Things I learned today

[RStar]

With candy making there is a very particular method that includes timing, tempurature, tools, and some experience (including how much you stir and with how much force). It's not just about the ingredients. The crystaline structure of sugar in fudge can make or break it, for instance.

You know how some people have a green thumb with plants? Candy makers can have what I will now term as the "Sweet Thumb".

Case in point, I am a pretty good cook. Baking not so much, but I can whip up a great batch of pasta, cook the heck out of a chicken, and beat Bobby Flay on the Bar-B-Q. But I took the recipe from a friend from work for her mom's famous lemon bars and made the most horrid mess out of it. I followed it exactly, but it is an odd combination of candy making and baking. I bet if I work on it I could finally get it right. But then again, some things should remain an infrequent special occasion treat.