Fudge Is The Original Old Time Family Favorite Chocolate Sweet Treat

If you were to define it, fudge is a creamy and rich confectionery treat. A semi-soft candy, customarily very smooth and made with fresh butter, sweet cream, sugar, corn syrup and sometimes some wonderful flavorings. Flavors could be butterscotch, white chocolate, chocolate, vanilla, flavored gelatin, peanut butter, buttermilk, kool aid, Kahlua, mint, pumpkin, maple or even bourbon. Fudge might have nuts, such as hazelnuts, pistachios, walnuts, pecans, roasted macadamia nuts, or almonds. Other ingredients that are used in the more uncommon or decadent fudge could be: crackers, cheese, popcorn, crushed candy canes, candy bars, lime zest, pineapple chunks, coconut, espresso beans, caramel, chocolate chips, cookie wafers, marshmallows, chunks of chocolate, or cherries and other dried or candied fruit.

While the actual word fudge has other meanings, none of them are synonymous with the old fashioned, family favorite, premium chocolate fudge. In the U.S., the word fudge is almost always associated with a rich and creamy, wonderful confection made with chocolate. At times you'll find the word fudge is printed on the boxes of cakes and brownies, but this simply means they've added more chocolate flavoring to the mix.

According to history (although arguable) fudge was developed by accident with a batch of failed candy; most likely caramels, sometime around 1886. From this flubbed batch of candy came the phrase or the cooks' exclamation of 'oh, fudge!' The first written indication of fudge was in a letter from Poughkeepsie, New York. A student from Vassar College, Emelyn Battersby Hartidge, stated that a classmate's cousin made fudge. In Baltimore in 1886, the confection cost 40 cents per pound. In 1888 Ms. Hartidge was given the recipe and made 30 pounds for the Senior Auction at Vassar. Other colleges (Smith and Wellesley) then developed their own recipes for fudge.

Nearly everyone likes eating rich, flavorful fudge, but it is considered a bit of a hassle to make. The first fudge recipes were difficult and rather ambiguous. The degree of difficulty depended on the recipe used, the ingredients, how good the equipment was and the patience taken in order to make it right. Also, continual stirring and being aware of the exact measurements, and cooking time were important in order to get the perfect fudge candy. Stirring at the proper time, and getting the ingredients to the appropriate temperature are both needed in order for the fudge to be smooth and not grainy. Moreover it was extremely easy to under cook or over cook this delicious treat, resulting in the fudge not setting up correctly or the ingredients getting scorched.

Compared to other favorite candies and sweets going back thousands of years, fudge is fairly young. Some of the early flavors of fudge included chocolate, vanilla and brown sugar penuche. Mackinac Island, in Michigan has become the fudge capital of the United States. Now days, the mixtures of ingredients or fudge flavors are almost endless. Some of them are: chocolate cappuccino, maple walnut, vanilla cherry chocolate chip, lemon butter, vanilla caramel, raspberry coffee, chocolate caramel pecan, peanut butter, chocolate cheesecake and dark chocolate.

Author's Bio: Anna McAnthony is a staff writer for Chocolate Gourmet Candy, and has been doing research and writing articles on chocolate and chocolate candy for several years. Visit http://www.chocolategourmetcandy.com for more information.

Anna McAnthony is a content writer at http://www.chocolategourmetcandy.com, and has been doing research on and writing about caramels and chocolate candy for several years.