I'm a Sad Boo
 

Recently, I binged Candy stores that are around me, and one of them had caught my interest. I decided to try and visit their website if they had one, and while the store had none, I found a site with reviews for the store... it was then I discovered the shop is no longer in business. :p-cry:

I wish I had the resources to run my own candy shop... actually, I just remembered there was a world market by me... I could try there... if I could find it.

all the ones here closed tooooo ;-;

Glitch, that sucks! Why do candy stores have to close.
I don't qualify for the world market place.

There's actually one not too far from my apartment that is still open. It's pretty amazing!
A lot of stuff they order in bulk, but they make their own taffy, fudge, and chocolates (truffles, chocolate covered cherries, etc) on site.

Ooh! That sounds amazing! I don't like cherries unless it's cherry pie, but chocolate covered cherries... actually, I can imagine the taste... I'l try the truffles, though since I haven't had that yet, though I just remembered we probably live very far from each other. What's your favourite candy from the store?

Hmmm....my favorite has to be either the coconut curry cashews or the white chocolate gingerbread bites. But I also really love a couple of the caramels.

The cashews sound delicious! I want to try them. If it were possible, I'd pay you to buy and send me some, but uh... yeah.

It's probably doable, but the coating is likely to be melty. Maybe for Christmas...
<.<
>.>

If I have a job then, sure!

Lol...or I could just send them as a present...
*does ninja things*

That would be awesome!

Haha...I would totally do it. I have sent blankets to people before...
XD
Maybe even include some of my own handmade caramels if I get around to it this year...

Handmade caramel... that sound good as well.

Oh it is so good!
I've been meaning to make some for a few years now.

If you do make some, I wanna try some.

I learned how to make hard candies so that I could make Legend of Zelda rupees for my son's birthday party. It turns out to be a lot easier than I expected, and it's easy to make them whatever color and flavor you want, and different shapes aren't too hard.

Please, teach me your ways, Coda! I wanna make hard candies too! Not to sell, but just for fun.

Hard candies! Yum! I haven't made that in a while. My family usually just makes it all in one pan and then smashes the pan on a counter a few times to break it up. But you can find molds for shaped ones pretty easy too.

The short version is mix corn syrup, granulated sugar, color, and flavor, heat to 300 degrees Fahrenheit (use a thermometer!), then pour it into molds or onto a pan (like Kaderin said) and break it apart after it's completely cooled. This can be done in the microwave if you have a deep pyrex glass dish. Cleanup is easy because it's 99% pure sugar so it just dissolves in hot soapy water if you let it soak.

I don't remember the exact proportions of the ingredients but it's not hard to look it up.

I see.

To be honest, I cook to "stages" rather than temperature (just because I don't always have a candy thermometer).
So hard candy is hard crack stage. And that's just when you drop a little of the candy mix into cold water, it hardens and can be snapped without being flexible.

That's easier to do if you're cooking it on the stovetop. In the microwave it's still possible but it's less convenient; the thermometer is a lot simpler if you actually have one.

Honestly, I don't even have a microwave. And when I was younger and at my parents house still, I still used stages with the rare microwave use for candy.
I mean, we did have a couple of candy thermometers, but neither of them was properly calibrated, so they were both off some.
*shrug*
But really, I think it's a personal choice which method to use. Whatever a person is morw comfortable with.

I've been wanting to make my own candy since forever. For one I want to try the recipe for "crystal meth" used in Breaking Bad (someone on the show said it was rock candy) and I even got some blue food coloring for that already.

And of course design my own molds with the 3d printer (probably make a prototype and use food safe silicone to create negative of the print, since I suspect it has to be slightly flexible to get the candy out intact afterwards). Tardis lollipops, anyone?

Yeah...flexible materials are generally a safe bet.
And custom candy molds would be awesome!

I know, right? I want to make all sorts of nerdy candy ^^

Oh man....so many series I love....I wouldn't know where to start!

...it doesn't matter as long as it's candy :p-tongue:

Lol
True. But I'm more inclined to buy it if it's something I' a fan of. Especially the lesser known ones.

What are the lesser known ones?

*looks around* Nah, what do you mean off topic... I'm collecting ideas for Kaderin's candy christmas gift...

I swear I submitted my reply, but it didn't post! Ugh.

Part of me wants to say Firefly, but it is sort of popular.

For shows/movies: Terra Nova (kind of popular with the right group, but not too well known anymore)
Tremors (one season show plus 5 or 6 movies...I've lost track)
Relic Hunter (AMAZING show! I miss it.)
The Librarian (started as a made for tv movie if I recall, possibly will become more popular since a recent show based on the 2 movies is being made)

Books: The Stormlight Archives ( ongoing series)
The Wheel of Time series (possibly popular, but I don't think I've seen anyone obsessing over it lately)
Elantris (single book, but I LOVE it and have a tattoo of one of the symbols from it)

And I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot.

Yes, TARDIS lollipop for me, please. I never thought of that before, and I'm disappointed that I didn't... also, Dalek lollipop too, or like a peppermint candy, but not so big.

Food-safe silicone is definitely the way to go. You can DO it with other heat-resistant plastics but silicone gives you a lot more options.

Huh. Brandon Sanderson sure getting popular these days.

I read Steelheart, which wasn't bad, but that's about it, only know his other books from vague summaries. Anyway, if there's something in the books which can be used for candy shapes, I'm game. The world needs more nerd candy just as it needs promotion of books. And I'm not saying that because I wear one of the cool pens right now ^^

Relic Hunter sounds familiar. Don't think I've ever seen any of the other shows, albeit a long time ago my mule on a different site once was called "The Librarian". Libraries ftw!

...and remember, it's sweeter on the inside

Is he? I'm the only person I know, at least locally, who reads Sanderson. I didn't get into his stuff until the grocery store I worked at had The Way of Kings in our book & magazine stand section and I thought it looked interesting. And that really kicked me off on his books.
Unfortunately, for most books, it could be tough to actually use anything for candy designs. I mean. Elantris has really cool rune-like designs, but they could be tough to make as candy because the lines and spaces would make them too fragile.

Oh! Another old show I love is Due South! 8D
Relic Hunter was awesome! It was a Canadian show that generally aired after the news on I want to say Wednesday nights. My parents didn't like us to stay up that late though, so I didn't actually get to see very many episodes. But I can buy the complete series (3 seasons) on Amazon.

Omg I want a 3d printer I'd make so many things

10/10 put a smile on my face.