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Fudge by definition is a confection that is creamy and rich. It is a softer confection, ordinarily very smooth and made with sweet cream, corn syrup, fresh butter, sugar and often some incredible flavorings. Flavors could be butterscotch, chocolate, white chocolate, vanilla, kool aid, Kahlua, buttermilk, peanut butter, flavored gelatin, mint, pumpkin, maple or even bourbon. Fudge may have various nuts, such as pecans, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios, roasted macadamia nuts, or almonds. Additional ingredients that can be used in the more unusual or decadent fudge could be: cheese, crushed candy canes, crackers, popcorn, pineapple chunks, lime zest, coconut, candy bars, cookie wafers, caramel, espresso beans, chocolate chips, chunks of chocolate, marshmallows, or cherries and other dried or candied fruit. According to history (although often disputed) fudge was accidentally created by a failed batch of candy; likely caramels, sometime around the year 1886. From this failed batch of candy came the phrase or the cooks' exclamation of 'oh, fudge!' The very first written evidence of fudge was in a letter from New York. Emelyn Battersby Hartidge, a student from Vassar, stated that the cousin of a friend made fudge. In Baltimore in 1886, the candy sold for 40 cents a pound. In 1888 Emelyn obtained the recipe and made 30 pounds for the Senior Auction. Other colleges (Wellesley and Smith) then developed fudge recipes themselves. Although the word fudge can be defined differently, none are identical to the traditional, family favorite, premium chocolate fudge. Almost always in the United States, the word fudge means a heavenly, rich, creamy confection made with chocolate. At times you'll see the word fudge is used on boxes of brownies or cakes, but this only means they have added more chocolate flavoring. In contrast with other candies and sweets that can date back thousands of years, fudge is relatively a new comer. Early fudge flavors were chocolate, vanilla and brown sugar penuche. Mackinac Island, in Michigan has become the fudge capital of the U.S. Now days, the mixtures of ingredients or flavors are just about endless. Some of them are: raspberry coffee, vanilla cherry chocolate chip, maple walnut, chocolate cappuccino, lemon butter, vanilla caramel, dark chocolate, chocolate cheesecake, chocolate caramel pecan and peanut butter. Nearly everybody loves rich, creamy fudge, but people think of it as a hassle to make themselves. The original recipes for fudge were rather ambiguous and extremely difficult. Difficulty had to do with which recipe was used, the kind of ingredients, the quality of equipment and the patience taken in order to make it right. Also, constant stirring and being sure of the cooking time, and exact measurements were critical to get the perfect fudge. Stirring at the proper time, and heating the ingredients to the correct temperature are important as well to make the fudge creamy and smooth and not gritty. It can also be extremely easy to under cook or over cook this confectionery treat, which often results in the candy not setting up or scorching. Author's Bio: Anna McAnthony is a staff and content writer for http://www.chocolategourmetcandy.com, and has been researching and writing articles on chocolate and chocolate candy for several years. Visit http://www.chocolategourmetcandy.com for more information. Anna McAnthony is a content writer at http://www.chocolategourmetcandy.com, and has been doing research on and writing about caramels and chocolate candy for several years.
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fudge, chocolate, sweet treat, semi-soft candy, confection, confectionery, flavorings, family favorite, sweets, rich, creamy, recipes, caramels,
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