Jami Curl - Candy Is Magic: Real Ingredients, Modern Recipes

Copyright 2017 by Jami Curl

Photographs copyright 2017 by Maggie Kirkland

Illustrations copyright 2017 by Michelle Ott

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.

www.crownpublishing.com

www.tenspeed.com

Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Curl, Jami, author.

Title: Candy is magic : real ingredients, modern recipes / Jami Curl.

Description: First edition. | Berkeley : Ten Speed Press, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016047716 (print) | LCCN 2016048680 (ebook) | ISBN 9780399578397 (hardback) | ISBN 9780399578403 (Ebooks)

Subjects: LCSH: Confectionery. | Candy. | BISAC: COOKING / Courses & Dishes / Confectionery. | COOKING / Courses & Dishes / Chocolate. | COOKING / Courses & Dishes / Desserts. | LCGFT: Cookbooks.

Classification: LCC TX791 .C87 2017 (print) | LCC TX791 (ebook) | DDC 641.85/3--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016047716

Hardcover ISBN 9780399578397

Ebook ISBN 9780399578403

Additional design by Christin Spagnoli on .

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

RECIPES

ROASTED FRUIT PURES

INFUSED CREAMS

SYRUPS AND REDUCTIONS

MAGIC DUSTS

EASY ICE CREAMS

LOLLIPOPS

BEYOND THE LOLLIPOP: HARD CANDY

CARAMELS

DREAMS COME CHEW

MARSHMALLOWS

GUMDROPS

BEYOND CANDY

CANDY KITS AND CELEBRATIONS

INTRODUCTION

A REAL LIFE IN REAL CANDY

My job is made of dreams. Im a candy maker, and the tools of my trade are imagination and sugar. I believe in magic. Especially the type of magic brought about by spinning my wildest dreams into something sweet to eat. Theres no way to argue it, magic is responsible for getting me to where I am today. Its squeezed its way into every facet of my being, and its given me the ability to approach daily life with a specific sense of wonder and enchantmenttwo of the required qualities of a candy maker, Im certain. Theres very little that I do that I dont approach with a bright-eyed sense of enthusiasm. And if youve heard me speak, have met me at a candy demonstration, or have taken one of my classes, you know that everything Im saying here is the exact truth: Im completely wild about making candy.

I dont remember a time when I wasnt speaking the language of sweets. I dont remember a time when I wasnt analyzing bites of cookies or spoonfuls of ice cream. Chocolate and frozen treats, cakes and biscuits, candy and cookies, hot fudge and caramel saucethese are my constants. They are my rewards, my gifts, my consolation prizes, my companions, and my coworkers.

In 2005, armed with a family of recipes and a tireless spirit, I opened my first retail bakery. I had just entered my thirties, I was not yet a mom, and I had just ended a successful career as a marketer for engineers and lawyers. Baking as a job was something I could visualize but never thought of as possible, until I made it possible.

Right from the beginning, the days were long. I opened the business in November, and, leading up to that first Thanksgiving, I was easily spending twenty-two-hour days in the bakery turning out pumpkin pies and nutmeg ice cream. I was so happy to be baking that I wouldnt even realize when twenty-two hours had ticked by. Elbow deep in sugar, butter, and flour was exactly where I wanted to be.

Fast-forward eight years and the bakery was more than thirty employees strong. We were featured on television shows and blogs. We were in magazines, books, and newspapers. We were booked weekend after weekend with special orders and wedding cakes. Our caf space was always buzzing with early-morning treat seekers, lunch-break cookie grabbers, and after-school snackers. It was all exactly as I had planned, only better. And everything was wonderful. That is, until it wasnt.

What happens when the exact thing you want is no longer what you want? That sounds like a trick question, I know. But it really isnt. For years I had envisioned myself working as a baker, creating treats for people who love them, making birthday-cake dreams come true, celebrating love with the perfect wedding dessert. And here I was, doing it! But after years of the work, I started to feel limited by the concept of a bakery. Cookies and cakes and buns were fantastic, but even with my seasonally inspired approach to the menu, I felt restricted. And worst of all, with each passing day, I felt as if I was losing my creative edge. Balancing the expectations of customers who wanted the same scones and cookies day after day with my own desires to be fulfilled creatively became more and more difficult.

One day, when I could stand the tedium no longer, I put a pot of sugar on a cooktop and began coaxing it into a dark amber liquidI was making caramel! It was an exercise that I thought was just a distraction. And it was a mere distractionuntil I felt the wiggling feather of excitement in my creative soul. The feeling that I had been missing and craving was suddenly reappearing. That single pot of caramel brought back the sense of wonder I so badly needed in order to feel fulfilled at work. That was it. I was hooked.

The first batch of candy I prepared for sale ended up being a caramel inspired by that same pot of beautiful dark amber sugar. It was the tiniest batch of sea salt caramel, and I cut it into 1-inch squares. I wrapped the squares in cellophane and dropped them into clear bags, attaching handwritten tags reading Oregon Sea Salt Caramels. I placed the bags of caramels at our bakery counter andto my amazementwatched them sell. I was truly inspired by this new breath of sugary life, and couldnt wait to make more. And thats how QUIN was born.