Oh, Fudge! What happened? (2024)

This is the time of year when many people spend extra time in the kitchen cooking and baking. This is also the one time of year many people will try their hand at making candies – caramels, peanut brittle or fudge to name a few. Candy is not hard to make, but it does take a little know-how and a few special tools to ensure success in the kitchen. Have you ever tried to make fudge, and instead of ending up with smooth, rich, chocolaty candy, have found yourself with a mouthful of gritty, crumbly pieces?

Oh, Fudge! What happened? (1)

First, it is important to understand that all candy is made of sugar syrup. The final texture of candy is dependent upon how concentrated the sugar syrup becomes during the cooking process. For fudge you want it to be firm, but still soft. The official name for this is “soft ball” stage. You can test this by dropping a small amount of your hot candy base (for fudge, it’s often sugar, half & half, and chocolate) into ice water. If you can form the mixture into a ball that flattens out when removed from the water, you have achieved soft ball stage.

Oh, Fudge! What happened? (2)

Or use one of my favorite pieces of kitchen equipment – a candy thermometer. These can be purchased at most big box stores, groceries stores or kitchen supply shops. Place the thermometer in the cooking pot and just monitor the temperature. Soft ball is between 234 to 240°F (and is often labeled as such right on the thermometer). For fudge I usually aim for right around 236°F. Cooking your mixture to this temperature will give you fudge that will cut easily and not crumble.

Oh, Fudge! What happened? (3)

So temperature is the key to the correct firmness, but what about texture? Fudge is an example of a crystalline candy which means the key to perfect texture in in the sugar crystals. Did you ever make rock candy as a kid? Give it a little time and big sugar crystals seem to magically appear and keep growing. Well the same thing happens when you make fudge. You want to control the crystal growth so the crystals remain very small, invisible to the eye and the tongue. Small sugar crystals give you a smooth melt in the mouth texture. The secret to smooth fudge is to let the sugar syrup cool undisturbed until it reaches about 110°F and then beat it until no longer shiny. A temperature of 110°F is ideal, but -wow, was it hard to beat! I found it easier to beat the fudge and still get good results with a cooled temperature of 125°-135°F. A touch of corn syrup in the recipe also helps produce smoother, creamier fudge. I have also found that using pure cane sugar, rather than sugar from sugar beets, produces a more consistently smooth result without grittiness.

Oh, Fudge! What happened? (4)

Sounds complicated, doesn’t it? Admittedly, it does take a little patience to make classic fudge from scratch. But if you’d like to try it, ourClassic Cocoa Fudge is decadent and well-worth the extra effort.

If you’re not quite ready to involve a candy thermometer in the process, a few short cuts can help take some of the pressure off of you. Many recipes use sweetened condensed milk (like Pink Peppermint Fudge) or marshmallow cream (like Chocolate Walnut Fudge), both of which are sugar syrup based. These take the guesswork out of the heating, cooling and beating process of making fudge, and really just require all the ingredients to be heated and mixed together before pouring into a pan and cooling.

Do you have a favorite fudge recipe that you like to make for the holidays?

Oh, Fudge!  What happened? (2024)

FAQs

What does fudge mean in a conversation? ›

1. : foolish nonsense. often used interjectionally to express annoyance, disappointment, or disbelief. 2. : a soft creamy candy made typically of sugar, milk, butter, and flavoring.

What does the saying "oh fudge" mean? ›

“Oh, fudge!” Is another way of saying “oh, fuck!”. In this case, “fudge” is used as a respective way to say so.

What is the slang word fudge mean? ›

When fudge is a verb, it means to avoid straightforwardly answering a question or addressing a subject: "Just answer my question and don't fudge the issue!" Fudge is an American word from college slang meaning "a made-up story."

How long does it take fudge to reach 234 degrees? ›

Cook the mixture over medium-low heat, without stirring, until the thermometer registers 234 degrees, about 20 to 25 minutes. The mixture should boil at a moderate, steady rate over the entire surface. While the fudge is cooking, prepare the baking pan.

What does fudge answer mean? ›

fudge noun (AVOID)

to avoid making a decision or giving a clear answer about something: fudge the issue The government continues to fudge the issue by refusing to give exact figures.

Why do people say fudge? ›

The term fudge is said to have originated in the 17th century from the verb fadge and means "to fit together in a clumsy manner". During this period, fudge was used as an interjection by sailors to respond to nonsense or untruth.

What is the bad word for fudge? ›

Minced oaths are commonly formed by alteration of a curse word. It often alters the ending of the word, such as "darn" for "damn", or "fudge" for "fuck".

Who said oh fudge? ›

Ralphie : Ohhhh fuuudge!

What does fudge mean nonsense? ›

Original meaning: Lies and nonsense

Fudge was originally something you said rather than ate. If you lived in the 1790s and were prone to drama, you'd loudly proclaim something you considered a lie as 'fudge!

What does fud mean in texting? ›

abbreviation. fear, uncertainty, doubt.

Why is fudge called fudge? ›

The exact origin and inventor of this delicious confection are hotly debated. However, many believe the first batch of fudge was created by accident when American bakers “fudged” a batch of caramels. Hence the name “fudge.”

What does go fudge mean? ›

If you fudge something, you avoid making a clear and definite decision, distinction, or statement about it. Both have fudged their calculations and avoided specifics. Synonyms: misrepresent, avoid, dodge, evade More Synonyms of fudge. French Translation of.

What makes fudge fudge? ›

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.

Why do you beat fudge? ›

Beating the syrup caused the formation of crystallization nuclei, anchor points to which sugar molecules attach to form crystals. Few crystallization nuclei will form in syrup that is still hot, and sugar molecules will readily attach to them. The crystals grow so easily, and the result is really grainy fudge.

What makes fudge hard? ›

If there is too much evaporation, when the cooking time is too long, there will not be enough water left in the fudge and it will be too hard. Conversely, if the cooking time is too brief and there is not enough evaporation, too much water will remain and the fudge will be too soft.

What does fudge comments mean? ›

To fudge means to deal with something in a vague, ambiguous, or insufficient manner in order to conceal the truth or provide misleading information.

Is saying fudge swearing? ›

“fudge” 's exact purpose was 2 replace f-bomb. Saying “fudge” aloud could easily be misheard as ((((( *BLEEP* ))))) but saying “heck” wouldn't.

What does the slang term pack fudge mean? ›

(idiomatic, slang) To perform anal sex.

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