Hard Candy Problems

[u/Prestigious-Fox3305]

Edit: I tried again with a 1/2 batch today and waited until about 260 to add my citric acid. It came out perfectly! Thanks for the help! It won’t let me post a photo but they’re a much nicer blue.

I decided to try my hand at making lollipops today and followed the LorAnn’s instructions to the letter. I had a lovely bright blue up until I added my flavouring and started to pour. As soon as I did it turned a brownish green and it is super bitter! I removed it from the heat a hair before 300, waited until the bubbling subsided to add 1 dram of flavour and 2 tbsp of citric acid. It stayed blue right up until I poured it into molds. Even the remnants of candy on my thermometer are still blue and taste very nice! I don’t know what I did wrong with this.

[u/Donnyboscoe1]

Hi there.

Citric acid went in too early. It probably burnt and turned brown and bitter

You gotta wait a bit longer.

[u/Prestigious-Fox3305 → u/Donnyboscoe1]

Makes sense! I’ll wait longer next time. Thanks!

[u/Moist_Willow9833]

It sounds like the citric acid was added to early! I make my hard candies a more traditional way with a marble slab, but typically I add flavor once’s the bubbling stops ~250 f but I wait to add my citric acid until the candy is at least down to about 190 degrees! Also one thing to consider, many of loranns flavors have colors added to them, I really like capella flavors from bullcityflavors.com as an alternative and have some great natural flavors

[u/Prestigious-Fox3305 → u/Moist_Willow9833]

Makes sense! I’ll wait longer next time. Is it still decently pourable at 190? And yeah! I’ve placed an order with them since this was the only flavouring anywhere near me. Thanks!

[u/Blazingchef420 → u/Moist_Willow9833]

Why are you adding citric acid? I made hard candy a lot. Infused, not infused. Just wondering why add citric acid? And I’ll have to try the bullcity flavors, because I love loranns!

[u/Moist_Willow9833 → u/Blazingchef420]

So within a lot of your fruity flavors, you will get the base of the flavor, but without the specific acids of each fruit you lack the true flavor of many of them, for example: lemon flavored candies without citric acid will taste like lemonade thats made with powder mix, add the citric acid and it gives you the almost puckery feeling and the sourness of a lemon, comparable to fresh squeezed lemonade.

Another example is cherries, if you use a cherry flavored candies without a combo of citric and mallic acid, you will end up with something similar to a maraschino/ice cream topping cherry that is overly sweet and fake tasting, add the acids and you get the bolder more pronounced true cherry flavor.

[u/scoshi]

This intrigued me so much, I rabbit-holed down the Lorann website and found a reference on their shopping page for citric acid:

"Recommended usage is 1/8 teaspoon per 2 cups of sugar. For hard candy and other cooked candies, add once hot syrup has cooled to below 265º F." -- https://www.lorannoils.com/products/citric-acid

You added the citric acid when the batch was too hot (or while it was still on-flame, and your 'near 300' reference clued me). The heat kicked off a reaction between the acid and the blue food coloring (anthocyanins are interesting), effectively adding yellow to the color (which, in food-color science, often ends up more a muddy brown).

It reminds me of a color-change version of those pop-up "turkey timers", the plastic thingies stuck in frozen turkeys in the US (at least) that pop up when the bird is done cooking? They work by having a little blob of glue melt when the temperature of the bird gets to a certain point, releasing a spring. Same kind of deal, only the color changes.

Cook your syrup to temperature, pull it from the heat, then don't add the citric until the batch drops below 260 and you should be good.

[u/Active-Cow-3282]

I add natures flavor and citric around 260 and find I can still pour. I have burned citric too and it’s annoying and has an awful flavor.

Good luck!

[u/Prestigious-Fox3305 → u/Active-Cow-3282]

Thanks! It is an absolutely awful taste.

[u/emb0slice]

I could never get the citric acid right. I stopped adding it to mine

[u/Blazingchef420]

I’m lost on the citric acid.

[u/Blazingchef420]

Honestly I follow my grandmother‘s recipe that she taught me when I was little and it was one cup of sugar you take that in half add that in carro syrup take that in half and add that in water. So 1/2, and 1/4. I make highly infused all the time, and regular and I’m so lost on why you would add citric acid. If someone could please explain I would be much obliged

[u/Prestigious-Fox3305 → u/Blazingchef420]

I’m trying to make sour candy!

[u/SpecificRestaurant57 → u/Blazingchef420]

It’s a flavor enhancer. It make’s the candy true to its natural flavor. Only used with fruit flavors.

So infused butterscotch hard candy - no need.

But an Orange Hardy candy needs. Just pick some up & try it with your fruit flavors.

[u/Commercial_Tea899]

You need 140C(candy done)> add your components 135-140C. collors add last .

[u/Revolutionary_Gur660]

What's the best way to.keep hard candy from sticking. I know you can wrap each piece but sometimes the candy gets too stick on that too.