On Food and Cooking

the two most common finely crystalline
candies, whose nature is to dissolve to a
creamy consistency on the tongue. The name
fondant comes from the French fondre,
meaning “to melt,” and fondant is the base for
what are called candy “creams,” the flavored,
moist, melt-in-the-mouth interiors of filled
chocolates and other candies. It also serves as
an icing for cakes and pastries; it can be rolled
out and molded onto a cake, or warmed or
thinned until runny and poured into a thin
layer. Fudge is essentially fondant made with
added milk, fat, and sometimes chocolate
solids (it can also be thought of as a
crystallized version of caramel). Penuche is
fondant made with brown sugar (some New
Orleans pralines are penuche that includes
pecans).
Fondant and fudge are made with the help
of corn syrup, which favors the production of
small crystals. After the syrup has been boiled
and then cooled to 130–100ºF/54–38ºC, the