Cover Image: The Beginner's Guide to Candy Making

The Beginner's Guide to Candy Making

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Very informative book. Full of a lot of useful information. This book will also be very useful for future reference

Was this review helpful?

This had some great recipes for candy/sweet making. You do need all the equipment like a sugar thermometer etc. a lovely book if you fancy making sweet gifts for friends and family.

Was this review helpful?

Those who want to perfect their candy making skills will want to pick up an excellent cookbook, The Beginner's Guide to Candy Making: Simple and Sweet Recipes for Chocolates, Caramels, Lollypops, Gummies, and More by Elizabeth LaBau. The cookbook includes information on ingredients, which the author insists on the highest quality (I agree with her when she says, “Please, don’t even think about using margarine in place of butter. It has a higher water content than butter, which can affect the behavior and texture of your candy, and more importantly, the taste is far inferior.”) which tells me that she really knows her stuff. The step-by-step photographs make up another excellent chapter on how to check the temperature of the candy and how it should look when it’s cooked to each stage. There is also good information on the equipment needed. One of the most difficult aspects of candy making is tempering the chocolate, and LaBau has given explicit instructions; very helpful.

Not only are the first few chapters excellent, the variety of candy recipes included is amazing. There is something for everyone here. The recipes are written in the standard form which makes them easy to follow and leaves no doubt what to do for each step. The photographs of every recipe are beautiful and mouthwatering.

While the title says this is for beginners, it is a cookbook that should be on the shelf of every person who wants to make good candy, whether beginning or advanced. There are enough recipes to keep anyone busy making candy for holidays as well as anytime just for fun. This is one of those cookbooks that is a “must have” and is highly recommended.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review sample copy of this cookbook.

Was this review helpful?

The Beginner’s Guide to Candy Making Candy combines amazing candy making tools, techniques and tips with delicious recipes. The depth of details that LaBau goes into regarding the numerous techniques for candy making is astonishing. She even talks about calibrating your tools and includes step by step pictures with some of the more difficult to master recipes. The book included candy categories that covered caramels, toffees, truffles, marshmallows and more. Some of my favorite recipes were lavender caramel, peppermint swirl marshmallows and melting mint patties. One section that really stood out was the section about decorating candy and how to create candy presentations. It helped to tie the book together and give it an element above a simple candy making book!

Was this review helpful?

Really interesting book, alot of great advice and recipes for someone interested in Candy Making. I will certainly be buying a copy of this.

Was this review helpful?

I love learning new things to make in the kitchen especially if they are on the sweet side! ”The Beginner’s Guide to Candy Making” by Elizabeth LaBau is full of yummy things to bake, cook and eat including lollipops, fondants, caramels, fudge, truffles and more.

Each one has detailed easy-to-follow, how-to instructions, photos to match, and troubleshooting fixes! The main problem I encountered was not having the equipment I would need in my kitchen. To make these treats, you need to be prepared to invest. If you have it or can buy it, this is a great resource but I haven’t been able to test the recipes out yet. I’m on the hunt for a sugar thermometer! It’s a four out of five on the enJOYment scale.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from Quatro Publishing Group – Quarry through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Was this review helpful?

I love the different candy ideas in this book. I think the photos and all the easy to follow information is great. I can't wait to give some of these sweet treats a try. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Was this review helpful?

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

The Beginner's Guide to Candy Making is a bright and fun, easy to follow recipe book for anyone looking to try their hand at making their own sweets/Candy at home!
The book starts off with the equipment and staple ingredients you'll need and covers techniques too.
Each type of sweet/Candy is divided into useful sections and covers: sugar candies, truffles, fudges, caramels, fondant, toffee, chocolates, marshmallows, truffles and fruitnut candies. Each recipe is accompanied by instructions which are easy to understand and follow and a picture of the end result.
This book so got me craving sweets and chocolate as I read it! This would have been perfect for me during lockdown too! I'm going to save some of these recipes that I know my daughters will love and have a go at making them over summer break.
The end of the book has a lovely decorating section with some great finishing touches ideas for the treats you make - this is a great finishing touch to the book!

Was this review helpful?

Thank you NetGalley and Elizabeth LaBau for the ARC of The Beginner’s Guide to Candy Making. This is a wonderful book that even an experienced candy maker can learn from. I liked the layout of the book with descriptions of ingredients, equipment and techniques. There are also sections on troubleshooting for when you run into problems. There are lots of recipes and beautiful photos.

Was this review helpful?

This is a step by step volume to making your own delicious candy. I made the cashew toffee bars. They were truly the easiest caramel I've ever made and got rave reviews from everyone. In fact once I put them in the fridge they were gone before I could munch on very many. Tempering chocolate is difficult but this cookbook made me less afraid of it. All of the equipment needed is laid out in the beginning and thermometers are a must.

Some other recipes that I hope to try are mango caramels and chocolate marshmallows. The photos make everything look scrumptious and are helpful in the process.

Was this review helpful?

This is a great book and I really enjoyed it. Some seem a little too hard but I can't wait to make some of these recipes!

Was this review helpful?

What a great book about Candy Making! This is a sweet tooth's 7th heaven with all the beautiful pictures and the instructions for making the candy is clear and precise. I can't wait to try a few of the recipes - although I wished someone could tell me what can be used as a sub for corn syrup.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group-Quarry for an advance electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I'm very sad to say I was unable to finish this book. My computer crashed and I have been without. I just tried to redownload the book but it is already archived. I can say I enjoyed what I did see of it, and really wished I could give a full review.
Also, I have to give it a star rating. I'm giving it a 3 based simply on the fact that I didn't get to read it all. The 3 rating does no reflect my full opinion of the book.

Was this review helpful?

The beginners guide to candy making is a very good introductory book. I have definitely learnt some new techniques

Was this review helpful?

A really comprehensive guide to making sweets. Whilst the recipes do have metric equivalents, it is very US centric and includes ingredients such as corn syrup that are not available in the UK. This makes it difficult to recommend.

Was this review helpful?

This is a fantastic guide to making homemade candy! The instructions are easy to follow and the pictures are great. You can learn how to make tons of delicious treats that are perfect for gifts.

Was this review helpful?

This is a very good technical book on the main categories of candy-making.

My only complaint is the art styling of the book. It feels a bit cheap like a self-published book versus one coming from a professional publishing house. Also for such a technical advanced challenging cooking style, its styled like one for kids to use and learn from versus adults making burning delicate caramel. The main art design I dislike the most the top banner.

4 stars for the book content but 2 stars for the design.

Was this review helpful?

Once upon a time I bought a candy thermometer because I got it in my head I was going to make candy. I was convinced I could make my kids something special. When my thermometer arrived I promptly washed it and then threw it in that drawer. You know that drawer the one with the turkey baster you use once a year. Well this thermometer is going to be my new best friend because after reading this book I’m not scared to try anymore.

Broken down into different types of candies each chapter starts with troubleshooting solutions. I cannot wait to work my way through this book. All the recipes are well written with easy to follow directions. Even how to make your own marshmallows!!! Oh my goodness can you even imagine the possibilities?!?

Was this review helpful?

Wow, this is an amazing book of candy making. Beautiful pictures and detail. Awesome recipes. My grandmother loved to make candy and had special knowledge that I was never really able to pick up on (such as how the outside temperatures affected certain candies). This book definitely made me want to start venturing into the art of making candy. A perfect book to have a paperback or hardcover version to keep in your kitchen. Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to review.

Was this review helpful?

These beginner books are really quite lovely. Step by step, troubleshooting, and some real gorgeous picture flout the pages. The tips and tricks in the beginning really look inviting enough to try a do it yourself at home candy making.

What did I like? I would definitely recommend this book. Tons of different candy to make yourself and the pictures were great. Really enjoyed looking at how they make salt water taffy. I know we’ve all been to the little shops to watch them stretch it but it’s really nice to see what actually goes into it.

Would I recommend or buy! Yes, if your into making candy this would be a great introduction book. You get to control what actually goes into the candy and it’s eye opening to see how to make your own. A great gift, or a great purchase. Five stars,

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher to read and voluntarily left this review!

Was this review helpful?