Why Is Viscosity Important in Candy Making?
According to Chocoley, viscosity, as it relates to candy making, determines how thin or thick the candy is after it hardens. For example, thin chocolate has a low viscosity. Thick chocolate has a high viscosity. In order for the candy to turn out the way the cook wishes, she needs to choose the level of thickness correctly.
Viscosity in candy making is measured by how much thicker the consistency is when compared to water. The thinner candy mixtures have lower numbers like 30. Viscosity numbers above 50 are considered high consistency. Chocolate candy making provides a good example of how viscosity works. A cook making chocolate-covered strawberries requires a chocolate with thinner consistency. Therefore, she looks for chocolate that is going to be good for dipping fruit. This low viscosity is easier to work with and hardens nicely. In addition, lower-viscosity coatings stretch farther than thicker levels.
Thicker chocolate above 50 viscosity is ideal for making molded chocolate candies, notes Chocoley. It is also good for candy recipes that need adequate thickness to hold other ingredients. For instance, thicker consistencies work well for chocolate bark and fudge. If a cook wants a candy with a medium consistency, she can blend high and low viscosity chocolates.
