knocked apart in fast-moving surroundings —
the total number of crystals formed in a hot
syrup will be lower. Put these two trends
together, and we see that when a hot syrup
begins to crystallize, it will produce fewer and
larger crystals than a cool one, and therefore a
coarse texture. This is why recipes for fudge
or fondant, candies with a fine, creamy
texture, call for the syrup to be cooled
drastically — from 235ºF/113ºC down to
around 110ºF/43ºC — before the cook
initiates crystallization by stirring.
Stirring Makes Smaller Crystals Crystal size
and texture are also influenced by stirring.
We’ve seen that agitation favors the
formation of crystal seeds by pushing sugar
molecules into each other. A syrup that is
stirred infrequently will develop only a few
crystals, while one that is kept in motion
continuously will produce great numbers. And
the more crystals there are in a syrup, all