[Boris]

Please, teach me your ways, Coda! I wanna make hard candies too! Not to sell, but just for fun.

[Kaderin Triste]

Hard candies! Yum! I haven't made that in a while. My family usually just makes it all in one pan and then smashes the pan on a counter a few times to break it up. But you can find molds for shaped ones pretty easy too.

[Coda]

The short version is mix corn syrup, granulated sugar, color, and flavor, heat to 300 degrees Fahrenheit (use a thermometer!), then pour it into molds or onto a pan (like Kaderin said) and break it apart after it's completely cooled. This can be done in the microwave if you have a deep pyrex glass dish. Cleanup is easy because it's 99% pure sugar so it just dissolves in hot soapy water if you let it soak.

I don't remember the exact proportions of the ingredients but it's not hard to look it up.

[Boris]

I see.

[Kaderin Triste]

To be honest, I cook to "stages" rather than temperature (just because I don't always have a candy thermometer).
So hard candy is hard crack stage. And that's just when you drop a little of the candy mix into cold water, it hardens and can be snapped without being flexible.

[Coda]

That's easier to do if you're cooking it on the stovetop. In the microwave it's still possible but it's less convenient; the thermometer is a lot simpler if you actually have one.

[Kaderin Triste]

Honestly, I don't even have a microwave. And when I was younger and at my parents house still, I still used stages with the rare microwave use for candy.
I mean, we did have a couple of candy thermometers, but neither of them was properly calibrated, so they were both off some.
*shrug*
But really, I think it's a personal choice which method to use. Whatever a person is morw comfortable with.

[Death by Mirrors]

I've been wanting to make my own candy since forever. For one I want to try the recipe for "crystal meth" used in Breaking Bad (someone on the show said it was rock candy) and I even got some blue food coloring for that already.

And of course design my own molds with the 3d printer (probably make a prototype and use food safe silicone to create negative of the print, since I suspect it has to be slightly flexible to get the candy out intact afterwards). Tardis lollipops, anyone?

[Kaderin Triste]

Yeah...flexible materials are generally a safe bet.
And custom candy molds would be awesome!

[Death by Mirrors]

I know, right? I want to make all sorts of nerdy candy ^^

[Kaderin Triste]

Oh man....so many series I love....I wouldn't know where to start!

[Death by Mirrors]

...it doesn't matter as long as it's candy

[Kaderin Triste]

Lol
True. But I'm more inclined to buy it if it's something I' a fan of. Especially the lesser known ones.

[Death by Mirrors]

What are the lesser known ones?

*looks around* Nah, what do you mean off topic... I'm collecting ideas for Kaderin's candy christmas gift...

[Kaderin Triste]

I swear I submitted my reply, but it didn't post! Ugh.

Part of me wants to say Firefly, but it is sort of popular.

For shows/movies: Terra Nova (kind of popular with the right group, but not too well known anymore)
Tremors (one season show plus 5 or 6 movies...I've lost track)
Relic Hunter (AMAZING show! I miss it.)
The Librarian (started as a made for tv movie if I recall, possibly will become more popular since a recent show based on the 2 movies is being made)

Books: The Stormlight Archives ( ongoing series)
The Wheel of Time series (possibly popular, but I don't think I've seen anyone obsessing over it lately)
Elantris (single book, but I LOVE it and have a tattoo of one of the symbols from it)

And I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot.

[Boris]

Originally Posted by Death by Mirrors

I've been wanting to make my own candy since forever. For one I want to try the recipe for "crystal meth" used in Breaking Bad (someone on the show said it was rock candy) and I even got some blue food coloring for that already.

And of course design my own molds with the 3d printer (probably make a prototype and use food safe silicone to create negative of the print, since I suspect it has to be slightly flexible to get the candy out intact afterwards). Tardis lollipops, anyone?

Yes, TARDIS lollipop for me, please. I never thought of that before, and I'm disappointed that I didn't... also, Dalek lollipop too, or like a peppermint candy, but not so big.