Jalapeno Hard Candy

So, I ended up doing something completely random and unplanned today.  I made jalapeno hard candy - and it actually turned out great unlike some random and unplanned things I wind up doing.

Jalapeno hard candies

I'd read some things online recently about candied chilis which I want to try, and that lead me to wonder what else I could do with chilis that was "outside of the box."  Speaking of things that are "outside of the box," I remember seeing tequila lollipops years ago, complete with worms in the middle.  I didn't eat one.

Anyhow, I thought that if one could candy chilis surely you could make chili candies.  I've always wanted to try my hand at making hard candy, and everytime I think about it, I remember those tequila lollipops...

I found lots of information available online about how to make hard candy, and there were recipes for jalapeno candies.  And as with most stuff online, the more I looked, the more complicated the instructions become.  So here's what seemed to be the most important:  use a 50/50 sugar and corn syrup blend and use a candy thermometer to make sure you get the temperature right.

Using a candy thermometer to reach the hard-crack stage at 300 degrees.

(If you're new to this like me, the temperature to which you heat a sugar syrup will determine what it "does" after it cools, i.e. stays soft, gets chewy, turns hard, gets so sticky it rips your teeth out...  Here is a great link on the different temperatures and stages from The Science of Cooking website by Exploratorium.  Isn't that a great name??)

So here's what I ended up doing.  I used 100 grams of light Karo syrup that I've had for a hundred years, 100 grams of sugar, and 70 grams of water.  This was enough to yield about one cup of finished candy.

First the sugar disolves, then it boils, then it bubbles and gets thick, and then it starts to stick to everything and gets really thick.  I don't know how long it took to heat up to the hard crack stage (300 degrees).  I checked the start time, but when things got rolling I got excited and forgot to check the time.  I'd estimate it took twenty or thirty minutes over medium heat.

I have some jalapeno powder that I made a couple of years ago by dehydrating and then pulverizing the jalapenos from my garden.  Peppers processed in this manner seem to last forever, but beware because they get very, very hot, and a little goes a long way.  I sifted my jalaepno powder to isolate the finest particles and used that to flavor my candy.  I added the jalapeno powder early in the cooking process just after the sugar had disolved.  I didn't measure how much I used, but it was just a little.

Powdered jalapenos

When the sugar solution reached 300 degrees, I poured it into an oiled glass 8x8 dish.  It cools quickly, so after just a few seconds, I transfered it to an oiled cutting board, used a dinner knife to divide it into two pieces and then began rolling and pulling them into two long pieces.  The candy is HOT, so you can't handle it for long, but the shape doesn't have to be perfect, just appropriate for cutting into smaller pieces.  I then used a large chopping knife to cut each candy "log" into smaller bite-sized pieces.  You really only have maybe 60 to 90 seconds from pouring the syrup out of the pan to having it shaped and cut before it cools.

I lucked out and seemed to get the right amount of jalapenos into the candy to make it hot and sweet but not painful.  Here's another tip:  when you're boiling the syrup, use a spoon to drop a small amount into cool water so that it hardens and you can test your flavoring to see if it's "right."

As an aside, I'm in the process of candying some oranges right now, and when I'm done with those, I think I'll use the orange flavored syrup to make some orange candy next - I can't wait!!

Two batches of the above recipe made around two cups of finished candy.