1st time making fondant- is it

[burren]

Hello

Tried making frizbee`s fondant today, seemed to be going ok, did a bit of rolling with it on the worksurface put it in clingfilm and left it in a plastic tub. Now it seems very hard and finger will not dent it. Is it still ok for the bees to use??? Is expect the finished article was supposed to be considerably softer!

 

[richardbees]

Same here, I think it boiled too long as we didn't recognise the 'slow boil' starting.

I borrowed a Jam thermometer and followed Rosti's video which has worked a treat.

 

[plumberman]

The bigger batch you make, the slower the temp rise so that you can catch it at 240 F more easily ( rather than it rushing past 240 and ending up with more solid fondant). I find that minimum 8lbs of sugar is best.

 

[onriver]

my first batch - 2 kilos worked well thanks to following instructions on previous thread to the letter but set hard, the second (using water rather than icing sugar) was a lot less messy but also set hard and the 3rd (not done by me ) I think was boiled too long and turned into a particularly chewy toffee! I think the advice of trying larger quantities is worth doing next time. That and adding glucose, though I wanted to use nothing other than sugar and a bit of honey to keep it pliable - anyone else left out the glucose or glycerine?

 

[Rosti]

In making fondant it may help to understand a little of the chemistry behind the ‘recipe’ By sub-critically heating the sugar (sucrose) we are attempting to split the sucrose back to the building blocks from which it is derived - glucose and fructose (this can be achieved at as low a temperature as 60’C). The product of temperature degradation of sucrose is also known as invert sugar; we are also attempting to bind a proportion of water (at a non-molecular level) to make this available to the bees as well. If you go too high with regard temperature you move beyond a saccharide split to denaturation of the sugars and quickly through to what would be recognised as 'caramels and toffee', also driving off any remaining water. Typically a little additional glucose is added to disrupt the fructose crystalinity and keep things soft and pliable. Glycerol is mentioned previously in the thread, This is a polyol rather than a sugar and so is not immediately available to bees as a nutrient, whilst it will soften a fondant it also disrupts hydrogen bonding and so destablises the fondant in the medium term - so best to stick to glucose as your ‘softening agent’. The critical thing in fondant manufacture is temperature, but supported by time, not boiling so fast that you go too high and not boiling so slowly that you drive off all moisture. Temperature rise rate increases disproportionately as the water content falls so it's easy to over-cook your batch. I hope that helps. R

 

[onriver]

thanks Rosti -makes more sense now, though when there's too many cooks it seems to spoil easily

 

[burren]

thanks all for your replies I did use a jam thermo and thought temp was correct, but have watched rosti`s vid and will take it slower with the boiling this time. Todays attempt is going to be perfect1

 

[burren]

next attempt was perfect!! Although I got it to the same temp as previous (240F/115-117C) I reduced the temp while boiling so got a slow boil, ish rather than a furious boil. Weather not great today, so the girls may not be getting their treat as soon as I thought.

 

[Tim1606]

I got hold of a digital thermometer as recommended by Rosti and i can say that my fondant has turned out much better than before.

I did try a batch with a jam thermometer but getting the temp right was not easy.

 

[burren]

thanks Tim1606 I must get one to be sure.

 

[Tim1606]

I got one for about £9 from amazon. But i am sure there are many other places you can get them from.

Just need to be cheap, seems a waste paying out good money for a decent one that will only get used a few times a year.