Old Fashioned Fudge

I wish i would have read reviews and fudge tips before making this one. it turned out like candy, brittle.I was not happy, espec 4 the holidays. i also found this tip here in "flawless fudge" tips. now if i would have read it sooner, maybe it would have turned out better. =================== Once the fudge reaches soft-ball stage 240 degrees F (115 degrees C), DO NOT stir it or even shake the pan until it has cooled to about 110 degrees F (43 degrees C).

This is a recipe my family made in the 1950's and 60's. It has great texture, much better than more modern fudge recipes, but is less predictable. Let the mixture cool slowly in the pan without stirring until you can let your hand rest comfortably on the bottom of the pan for 10-15 seconds, then proceed with beating the mixture as recommended. Have your pan prepped and ready to pour-the change from glossy to non-glossy is subtle; it may take a few tries to get the timing perfect.

I make a variation of this using canned milk, instead of corn syrup and whole milk and only 1 teaspoon of vanilla. I think its much better than the marshmellow creme type. The trick is it has to be taken off at the correct temp (I use the soft ball method in some water) partially fill the sink with cold water and place the pan in the sink add vanilla and butter and beat (its an arm workout)till glossy. Immediately put into pan lined with wax paper. It will turn like rock if you beat it too long. Also this doesn't harden in moist weather. Go figure!

I've been looking for an old fashioned fudge recipe like my mom used to make. The only thing I could ever find was with the marshmallow and stuff. It was good, but not what I wanted. This is great...

This is recipe my grandmother used, except she preferred evaporated milk. Fudge is smooth and creamy if you don't over-cook it. You can't beat(stir)it too much. The more you stir the creamier the fudge. I add 1 cup of peanut butter with the vanilla. If cooked correctly, THIS IS TRUE FUDGE! Thank you!!!

I liked this recipe. Fudge is easy to 'fudge' but I got this to turn out great, just like when I was a kid.

Delicious! Best I have ever made. Cooked absolutely perfect. Poor quickly from boiler to pan though - thickens fast! Yummy!

Just like great granma use to make...Thank you SOOOO Much!!!

I love this kind of fudge. In my opinion, the other stuff with marshmellow creme isn't really fudge. The problem I've had with this is beating it after it's reached the softball stage and cooled. It takes some major arm strengh and endurance! Some hints in working with this kind of fudge: Sift the sugar and cocoa together before mixing it with the other ingredients, it'll blend better with no cocoa lumps; butter the sides of the pan, use a heavy-guage sauce pan. Do not disturb the fudge once it starts to "roll" boil. Using corn syrup AND sugar helps to keep the sugar from crystallizing and ruining the entire batch. If the fudge is grainy after it's cooled-crystalization of the sugar is the culprit. Don't scrape the sides of the pan as the fudge cooks, that can also be dangerous-if you have one sugar crystal on the side and it gets into the fudge it will ruin it. Once the fudge starts to thicken (as you're beating it) and loses it high gloss, THAT is the time to get it into a buttered pan. ALSO, do NOT use one of those spray products to grease the sides of your cooking pot, there is something in the product that will keep your fudge from thickening. I've learned all these hints from mistakes I've made. Good luck. This is definitely worth the effort!

Absolutely awful. A waste of effort and ingredients. I used a thermometer and followed recipe exactly. This mess was headed towards a rock candy rather than fudge. Disgusting mess and I know how to make fudge. Definitely not recommended!

Definitely prefer with peppermint extract. Skim milk works fine. Also have used stand mixer twice with excellent results- after removing mixture from heat, pour directly into mixer bowl. Top with margarine (I use 1 tbsp.) and extract. Let cool a bit, protected from disturbance and particles (30 min. seems to work fine), and then mix with dough hook on low/med setting until mixture is noticeably thicker and loses glossiness-meaning the part the spoon or hook has just touched is lighter and less glossy then the rest (usually takes 10-15 min.). Easy! Be sure to have buttered pan (a loaf pan is perfect for this amount) and spatula ready, as soon as you stop the mixer the candy will harden very quickly! Also, when I was measuring the temp., 225 was about right, but you'll be able to judge whether it's cooked long enough just by its appearance after you've made this a few times- for me this cooks for about 10-15 min. just below the medium setting on my stove, with just a few stirs with a whisk to keep it from burning on the bottom. As long as you follow a few basic rules, this takes very little effort. The waiting is the hard part! Thank you for this recipe!

Definitely prefer with peppermint extract. Skim milk works fine. Also have used stand mixer twice with excellent results- after removing mixture from heat, pour directly into mixer bowl. Top with margarine (I use 1 tbsp.) and extract. Let cool a bit, protected from disturbance and particles (30 min. seems to work fine), and then mix with dough hook on low/med setting until mixture is noticeably thicker and loses glossiness-meaning the part the spoon or hook has just touched is lighter and less glossy then the rest (usually takes 10-15 min.). Easy! Be sure to have buttered pan (a loaf pan is perfect for this amount) and spatula ready, as soon as you stop the mixer the candy will harden very quickly! Also, when I was measuring the temp., 225 was about right, but you'll be able to judge whether it's cooked long enough just by its appearance after you've made this a few times- for me this cooks for about 10-15 min. just below the medium setting on my stove, with just a few stirs with a whisk to keep it from burning on the bottom. As long as you follow a few basic rules, this takes very little effort. The waiting is the hard part! Thank you for this recipe!

This recipe throws you off, so I will give you some tips. It says to beat the mixture with a wooden spoon until the mixture loses it's sheen and THEN pour it into the bowl. What you do once the fudge reaches the right temperature is take it off heat for 2 minutes. Then beat it with a wood spoon. After you have done that, mix in the vanilla and quickly pour the mixture into the pan. I followed the directions but once it got thick, it was un-pourable and already turning/ed into fudge. Bottom Line: You need to pour the fudge into the pan when it is still glossy and liquid-y and pourable. Follow this and you will turn out with amazing fudge.

This recipe is a definite winner. I'm surprised at the past bad reviews. I followed the recipe exactly (except that I added 1/2 cup of broken walnuts with the vanilla), and it came out great. I think this fudge recipe is much better than the ones that call for marshmallows. I couldn't find my old recipe for fudge, so I tried this one since it's very similar, and I think this recipe is even better than mine. I like the addition of corn syrup. I think it gives the fudge a smoother texture. My family LOVED it.

This is the same as my mothers except my mom uses evaporated milk. The trick is to stir, stir, stir, until glossy and almost unstirable. Don't over cook. As soon as you take it off the stove put it in the sink with about 2-3 inches of water. You will need a heavy duty pan and spoon, I have brok many. Also, don't let even 1 drop of water go into the fudge or it will ruin it. I only eat this type of fudge it has been passed down many years through our family. Marshmallow fudge is not fudge! This recipe may take many times of making before you perfect it!

i didn't have milk so i used water, but it still came out well. I love the grainy feel of old fashioned fudge, the microwaved, and powdered sugar versions just aren't the same.....

I don't know what I did wrong. I've made fudge before and I tried this recipe twice (with a thermometer) and both times the fudge scorched on the bottom of my pot.

This is an awesome recipe. I used Alton Brown's directions with this recipe and it turned out perfect not grainy . Use half the butter when cooking and the other half when it is cooling. Once it hits 234 degrees or the soft ball stage which ever comes first turn the heat off add the rest of the butter and let it cool without stiring for 10 min and with a wooden spoon beat the heck out of it for 20 min more or less until it losses it glossyness it hurts your arm after a while but its worth it.

This was fabulous and not as hard as I expected it to be. Read the helpful hints of other reviewers and followed the directions to a T.

I added about a 1/2 cup of coconut to this right after I pulled it off the heat. YUM! :) I also coated the pan in butter and sugar before I poured in the fudge, it made the outside sweeter and added to the look.

This was dry and crumbly, but I will give it four stars because I most likely did something wrong! It was my first time making fudge.

This is great! I live in a place where chocolate bars and chocolate chips are very expensive, I can only afford to buy cocoa.. And recipes with cocoa and without marshmallow are hard to find! This is made from normal ingredients all on hand.. I don't have a candy thermometer, so I did the ice-water testing method, no problems, it came out great the first time. I will make this whenever I crave fudge. :)

Made this and a marshmallow version to compare. This one has a better flavor and texture. I used evaporated milk and doubled the amounts of the ingredients - otherwise the pieces will be very thin. Here's why I couldn't give it 5 stars: as directed I stirred until it lost the gloss and it VERY quickly solidified in the saucepan. To salvage, I chipped it out of there and put it in a double boiler, adding a little more evaporated milk and stirring until it was able to be poured into the baking dish. That worked, but next time I'll pour as soon as it starts to lose the gloss. Requires a lot of hard stirring, so be ready for an arm workout. Have an extra spoon on hand in case it breaks. Worth it? YES!

Thank you! For the first time ever I have made fudge and don't need a spoon to eat it. Plus it taste great.

Not even worth the effort.

Pretty good fudge. The taste was great, but it came out a bit hard and grainy, I think because I let it cool a bit too much before pouring it into the 9x9 pan as it got really hard on me before I had it totally poured. So, I ended up scraping huge lumps of fudge off of the spoon into the pan, and then pressing it down with my hand... not very classy but it worked. Anyway, I'll be keeping this recipe and trying it again, next time not letting it cool quite so much before getting it into the pan. Thanks for sharing!

I was very disappointed in this recipe. I was making fudge for the holidays, and tried this recipe twice. Both times, the fudges appearance was awful. It didnt cut well, and looked very dried out immediately. I pride myself in making delicious Christmas cookies and candies, and this just didnt meet with my expectations. It tasted ok, not good or great just ok. Not good enough in my opinion to serve to others. Very Disappointed! Will efintely not try again!

I tried for years to make my mothers old fashioned fudge only to come up repeatedly with thick goo that never set. This recipe not only worked, but tastes exactly like my mothers. The key, and I can not stress this enough, is to let the temperature go up two to three extra degrees on your candy thermometer. No more goo ever! And now my grandchildren are in love with this old fashioned fudge too!

I tried my hand at this fudge. I only changed the recipe by adding 1/8 tsp of salt and walnuts in the end. I cooked it to a boil and let it cook by itself without stirring until it reached the soft ball mark on my candy thermometer and I also tested it in the glass of water. I let the pan sit off the heat for awhile and then put it in a pan of cold water to bring the temp down. At 110-115, I began stirring. Physically I was only able to stir for 10 min. (I didn't have anyone home to help). I didn't notice any change to the color only that it thickened. I poured it into a buttered dish and put in the fridge overnight. This a.m. I cut the candy. I was barely able to keep it in squares because it was soft. I didn't mind it being soft but I wasn't 100% pleased with the taste. It's kind of a sickening sweet. I honestly don't know if it will even be eaten and I eat chocolate every day. I probably needed to let it boil for another 2 minutes to get the consistency right and next time I will let my kitchenaid do the stirring. I also may research more takes on the Hershey fudge recipes and reviews to address the taste. Thanks for posting this recipe as it has pushed me into trying to make homemade fudge.

I didn't care too much for this recipe. It is in my experience that there are other recipes that are closer to OLD Fashioned than this one. I can not say a negative about the recipe only that I did not care for it. It is a recipe to try though. It is easy to make and the over all flavor is good. This is a good starting point for those who have never made fudge before.

Mine is soupy, but tastes good. I think I was impatient and didn't let it cook long enough. :(

Made it love it no changes

This is a good recipe that I've used for years, the only thing that should be done differently is, once the ingredients reach a boiling point reduce the heat to a slow low boil and DO NOT STIR . Stirring causes crystals to form on the pan and can deter the consistency. I add black walnuts and walnut flavoring instead of vanilla after it is removed from heat and beat by hand until gloss is gone then pour quickly into buttered pan as it sets up rapidly.

Very close to our old family recipe! The changes I made: buttered the pan well, replaced ordinarily cocoa with Callebaute extra brute, used evaporated milk instead of milk, included half the butter before boiling and mixed everything together in a separate bowl before adding to pan. Tios: Do not stir once it begins to boil, turn down to low until 237f. Remove from heat, add remainder of butter and vanilla. Stir once mixture reaches 110f, pour into buttered and parchment lined 6x6 square pan once it begins to lose it's gloss. Enjoy!

I was looking for a yummy fudge recipe that I had ingredients for. Some of the reviews made me nervous, but I succeeded and I am not a master chef and had two little ones "helping." Read through the other reviews so you know what to expect. Also I appreciated the suggestion on using a kitchen-aid to do the stirring (it took forever to lose the gloss, I couldn't imagine stirring by hand.) My kids loved it. Should have doubled the recipe.