DSDN112 - One step forward, Two steps back and an idea

Chapter One - One Step forward.
This is the story of the sugar glass cubes I made on the weekend. I had purchased a candy thermometer to measure the temperature of the mixture as i cook it to make sure it was around 150 degrees Celsius, which was the temperature for the 'brittle crack stage'. With past failures in mind, i continued to cook the mixture past the boiling point until it reached the appropriate temperature, Choice! The step forward was cooking it for that long worked, and made it solid and it dried into a hard candy which was fantastic! They worked, in theory, and made a nice result that was tested and lasted about an hour and a half before it was fully dissolved in your mouth.

Chapter Two - Two Steps Back.
So it worked, the cubes were hard in the end result. But unfortunately, when some of the mixture was separated to mix in the colour and flavor, it was drying quickly, and i could only pour it into two different ice cube sections before it was so dry it had turned sticky and was near impossible to put into the next one. So that wasn't working quite to plan, but no worries, keep on keeping on. The next genius idea that struck my mind at rocket speed was to pour the mixture straight from the pot into the trays and add the colour and flavor to each one independently. That's a great idea i hear you saying. Well again, in theory, it is. The mixture went into each tray effectively. 5 minutes later after washing up, the mixture was so hot it had melted through the plastic tray and was leaking onto the bench. GREAT! So that didn't work either and I'm back to square one.

Chapter Three - An Idea.
The responses I received from the feedback on the jelly-like cubes i brought into class actually had interesting reply's about the jelly-like texture and which inspired the interesting idea. Rather than having a hard candy that is the size of an ice cube, lasts forever and is awkward in your mouth, a gelatin square could be made. This is a squishy jelly-like creation that, unlike generic jelly mixtures, is plain meaning I can colour and flavor myself making the end product unique. Also, it would make a more interesting, odd texture to eat and would be easier to eat. Also it doesn't require a stove to cook, it just requires boiling water. Hopefully this will work better. Images of the failure tray meltage will be coming soon.