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Fudge is a creamy, semi-soft crystalline candy. It may be cooked or uncooked, but both styles must be allowed to set before cutting. Making homemade fudge is as much technique and timing as it is a recipe, so it takes experience to make it well consistently.
The most popular fudge flavor is chocolate, usually dark with white becoming more popular, other flavors such as white chocolate, caramel, maple, butterscotch, and vanilla are also favorites.
SARAH SAYS: Fudge can be made plain or it may contain add-ins such as walnuts, almonds, pistachios or pecans, mini-marshmallows, raisins, dried red tart cherries or other dried fruit and orange peel. Fudge can be flavored with candy oils such as mint, lemon and orange.
Other fudge flavors can be made without chocolate. It is done by first making an Bordeaux (Opera) Fudge, essentially a vanilla base. To it, almond, cherry, rum raisin, peanut butter or cappuccino flavors and ingredients can be added.
Fantasy Fudge is a popular fudge recipe. The folklore (there are very few reliable historical references for fudge) goes something like this... "A candy company named "See's Candy" made a fortune selling wonderfully rich and fluffy fudge. It contained a "secret" ingredient known only by those who made it. The secret ingredient turned out to be marshmallows or what is now used called Marshmallow Creme available in the grocery store."
Making fudge is tricky indeed, but wonderful when it works. The desirable quality characteristics for fudge are:
- Appearance: chocolate color, not muddy or gray.
- Consistency: firm, not soft or syrupy, not hard, brittle, or crumbly.
- Texture: smooth, not grainy, not lumpy.
- Flavor: well-blended chocolate, not too sweet, not strong
Store fudge in a cool, dark, dry place in an airtight container (tin or plastic), between layers of waxed paper or individually wrapped for about 1 to 2 weeks. Fudge stored in an air tight container at room temperature will "ripen" over the first 24 hours. That is, the texture will become creamier and more velvety.
Fudge stored in the refrigerator can last 2-3 weeks when kept in an airtight container.
Fudge left out in the open will last a couple of hours depending upon the foot traffic in the area.
It can also be frozen quite successfully for long term storage, about 3 to 6 months. Just be sure to wrap well in waxed paper, the foil, and placed in an airtight container so it doesn't absorb flavors from the freezer. Thaw fudge in its wrappers and storage container at room temperature. It will take about a day to thaw.
