Adjusting Homemade Candy Recipes for Altitude

When I first started making homemade candy, I used the old school method where you have that measuring cup full of ice water constantly at the ready.

It works, it has worked for a long time, and it still works to this day.

The problem is that it's not terribly repeatable or reliable. Some years I'd make candy and succeed right off the bat. Some years it took 3 batches and even then it wasn't perfect.

If you don't make candy all the time you don't get a feel for things (now that I make it more often at the holidays I could almost swear I can "read" the bubbles in the boiling sugar to know what stage it's at by the time I've made my last batch for the season).

So, when you take your candy off the stove it might be just barely at soft ball or maybe at the top end of hard ball and this throws off your texture.

Temperature is the friend of the new cook, the experienced cook, and the one wanting consistent results alike.

The problem is that if you're at a higher altitude, and just go on autopilot following your recipe, you can end up in trouble. Candy recipes that give you temperatures need to be adjusted to your altitude.

Here's how: before you even start getting your candy ingredients ready, get out a small pan. Put some water in it and bring it to a full, rolling boil. Take it's temperature. Note the difference between your temperature and the sea-level temperature for boiling water.

I'll use my kitchen as an example. When I boil water, it temps out at 206 degrees Fahrenheit. Since water boils at 212 at sea level, I'm 6 degrees below.

So I have to subtract 6 from the boiling sugar temps for any recipe I do. In my marshmallow recipe below, that means that instead of shooting for 240 degrees Fahrenheit, I shoot for about 234 - 235.

Making those corrections and using a thermometer are how you make your recipes work the first time and every time!

If you're new to candy making, I put my base recipe for homemade marshmallows below. Start here, experimenting with flavors and colors as you get more experience. Trust me, they do really taste better than store-bought and marshmallows are pretty easy.

If you've never made homemade candies, start here. You can do this! Get your equipment out and have everything ready and dive in. That's how we all learn.

If you'd rather leave them making to someone else and you live in or around the Sterling, CO area, send me an email at info@goodthingsfromcoryskitchenandyard.com and we'll get you fixed up! I do regular, mocha, strawberry/lemon, and peppermint.

Great for snacking or to watch it slowly melt into hot chocolate.