Candy Is Magic: Real Ingredients, Modern Recipes [A Baking Book]

by Jami Curl

Overview

Winner of the 2018 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Cookbook Award for "Baking" category

This game-changing candy cookbook from the owner of Quin, a popular Portland-based candy company, offers more than 200 achievable recipes using real, natural ingredients for everything from flavor-packed fruit lollipops to light-as-air marshmallows.

Chai Tea Lollipops, Honey and Sea Salt Marshmallows, Chocolate Pretzel Caramels, Cherry Cola Gumdrops—this is not your average candy, or your average candy book. Candy-maker extraordinaire Jami Curl breaks down candy making into its most precise and foolproof steps. No guess work, no expensive equipment, just the best possible ingredients and stop-you-in-your-tracks-brilliant flavor combinations. She begins with the foundations of candy; how to create delicious syrups, purees, and “magic dusts” that are the building blocks for making lollipops, caramels, marshmallows, and gummy candy. But even more ingeniously, these syrups, purees, and magic dusts can be used to make a myriad of other sweet confections such as Strawberry Cream Soda, Peanut Butter Hot Fudge, Marshmallow Brownies, and Popcorn Ice Cream. And what to do with all your homemade candy? Jami has your covered, with instructions for making candy garlands, tiny candy-filled pinatas, candy ornaments, and more—you are officially party ready.
 
But this is just the tip of the deliciously sweet iceberg--packed with nearly 200 recipes, careful step-by-step instruction, tips for guaranteed success, and flavor guides to help you come up with own unique creations—Candy is Magic is a candy call to action!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399578403
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	04/18/2017
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	312
File size:	203 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Jami Curl is the founder of QUIN – a small batch, handmade candy company headquartered in Portland, OR. She was recently named one of Fast Company’s 100 most creative people in food, and Bon Appteit dubbed her “the new Willy Wonka.” Jami’s work has also been featured in Food + Wine, Gourmet, Good Housekeeping, Real Simple, Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart Weddings, Sunset, O Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and many more.

Read an Excerpt

INTRODUCTION
A REAL LIFE IN REAL CANDY

My job is made of dreams. I’m a candy maker, and the tools of my trade are imagination and sugar. I believe in magic. Especially the type of magic brought about by spinning my wildest dreams into something sweet to eat. There’s no way to argue it, magic is responsible for getting me to where I am today. It’s squeezed its way into every facet of my being, and it’s given me the ability to approach daily life with a specific sense of wonder and enchantment—two of the required qualities of a candy maker, I’m certain. There’s very little that I do that I don’t approach with a bright-eyed sense of enthusiasm. And if you’ve heard me speak, have met me at a candy demonstration, or have taken one of my classes, you know that everything I’m saying here is the exact truth: I’m completely wild about making candy.

I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t speaking the language of sweets. I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t analyzing bites of cookies or spoonfuls of ice cream. Chocolate and frozen treats, cakes and biscuits, candy and cookies, hot fudge and caramel sauce—these are my constants. They are my rewards, my gifts, my consolation prizes, my companions, and my coworkers.

In 2005, armed with a family of recipes and a tireless spirit, I opened my first retail bakery. I had just entered my thirties, I was not yet a mom, and I had just ended a successful career as a marketer for engineers and lawyers. Baking as a job was something I could visualize but never thought of as possible, until I made it possible. 

Right from the beginning, the days were long. I opened the business in November, and, leading up to that first Thanksgiving, I was easily spending twenty-two-hour days in the bakery turning out pumpkin pies and nutmeg ice cream. I was so happy to be baking that I wouldn’t even realize when twenty-two hours had ticked by. Elbow deep in sugar, butter, and flour was exactly where I wanted to be. 




strawberry lollipops 

Here’s a recipe for fruit lollipops made with roasted strawberry purée and natural flavoring.

MAKES ABOUT SIXTY 1-1/2-INCH LOLLIPOPS 

267 grams glucose syrup 
400 grams granulated sugar 
150 grams water 
20 grams roasted strawberry purée 
18 grams natural strawberry flavoring 

Set up the lollipop station.
 
Weigh the glucose syrup, sugar, and water directly into a heavy-bottomed pot, then set the pot over medium-high heat and bring the lollipop syrup to a boil. Once the syrup is boiling, swirl the pot often to make sure the sugar is cooking evenly. At first the syrup will bubble fast and light. Then it starts to slow down and the bubbles get a bit slower and thicker. This means the syrup is nearly ready. 

Test the temperature of the syrup; as soon as it reaches 315°F, remove the pot from the heat. Give the candy syrup a good stir, then add the strawberry purée and the strawberry flavoring. (If you are making one of the variations, add any substitutions at this point.) Whisk together the contents of the pot until the candy no longer looks foamy and any active bubbling has stopped. 

Using great care, immediately pour the syrup into a candy funnel or spouted cup and pour the lollipops as directed on page 114. Let the lollipops sit for about 30 minutes, until completely cool and hard. They are now ready for wrapping.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

RECIPES • VI

INTRODUCTION
A REAL LIFE IN REAL CANDY • 1

CHAPTER ONE
INGREDIENTS, TOOLS, AND FLAVOR • 9 

CHAPTER TWO
CRAFTING CORE INGREDIENTS • 33

CHAPTER THREE
LOLLIPOPS • 109

CHAPTER FOUR
CARAMELS • 157

CHAPTER FIVE
DREAMS COME CHEW • 217

CHAPTER SIX
MARSHMALLOWS • 239

CHAPTER SEVEN
GUMDROPS • 269

RESOURCES GUIDE • 291

BECAUSE OF YOU • 297

Editorial Reviews

03/20/2017
Curl, the owner of the Quin Candy Company in Portland, Oregon, is passionate on the subject of candy, and her cookbook promises to teach readers the behind-the-scenes sleight of hand necessary to make great candy at home. Curl uses real ingredients (such as fruit flavorings that come from actual fruit) in gumdrops, caramels, and lollipops. People who are timid about candy-making will find Curl’s detailed instructions encouraging. Her lesson on making caramel—a task that can put fear into the heart of even the most stalwart cook—is worth the price of the book. Readers can learn to make lollipops, gumdrops and marshmallows, all using fruit purees made from scratch. And on days when candy making seems like too much, there are simpler recipes, including homemade colored and flavored sugar sprinkles, peanut butter hot fudge sauce, and a pan of s’mores made with homemade marshmallows. Balancing kid-friendly lollipop flavors (peach, caramel) are Pinot Gris and rosé ones for those with more mature palates. Unique flavor combinations can be found throughout the book, and include coffee, orange, and smoked salt caramels, and iced tea and lemonade gumdrops. Curl’s enthusiasm for her craft makes this cookbook a pleasure to read; she is the ideal coach for would-be candy makers. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Sweet rewards made with all-natural ingredients make Candy Is Magic shine. With Jami Curl's clear, easy-to-follow instructions, you'll be making lickable lollypops, chewy caramels, pillowy marshmallows, and fruity gumdrops to the delight of your family and friends. And believe me, if you offer up treats like these, you'll soon have more friends than you know what to do with!”
—DAVID LEBOVITZ, author of My Paris Kitchen
 
"We love Quin Candy in the Jeni's kitchen! We crush the hard candies and twirl the shards into our ice cream or sprinkle on top. Jami's brilliant, creative recipes turn out magical confections — as great as your favorite candy growing up, and yet better and more fun than it ever was." 
—JENI BRITTON BAUER, author of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home and Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream Desserts

"An eye-dazzling mix of basic cooking/chemistry lessons and a luxury coffee table topper studded with saturated images that recall geological surveys and precious stones.  [...] Candy Is Magic is designed to kickstart creativity on every page; a torrent of recipes and ideas building and building to a crescendo of sugar fever all delivered in Curl’s clear, detailed, relentlessly cheerful tone."
—KELLY CLARKE, Portland Montly 

"Curl’s enthusiasm for her craft makes this cookbook a pleasure to read; she is the ideal coach for would-be candy makers."
—Publsihers Weekly

"Curl’s fearless approach is punctuated by the fact that all her recipes begin in her home kitchen. This means these are no large-scale recipes trimmed down (often with questionable results) for the home cook."
—ERIN PRIDE-SWANEY, Everett Herald

“That emphasis on real, discernible flavors are the essence of Curl’s brand—and the balance between youthfully inspired fantastic treats and quality that adults appreciate. It’s no surprise her customers are of all ages. Quin Candy is more than just a treat; it’s a topic of conversation. […] It’s also is what makes her cookbook so exciting—the concept of making candy can seem daunting to the uninitiated. Creating a homemade version of a Starburst must be impossible without specific sorts of pressure cookers and gelatins and chemical fillers and dyes, but she shows us we can do incredible things with the ingredients that are likely already in our kitchens (although you may need a new thermometer). Curl turns candy-making into a something like a grade school science experiment with sweet results.”
—BENAJAMIN WEISS, Life & Thyme
 

From the Publisher

★ 01/01/2017
Curl is the owner of Portland-based candy company Quin (quincandy.com), which she opened after successful stints as a marketer and bakery owner. Writing in refreshingly plain language, she deftly instructs readers in the fickle yet rewarding art of small batch candy making. Her recipes (e.g., cherry honey vanilla lollipops, popcorn caramels) are simple and well executed, and most get an extra boost of flavor from roasted fruit purees, infused syrups, and other homemade components. Crafty confectioners will love Curl's presentation suggestions, which cover how to make tiny piñatas and "candy pow wows" (gift-wrapped paper tubes stuffed with candy and confetti). VERDICT A treasury of uncommonly creative candies and striking sweets.

Library Journal