Our most frequently asked question here at Hammond's
Candies Since 1920® is “How do you make the candy?” The easiest answer we
can give you is “magic”! However, here we will try to give you a little
better description of how our master candymakers make some of our most
popular candies. For the best explanation, we encourage you to take a
factory tour. You won’t believe your eyes!!
We hope you’ll enjoy our
little tour through the candy-making process. And the next time someone
says, “How in the world do they do it?” you can just smile, and say, “Oh,
well, you see…”
Ribbon Candy
Art Candy
Toffee
Caramel
Mitchell Sweets
All candy has a
sweet beginning and Hammond’s Hard Candy is no exception. We start with
sugar and corn syrup – 60 to 70 pounds per batch. Our relatively small
amount is cooked in a copper kettle, with a little water, to around 300
degrees.
Once everything has been cooked to a just-right consistency, we pour it onto a steel slab to cool. The result is what’s called “clear”.
While cooling, the “clear” must constantly be mixed and kneaded to maintain a workable consistency. As the candy is cooling and being mixed, color is added and it is separated into smaller lumps. These lumps of color will be “blocked” with white in strips to make up the jacket. The white is achieved by pulling the “clear” on a candy puller until enough air is churned in to make it white and shiny. The jacket is then carefully wrapped around the center of the candy (the center contains the flavoring for the candy).
This massive (60-70 pound) piece of candy is then placed onto a “batch roller” and is gently and quickly pulled by hand into a smaller and smaller diameter, until it resembles a long rope. This rope is then cut to the appropriate size and either crooked for candy canes, whirled and stuck with a stick for lollipops or simply placed on a cooling tray for barber poles. This pulling and shaping process must happen quickly, as the hard candy takes approximately 30 seconds to a minute to harden!
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Once everything has been cooked to a just-right consistency, we pour it onto a steel slab to cool. The result is what’s called “clear”.
While cooling, the “clear” must constantly be mixed and kneaded to maintain a workable consistency. As the candy is cooling and being mixed, color is added and it is separated into smaller lumps. These lumps of color will be “blocked” with white in strips to make up the jacket. The white is achieved by pulling the “clear” on a candy puller until enough air is churned in to make it white and shiny. The jacket is then carefully wrapped around the center of the candy (the center contains the flavoring for the candy).
This massive (60-70 pound) piece of candy is then placed onto a “batch roller” and is gently and quickly pulled by hand into a smaller and smaller diameter, until it resembles a long rope. This rope is then cut to the appropriate size and either crooked for candy canes, whirled and stuck with a stick for lollipops or simply placed on a cooling tray for barber poles. This pulling and shaping process must happen quickly, as the hard candy takes approximately 30 seconds to a minute to harden!
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Picture this:
Colorful stripes laid out by hand. Then this colorful block of stripes is
pulled and fed through a hand-cranked ribbon crimper. It is then slid down
the chute, straightened with two school rulers and left to harden for just
a couple minutes. Each piece is then individually wrapped in cellophane
and carefully packaged – just for you.
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While our Art
Candy may have the same beginning as our Candy Canes and Lollipops, it is
put together quite differently. After the candy has cooled enough and
color has been added, our candymakers transform small amounts of the candy
into the shapes, which they know they need from years of experience.
Skillfully, they arrange these shapes together to form one large
"picture". They must work quickly, not allowing the candy to harden. This
large "picture" will then be wrapped up into a jacket (just like the candy
canes) and placed onto the batch roller. Next, it is pulled by hand into a
smaller and smaller diameter, until it resembles a long rope. As the candy
is beginning to harden, the long “rope” is sliced into small half-inch
long pieces, and the reduced-size "picture" is visible.
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If there’s a
secret to our melt-in-your-mouth Toffee, it must be the fresh, creamery
butter. When our butter bubbles in a copper kettle at just the right
temperature, our candymaker Stir in sugar and California chopped almonds
to blend all the flavors to perfection.
These pieces of “naked toffee”, as we call it, are then covered in a rich layer of chocolate then hand-dipped and rolled in roasted ground almonds.
The result is a Toffee so good, it has been served as dessert for some very special dinners!
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These pieces of “naked toffee”, as we call it, are then covered in a rich layer of chocolate then hand-dipped and rolled in roasted ground almonds.
The result is a Toffee so good, it has been served as dessert for some very special dinners!
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Our candymakers
slowly cook a mixture of cream and brown sugar, to a golden caramel color.
Our slow cooking eliminates any need for artificial colors or flavors
resulting in a marvelous, chewy, soft creamy confection.
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If anyone can
tell us who Mitchell Sweets® were named after, we’d sure love to know! Not
even our oldest customers can remember how their favorite treats got their
name.
Many people don’t know that the process of making Mitchell Sweets® is a 3-day project! First we start with handmade marshmallow. This is poured onto a table and left to harden over-night. On day two, our candy-makers will slice this long slab of delicious marshmallow into 12-inch strips. Then they will make a batch of our creamy, mouthwatering caramel, and dip the strips of marshmallow into the warm caramel. These strips of caramel-covered marshmallow are then laid back on the tables to harden over-night. Day three proves to be the most labor intensive. These long strips are then cut into smaller pieces, about 1-2 inches wide, and hand wrapped in little sheets of waxed paper.
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Many people don’t know that the process of making Mitchell Sweets® is a 3-day project! First we start with handmade marshmallow. This is poured onto a table and left to harden over-night. On day two, our candy-makers will slice this long slab of delicious marshmallow into 12-inch strips. Then they will make a batch of our creamy, mouthwatering caramel, and dip the strips of marshmallow into the warm caramel. These strips of caramel-covered marshmallow are then laid back on the tables to harden over-night. Day three proves to be the most labor intensive. These long strips are then cut into smaller pieces, about 1-2 inches wide, and hand wrapped in little sheets of waxed paper.
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