Fudge | Definition, Ingredients, Preparation, & Flavors (2024)

FAQs

Fudge | Definition, Ingredients, Preparation, & Flavors? ›

Fudge is a dense, rich confection typically made with sugar, milk or cream, butter and chocolate or other flavorings. The base for fudge is boiled until it reaches the soft-ball stage (135 to 140 degrees F), then stirred or beaten as it cools to minimize the formation of sugar crystals.

This delicious fudge recipe is easy to make in the microwave with just 3 ingredients: chocolate chips, condensed milk, and butter. Add nuts, mini marshmallows, or candy before chilling to make this treat even more decadent, or try peanut butter chips instead of semisweet chocolate chips to make peanut butter fudge.

fudge, creamy candy made with butter, sugar, milk, and usually chocolate, cooked together and beaten to a soft, smooth texture. Fudge may be thought of as having a consistency harder than that of fondant and softer than that of hard chocolate.

Commercial fudges are generally prepared by mixing milk, corn syrup (glucose), sugar, fat, a little salt, and suitable flavoring matter such as chocolate; cooking the resulting mixture to a temperature of about 235 F. to 245 F., while agitating the mix; cooling the mix to a temperature between 90 F.

Evaporated milk doesn't have sugar added. The sweetened condended milk is needed as no extra sugar is added to the fudge. If evaporated milk were used then the fudge would not be sweet enough and also would still be too soft unless the fudge is frozen.

After years of testing recipes, we're pretty sure we have a handle on the most popular fudge flavors, but chocolate and cherry will always rank high on the list.

While fudge was not invented on Mackinac Island, it most certainly – and most deliciously – was perfected here.

It's the size of sugar crystals that makes the knees of fudge lovers buckle…the smaller the crystals, the less they are perceived on the tongue and the more the fudge tastes smooth and creamy. Cooking, and beating after cooking, is the key to successful fudge.

What makes fudge hard or soft? ›

The amount of time you cook fudge directly affects its firmness. Too little time and the water won't evaporate, causing the fudge to be soft. Conversely, cook it too long and fudge won't contain enough water, making it hard with a dry, crumbly texture.

​Harden the fudge:​ Place your container or tins in the fridge for 2 hours, which is the time it takes for the fudge to set. Once it's hardened, cut the fudge into 12 pieces or remove it from the muffin tins. Store in the fridge or the freezer (if you don't devour it right away).

Too cooked

This fudge was cooked to a temperature of 118 °C (244 °F). At this temperature, the sugar is too concentrated and there is not enough water left to form syrup around sugar crystals. The result is hard and brittle fudge. To save the fudge, put it in a saucepan with 45 to 60 ml (3 or 4 tbsp.)

Fudge usually behaves this way when it's not cooked to a high enough temperature (due to oversight or a faulty candy thermometer). If your fudge is tough, hard, or grainy, then you may have made one of several mistakes: You may have overcooked it, beaten it too long, or neglected to cool it to the proper temperature.

According to most recipes, the ingredients of fudge are cooked to what is termed in kitchen parlance the soft ball stage, that point between 234 and 240 °F (112 and 115 °C) at which a small ball of the candy dropped in ice water neither disintegrates nor flattens when picked up with the fingers.

Fudge incorporates sugar, milk, butter, and other ingredients such as cocoa for chocolate fudge. The chocolatier then heats these products together until they melt. After this, the mixture is beaten during the cooling process. Think of fudge as a food consisting of crystallized sugar.

Fudge is a type of confection that is made by mixing sugar, butter and milk. It has its origins in the 19th century United States, and was popular in the women's colleges of the time.

Mix confectioners sugar, butter, milk, vanilla, and salt in a 3-quart saucepan over low heat until mixture is hot and creamy. Pour into the prepared pan; refrigerate until fudge has set, about 2 hours. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.