How to Stock a Candy-Making Pantry

There are literally thousands of types of candies, but all are classified into three essential categories: hard candy, soft candy, and “everything else.” Hard candies are predominantly sugar and not much more. These include lemon drops, candy canes, and rock candy. Soft candies comprise marshmallows, nougats, and cotton candy. They are mostly sugar, too, with no more than about 5 percent of other ingredients added in. The remaining group includes chocolate bars, caramels, fudge, and any other candy that is made up of a significant percentage of ingredients other than sugar. The comprehensive lists below will help you stock an efficient candy-maker’s pantry. You’ll have all the equipment you need to work with all three general types of candy. Don’t skimp on quality. These tools will be handling boiling sugar, which can exceed 350 degrees F. Read on to learn more.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Measuring cups and spoons
• Pyrex bowls (for mixing and melting in) of various sizes: from 1 cup to 4 quarts
• Long-handled durable wooden spoons
• Kitchen scale (5-lb. capability)
• Deep, heavy-bottomed saucepans, 2- and 3-quart sizes
• Pyrex baking dishes
• Baking sheets
• Double boiler
• Clip-on candy thermometer
• Large stainless-steel bowl for ice-water bath
• Silicone (or other heatproof) spatulas and pastry brushes
• Dipping forks and utensils
• Drying racks
• Pastry bags and tips, decorator’s brushes
• Chocolate molds and lollipop molds/sticks
• Bench scraper
• Candy cups
• Parchment paper, waxed paper, aluminum foil
• Nonstick cooking spray
• Granite/marble slab or large Silpat mat
• Rubber gloves (surgical style)
• Good quality oven mitts, forearm length
• Selection of sharp kitchen knives for chopping and paring
• Sweeteners: Granulated sugar, light brown sugar, light corn syrup, molasses, honey
• Fats: Butter (salted and unsalted)
• Milks: Heavy cream, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk
• Setting agents: Gelatin (leaf or unflavored powdered), pectin, food starch, guar gum
• Flavoring agents: Flavoring oils and extracts, liqueurs
• Coloring agents: Candy colors, gel food colors
• Acids: Distilled white vinegar, freshly squeezed lemon juice, cream of tartar
• Chocolates: Dark/bittersweet/semisweet chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, confectionery coating
• Add-ins: Nuts, dried fruits, peanut butter, marzipan, cookie pieces, coconut, crystallized ginger, etc.
• Spices: cinnamon, chili powder, black pepper, ginger powder

Equipment Basics

1. When purchasing the equipment you will be used most often--including saucepans, thermometers and double boilers--it is worth buying the highest quality tools you can afford. If you cut corners, you will spend more on replacement items in the long run.
2. Do not be tempted to buy cheap, poor-quality spatulas and wooden spoons. The same goes for oven mitts. You will be handling ingredients that are 100 degrees F hotter than boiling water. Make sure your spatula won’t melt and your oven mitts will protect your forearms from splattering syrup as you stir.
3. Protect your investment by keeping your equipment clean and in good repair. Wash and dry it after each use. Make a place for each piece of equipment, and be scrupulous about returning everything to its assigned place when you are through using it.
4. It is a good idea to print up a catalog of your equipment. This way, you know exactly what you have on hand. It's easy to put together a "wish list" come the next gift-giving occasion!

Ingredient Basics

5. Before you begin, read the entire recipe carefully. Make sure you have all the ingredients called for in the recipe on hand and assemble them in your workspace.
6. Candy making is a science that is perhaps even more rigorously specific than baking. While some minor variations and experimentation are acceptable—replacing walnuts with pecans, for example--do not substitute the primary ingredients unless you have an expert understanding of the consequences of doing so. In other words, if the recipe calls for distilled white vinegar, use exactly that. And never substitute margarine for butter unless the recipe explicitly states that doing so is allowed.
7. Once again, spring for quality. The flavor of your ingredients will have a definite impact on the final product.
8. Pay attention to storage considerations. Read package instructions on items like spices and chocolates. Chocolate is notoriously finicky and must be stored at certain levels of temperature and humidity to preserve its flavor and appearance. Protect your investment in quality ingredients by storing them properly.