Lemon Drops
I guess I've been saving these candies back because I love them so much. Lollipops and the rest are all well and good but there's something about these old-fashioned drops that just scream "home."
Not that my mother made them when I was growing up. Notions of home are often matters of the imagination. Not that I had a bad childhood. I mean, there was the imminent threat of the rapture, so I kept waiting for my feet to leave the ground. It played heck with any attempts I made at basketball or the high jump. (Believe me, all really, really futile. I preferred Bach. I was a strange child.) But otherwise, mine was the typical, early '70s childhood. Huckapoo, anyone?
Still, when we think of "home," we often think of what should be, or could be, or ought to have been, rather than what was. Home is really the activities that happen in it: the chores, the cleaning, the meals, the fix-ups, the dinner parties, the illnesses. Mostly, it's not something that happens to you, but you to it.
But then there are other things, ineffable things, more imagined than real--except when in fact they become real in some way. Then imagination matches up with "what is"--and there's a gorgeous feeling that all's right with the world.
Like with lemon drops. Because if you make them, all will be indeed.
First off, you need candy molds. There are two kinds. You can choose the round ones to make little lemon balls. They look something like this:
Or you can have the square mesh molds. You have to put these together like little fence rails, all interconnected. They make candies sort of like Jolly Ranchers. They look something like this:
Set them up and lightly grease them with nonstick spray. Again, they're OK if they're set on granite or marble or something that can take the heat. Otherwise, set them up on a wooden cutting board (plastic can melt) or on a turned-upside-down baking sheet.
Combine 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, and a few drops of yellow food coloring in a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved--then leave the thing along while it comes to a full boil.
Want more sour pop from the candies? Add 1/8 teaspoon citric acid and stir well until it too has dissolved. Citric acid is the white powdery stuff on the surface of packaged sour candies. You can get it from candy-making suppliers, whether online or in their brick-and-mortar outlets.
Clip a candy thermometer to the inside of the pan and continue boiling until the temperature registers 300F.
We've been talking a lot about temperatures on the blog. There are four basic ones for candy-making: 240F for soft ball, 248F for firm ball, 272F for soft crack, and 300F for hard crack. These temperatures have to do not so much with how hot the mixture is (although they do) but with how much water has been boiled off, leaving the sugar to begin its temperature ascent into the stratosphere. Basically, they indicate a residual moisture content which indicates how chewy or crunchy the final product will be. More moisture, less crunch. Thus, soft and firm ball settings will give you chewy candies; soft and hard crack will give you intense crunch.
Once the thing's reached 300F, remove the pan from the heat and let the temperature fall back to 270F. Now stir in 1 teaspoon lemon oil or lemon extract.
Pour the hot syrup into the prepared molds and then let them cool for at least 20 minutes before you begin to open the molds or break up the little rectangles.
One more thing: you should wrap each one in a candy-wrapper, again available from those suppliers. If you don't, they'll end up like your grandmother's candy: one fused ball in a candy dish. Ambient humidity plays havoc with candy and hair. Your grandmother's hair was the way it was because her candy was the way it was. Life balances out. Sometimes. Especially at home.
candy, lemon drops
Reader Comments (2)
I love your blog, where can I get the square molds?
Melissa: Thanks for your nice comment. I was glib, I suppose, when I said you could get the metal molds at kitchenkrafts.com. Apparently not. I also checked sugarcraft.com and didn't come up with much. My guess would be to email either of these sites and ask them. I did see some on ebay just the other day, but couldn't locate the link this morning. Of course, those ball molds are everywhere on those sites. Sorry I can't be much more helpful--but I suppose supply/demand is an unforgiving master.