Recipes

There are several different recipes out there for clear toy and barley candy. See the recipe page to select one. 

For this page, I am going to use the basic recipe that came from Thos Mills & Bro.  

Things you will need: 

• 4 cups cane sugar (not beet sugar) 
• 1 cup water 
• 1/4 teaspoon heaping of cream of tartar 
• Candy thermometer 
• Pot, preferable copper unlined 
• Food coloring (optional)
• Candy molds 
• Lite olive or canola oil

Before even mixing the ingredients, make sure your molds are well cleaned and totally dry. If there is moisture in the molds, the candy will stick. Next take your molds and brush them with olive oil. Make sure you do not leave any bristles behind.  I place mine on a Silpad, because if you dribble any candy it makes for easy clean up. 

Next in a pot add your sugar, water, and cream of tartar. It works best to use an unlined copper pot. I got my pots at E. Dehillerin  in Paris, France.  You can find antique copper pots but I am too scared to use mine.  

Stir carefully so the mixture does not splash up on the sides of the pot.  Insert candy thermometer and turn burner to medium high. DO NOT STIR AT ALL in the cooking process.

NEVER LEAVE YOUR MIXTURE UNATTENDED !!! 

Watch you thermometer closely (make sure to calibrate your thermometer).  Once it reaches 260ºF.  add color. Do NOT stir, the boiling action will incorporate the color.   Once the mixture reaches 300ºF. remove pan from the heat. 

Let the mixture stop boiling and cool for a minute or two.  Then slowly pour into the molds. Optional: Clear toy candy originally did not have sticks but if you would like to add them you need to wait till the candy just starts to cool, then insert stick.  If you put them in too soon they will lean, to late, the candy will be to hard to insert the stick. 

Once the molds have cooled till they are warm, open them up and check to see if the candy is firm enough to remove.  If still to soft close mold and wait. If firm enough, pop the candy out on to tray to cool.   Let candy cool to room temperature then bag or display.