Sugar & Chocolate

Sugar and chocolate feature prominently in our diet—not surprisingly, for we are born with a taste for sugar. They are the primary ingredients in confectionery and are of great importance in cake-making and desserts. When dissolved as syrup, sugar is the foundation of many preparations, including poached and candied fruits, crisp sugar coatings, pulled and blown sugar, and fondant. Caramel, the product of sugar boiled at high temperatures, is both a candy and the basis for the flavorings praline and nougatine. Boiled sugar syrup candies demonstrate the versatility of sugar in such familiar favorites as toffee, fudge, taffy, caramels and pralines.