Why did my homemade fudge never set up?

I am a whiz in the kitchen. I can whip up just about anything!!! My cooking is the talk of my whole family. I have never made fudge until last night. My Mother wanted me to try and old family recipe. I thought it would turn out perfect. I checked it this morning and it never set up. It is the consistancy of really cold butter. I have to spoon it out of the pan.



What did I do wrong? When my mother gave me the recipe it said 1 12oz can carnation milk. It didn't say evaporated or sweetened condensed....so I looked through a few cook books and they all called for evaporated milk.I used that although deep down I was thinking I needed sweetened condensed milk.



Any advice would be appreciated. I really want to get this recipe down before Thanksgiving.



Thanks!! Chrissy

Why did my homemade fudge never set up?
It's usually sweetened condensed milk, so you probably didn't have enough sugar in the mix. You really need a sugar boiling thermometer to stop it at the right temperature too (though testing a drop in ice water works, too)



Here's a good 'un:

http://www.eaglebrand.com/detail.asp?rid...



And lots of different ones to try! (Mashed Potato Fudge, anyone?)

http://www.geocities.com/georgiamom7/Fud...
Reply:Most recipes call for sweetened condensed milk, and I suspect that was part of the problem. Other factors include cooking to the right temperature (I rely on a candy thermometer instead of the cold water test) and the humidity. Too much humidity and the fudge won't set up properly. Also, if the recipe requires beating the candy by hand, did you really put some elbow grease into it and beat it until it lost that glossy appearance?



The good news is that you now have yummy fudge sauce for ice cream, cakes, and dessert toppings. The even better news is that you have almost a month before Thanksgiving to perfect the recipe! Good luck with everything!
Reply:condensed milk is the way to go
Reply:You might want to try a different recipe. Believe it or not, the one on the jar of Kraft Marshmallow Fluff is awesome. I've tried other recipes and had the same thing happen. Not sure why.
Reply:Use the sweetened condensed milk. Also, a lot of how fudge thickens is about temperature and cooking time. Too cold or undercooked - runny fudge. Too hot or cooked too long, and the fudge is too hard. You might use a candy thermometer to check the temp when you are cooking it. Other than that, it will take a little experimentation.
Reply:Did the temperature get up high enough?
Reply:I'm not sure of what recipe you used, but the one I have used consisted of melting chocolate with sweetened condensed milk. I don't think evaporated milk would help stiffen the fudge up.
Reply:Hmmm did you boil it long enough? Was there enough vanilla in it? Enough Salt?... Try making it again..I'm sure it's costly but, maybe you didn;t do something long enough... I have a fudge recipe that is so easy and so good if you want to try it?.. Tho Im sure you wanna get your family recipe down pat ..Good luck let us know what happens..

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