How to melt hard candy on the stove

The red, orange and yellow see-through flames are so easy to make, using hard boiled sweets. All you have to do is melt them down in the oven to create this amazing effect.

How do you make ice cubes with boiled sugar?

How Do I Make Ice Cubes From Poured Boiled Sugar?

  1. Mix the water and sugar together in the pot and place it on the stove over medium heat.
  2. Boil and stir the ingredients until the sugar has completely dissolved into the water.
  3. Pour the water into the two ice cube trays.

How do you melt hard sweets?

How to Melt Hard Candy Using An Oven

  1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Line your baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
  3. Place your crushed candy in the pan.
  4. Bake the candy for 5-7 minutes, or until melted.
  5. Take out your pan and let it cool.

How do you fix sticky hard candy?

  1. Coat the candy in cornstarch.
  2. Coat the candy in powdered sugar.
  3. Spray your molds with a light cooking spray.
  4. Use granulated sugar.
  5. Put rice in the bottom of your storage container.
  6. Use desiccant packets (silica gel packets)
  7. Individually wrap the candies.

Why is my hard candy melting?

One of the things that causes this “melting” to happen when making homemade hard candy is the humidity. You need to be sure that there isn’t too much moisture in the air on your candy making day (less than 35% humidity).

How do you make Jolly Ranchers liquid?

Microwave the Jolly Ranchers at 80% power. Initially cook them for approximately 1 minute. Microwaves will vary, so you will need to adjust based on your specific model. This should get all four pieces to melt in one go. If the candies do not melt entirely on the first heat, cook them again in 15-second intervals.

Can you remelt hard candy?

The Oven Method to Reheat Hard Candy Preheat the oven to 300. Line a baking sheet with wax paper or aluminum foil. You can also use whole candies to give a marbleized effect. Put the tray in the oven and bake it for 5 to 7 minutes until the candy is melted and is completely flat.

Why do boiled sweets go sticky?

Humidity, heat or sunlight may make Boiled Lollies sticky. Do not leave confectionery in cars as the temperature may be too hot. If you are repackaging confectionery, do so in small amounts in a cool, dry area. Moisture from your hands may cause Boiled Lollies to become sticky.

Why did my candy crystallize?

Basically, the reason crystallization occurs is because melted sugar crystals much prefer to be in their original dry, stable state and will jump at any chance to change back and all it takes is one lone tiny crystal perched at the side of the pan to act as a seed causing nearby crystals to quickly join in and before …

How long does it take to reach hard-crack stage?

Continue boiling, uncovered, not stirring the mixture but shaking the saucepan occasionally to distribute the heat as the mixture turns amber in about 9 minutes, then darker amber as it registers 305 degrees on the thermometer (hard-crack stage ), about 3 minutes longer.

When it’s time for any special occasion, everyone tries to make festive decorations with food, especially dessert. And melted hard candy is amazing stuff for that. Now you might want to know the process of melting hard candy.

So, the leading question is, how to melt hard candy?

You can melt your hard candy using many methods. Oven, microwave, saucepan, and the double boiler method are amazing ways to melt your sweet hard candy. 

The article also covers:

  • How to dissolve hard candy?
  • Can you melt hard jolly ranchers?
  • What makes hard candy melt?
  • What can you use melted hard candy for?

So, let’s dive through the article with any further ado to learn more about melted hard candy.

How to Melt Hard Candy?

How to melt hard candy on the stove

You will find many promising ways to melt your hard candies. However, we are here to show you several methods that you can follow to melt your candies without making a huge mess.

Though it might take several shots to be a no-mess candy melting expert.

But before you start melting your hard candies, you need to know how to prepare your candies for melting.

How to Prep Hard Candy for Melting?- Key Ingredients You’ll Need

How to melt hard candy on the stove

Well, first, you need to gather the essentials you need to melt your hard candies. You’ll require:

Now for preparations:

  • Sort your hard candy into assorted batches of the same color. Don’t mix different colors; otherwise, they will camouflage into one color that won’t seem pretty at all.
  • Put them into separate ziplock bags at first. Then grind them into small pieces using a hammer or a rolling pin. 

At this point, your hard candy is all ready to be melted. Now let’s see different methods of melting hard candy.

1. How to Melt Hard Candy in an Oven

  • To start, preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. If you don’t have an oven, consider buying it today. Just click here.
  • Then streak your baking pan using parchment paper. Aluminum foil can be another choice here. Remember to tuck its borders in the pan so that your hard candy doesn’t flood and cling to the pan.
  • Now put your ground candy in the pan. And if you want your melted candy to come out in a fun shape, you can put the crushed candy into a cookie cutter.
  • After that, bake the candy until melted. It should be done in 5-7 minutes. Make sure your candy doesn’t start bubbling. If it does, it will very quickly char and burn.
  • Carefully take your pan out of the oven. Now let the pan cool down a bit. And make sure you don’t move your baking tray too much. Otherwise, the melted candy will move around the pan and ruin its color and shape.
  • When your candy will fully cool down, transfer it to a dish after 15-20 minutes and use it as you need.

2. How to Melt Hard Candy in a Saucepan

  • You need to pick a thick bottom saucepan first to use this strategy. Otherwise, using any normal pan may burn your candy due to uneven heat distribution. You can use an All-Clad Stainless steel saucepan for adequate heat distribution.
  • Now take your saucepan and pour the smashed candies into it. Set the heat to medium-low.
  • Your candy will start to move freely around the pan when it begins to melt. Make sure you don’t cook this blend for more than 5 minutes.
  • When your candy pieces are thoroughly melted, instantly remove the mixture from the stove.
  • Try to use the melted candy as fast as possible because it doesn’t take much time to harden.

3. How to Melt Hard Candy Using The Double Boiler Method

  • To use this strategy, set a pot on the stove. And fill the pot halfway through with water and heat it to boiling. 
  • Keep the heat on medium-low heat. And let the water reach boiling. Then put a smaller bowl on top. You can use a double boiler set like Farberware Classic Series, making your task more easy and quick.
  • Now pour the crushed candy into the bowl and let it stay for 2-3 minutes.
  • Stir the mixture gently, but remember not to over stir.
  • Transfer the mixture to a baking sheet for later use when your candy is entirely melted.

4. How to Melt Hard Candy in a Microwave

  • First, grab a microwave-safe glass bowl. Or you can use a ceramic cup too. It’s best to use a glass bowl because you will be able to monitor your hard candy while it melts closely. 
  • Now take out small portions of your smashed hard candy and place them in the bowl.
  • Cook the mixture for thirty seconds at medium-low heat.
  • Take it out and stir to check if it has melted properly. In case your candies aren’t done properly, put the bowl back into the microwave.
  • Keep doing this at an intermission of 15 seconds while keeping an eye on your candy.
  • Your melted goodness should be ready within 2 minutes. You can use Toshiba ML2-EM62P(SS) Microwave, offering convenient features and a built-in humidity sensor to make your melting task messless.

How Do You Dissolve Hard Candy?

How to melt hard candy on the stove

You may need to dissolve hard candy to use in recipes for desserts or anything else. But you may seek the answer to how you can dissolve hard candy, and we can help you with it.

Hard candy is usually made primarily of sugar, corn syrup, and different water-soluble elements. And when you add heat to this mixture, it speeds up and simplifies the process of candy dissolving. 

Now let’s see the actions you need to follow to dissolve hard candy:

  • First, fill a saucepan with water. Now set it on high heat and then cover it with a lid. Heat the water until you see it on a full rolling boil.
  • Now take a large measuring cup and estimate the amount of candy you need to dissolve.
  • Then add water twice the amount of hard candy you have taken to dissolve. If you take two cups of hard candies, you’ll need four cups of boiling water for the starter.
  • Now take the measuring cup filled with candies and pour in the boiling water. 
  • After this, swirl the boiling candies and water together.
  • Keep stirring the candies constantly until they are dissolved entirely in the water. 
  • If you see the water is cooling down, add half a cup of boiling water at a time. Continue this process until the candies are dissolved completely.

Can You Melt Hard Jolly Ranchers?

How to melt hard candy on the stove

Yes, quite easily. Just like other hard candies, you can also melt jolly ranchers and use them the way you want.

Now, there are a few ways you can melt your jolly ranchers, and they are very similar to the usual hard candy melting techniques. Let’s see some of them below:

2. How to Melt Jolly Ranchers Using Microwave

  • First, take a microwave-safe dish and put your jolly ranchers into it. Then place it inside the microwave. Try to use a clear pot with a handle to make it easier to take out the pot when the candy is melted. 
  • Now cook your jolly ranchers for one minute at 80% power. If you see your candies aren’t melted properly, cook them again after a 15 seconds gap. 
  • After melting the candies, remove the pot from the microwave and use the melted candy immediately because it will harden faster. 

3. How to Melt Jolly Ranchers Using Oven

  • Just like other hard candies, set your oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for preheating
  • Then take your jolly ranchers out of their wrappers, put them in an oven-safe bowl or baking sheet, and put it in the oven.  
  • Now just cook your jolly ranchers for 10-12 minutes. Take it out of the oven once you see air bubbles forming on your melted candy. 
  • Use it as fast as you can after you take it out. Otherwise, it will harden before you know it. 

You see, you don’t need to crush your jolly ranchers before melting. It’s your call, but it’s not necessary. If you want to crush them before melting, you can use a blender or our good old rolling pin or hammer.

What Makes Hard Candy Melt?

How to melt hard candy on the stove

When you try to make hard candy at home, they tend to melt easily. But can’t find the reason behind it? No worries, we can tell you the answer.

The reason behind melting your hard candy is humidity. When you leave them out on your kitchen counter or the dining table, they start to melt because of the humidity in the air.

That is no surprise to say. Even commercial candies start to melt after a while. But there is a way to prevent them from melting by storing them in a cool, dry place. That means try to keep them in place with less humidity.

It will help if you keep them in an air-conditioned place, but that’s not always possible. So, the safest option is to keep your hard candies in your refrigerator.

What Can You Use Melted Hard Candy For?

How to melt hard candy on the stove

Now you may think about where you can use all these melted, hard candies you learned about for so long. And we have made you a list of things you can do with your melted goodness.

Let’s see the amazing things you can do with melted hard candy. 

  • Decorate gingerbread houses and windows. 
  • Making crystal charms.
  • Candy glass effects on cookies.
  • Cake, donut, and cupcake decorations.
  • As a syrup in drinks such as fruit drinks, punch, cocktails, etc. 
  • Stained glass ornament.

FAQs;

  • Can I stir hard candy while melting?

No, try not to do this while you are melting your hard candy. Over-stirring might cause the sugar to crystalize. But if you need to stir the mixture, you can use a clean stainless steel spoon for that.

  • Why did my hard candy become chewy?

Because you kept your hard candy in a humid place and the moisture in the air caused the chewiness in your candy. Store them in a cool, dry place if you want to keep your candy nice and hard. Keeping your candies in the refrigerator is the wisest way to store them.

  • How long does it take for hard candy to get to 300 degrees?

If you keep your stove on medium-high heat, it will take approximately 25 to 30 minutes. For making hard candy, they need to reach three hundred degrees. But after that, it can burn or char quickly, so keep an eye on that part too.

Take Away

Candies are fun, delight, laughter, and lots of memories. Child, young, and old – candies are everyone’s crush. And when it comes to melted candies, parties are full of the joy of spring.

However, how to melt hard candy?

You can melt hard candy in several ways – in the oven, double-boiler, microwave, or saucepan. Follow the guideline above to melt your hard candy without messing up your house.

So, have fun melting candies, decorating your desserts, and relishing with delight.