Maple Candy

In earlier times, maple candy was one of the few confections available. The classic method for making it is to boil maple syrup in order to concentrate the sugar, which is primarily sucrose. After boiling, the syrup is cooled somewhat, then stirred to induce crystallization. It is then poured into molds to crystallize the rest of the way. When making maple candies by this method, timing is critical: the syrup must be poured after seeding has begun but before the crystallization process is complete. Pouring the syrup into the molds before adequate seeding has taken place produces candies with a very sugary texture. Waiting too long to pour the syrup into the molds results in a pot full of crystallized sugar. Allowing the syrup to cool prior to agitation helps create smaller sugar crystals than would be created if the syrup were stirred while it is very hot. Because maple candy contains no doctoring agents, the texture is usually somewhat coarse compared to that of fondant or fudge.