Product Code Database
Sugar candy is any candy whose primary ingredient is sugar. The main types of sugar candies are hard candies, fondants, Caramel, jellies, and Nougat. In British English, this broad category of sugar candies is called sweets, and the name candy or sugar-candy is used only for hard candies that are nearly solid sugar.
Sugar candy is a sub-type of candy, which includes sugar candies as well as Chocolate, chewing gum and other sweet foods. Candy, in turn, is a sub-type of confectionery, which also includes sweet pastries and sometimes ice cream.
Sugar candy is a common ingredient in Chinese cooking, and many households have sugar candy available to marinate meats and add to stir fry. Sugar candy is also regarded as having medicinal properties and is used to prepare food such as yao shan. It is a common ingredient in Tamil cuisine, particularly in the city of Jaffna.
Chemically, sugar candies are broadly divided into two groups: crystalline candies and amorphous candies. Crystalline candies are not as hard as of the mineral variety, but derive their name and their texture from their microscopically organized sugar structure, formed through a process of crystallization, which makes them easy to bite or cut into. Fudge, creams, and Fondant candy are examples of crystalline candies. Amorphous candies have a disorganized crystalline structure. They usually have higher sugar concentrations, and the texture may be chewy, hard, or brittle. Hard candies, such as lollipops, , nut brittles and are all examples of amorphous sugar candies, even though some of them are as hard as rocks and resemble crystals in their overall appearance.
Crystalline sugar candies are chemically described as having two phases, because the tiny, solid sugar crystals are suspended in a thick liquid solution. These are also called grained candies, because they can have a grainy texture. Amorphous sugar candies have only one phase, which is either solid or liquid, and do not have a grainy texture, so they may be called ungrained.
Commercially, sugar candies are often divided into three groups, according to the amount of sugar they contain:
Each of these three groups contains both crystalline (grained) and amorphous (ungrained) sugar candies.
During the Middle Ages, Thomas Aquinas authorized the consumption of sugar candy during the fasting period of Lent, because "sugared spices" (such as comfits) were, in his opinion, digestive aids on par with medicine rather than food.
Candies spoil more quickly if they have different amounts of water in different parts of the candy (for example, a candy that combines marshmallow and nougat), or if they are stored in high-moisture environments. This process is due to the effects of water activity, which results in the transfer of unwanted water from a high-moisture environment into a low-moisture candy, rendering it rubbery, or the loss of desirable water from a high-moisture candy into a dry environment, rendering the candy dry and brittle.
Another factor, affecting only non-crystalline amorphous sugar candies, is the glass transition process. This can cause amorphous candies to lose their intended texture.
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