing the replies.

My first thought was "cane or beet sugar?" as well, because I've run into issues with beet sugar in the past when making meringues and swiss meringue buttercream. Just like I only buy KA flours, I only buy name brand sugar ~ and I regularly check the label to make sure they don't switch to beet sugar.

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• Reply by GinaG on February 16, 2012 at 11:10 pm
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You can also use a cup of cold water to determine which stage your sugar-syrup has reached:

http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/sugar-stages.html

See the videos after reading the short description.

This would be the thing to do if you just don't trust your thermometer, but it's good practice to be in the habit of verifying your thermometer result with the cold water test for back-up.

Good luck! Don't give up!

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• Reply by JenBuffalo on February 18, 2012 at 9:43 am
• 

Thank you for the help. Im going to test my thermometer. i wondered if that could be a problem. its from target, nothing special and i bet it started accurate and now its not. As for the suger, i love that advice too. I dont think there could have been any chsnges in it but id love to improve things with cane sugar.

ill try these things and let you know. thanks again!

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• Reply by Mike Nolan on February 18, 2012 at 11:31 am
• 

My first thought was that you may not have cooked it enough, which might be consistent with what happened when you did it to 235 instead of 240.

I use a Polder digital oven thermometer with a clip that allows me to place the probe in my pans. (The clip came with my Maverick candy/oil thermometer, someone must make one that can be bought separately.)

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• Reply by BakerIrene on February 18, 2012 at 12:48 pm
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This could also be too much gelatin. If you are using those little packets, there could be variations in the way they are filled by machine.

So buy gelatin in bulk (it's a lot less expensive) and weight it (or measure it) yourself. A 1-pound package of gelatin costs a very reasonable amount if you make marshmallows on a regular basis.

I used to live in beet sugar country--never had a problem. Never had to do anything when I moved to cane sugar country.

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• Reply by GinaG on February 18, 2012 at 2:10 pm
• 

BakerIrene is absolutely right: gelatin packets do vary. I use gelatin sheets, it just makes life easier, however, the "stringy and tough" is exactly what happens to marshmallow candy when the temperature has crept from the firm-ball into the hard-crack stage.

Beet sugar has a higher melting point than cane sugar which can be problematic when you're candy-making or making a homemade invert sugar like a cane syrup.

Don't be discouraged, you have had success before, you will have it again. I predict gorgeous, perfect marshmallows in your kitchen-future...

Let us know how you do!
GinaG.

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• Reply by JenBuffalo on February 27, 2012 at 7:58 am
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So it turns out that my thermometer was not correct in a boiling water test. the glass was actualy sliding around! im trying out a new thermometer next time but any more tips are very welcome. i like to petfect things!

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