Yield: 8 pieces

Why Is My Honeycomb Candy Chewy? Causes and Fixes

A cause, sign and fix table for chewy honeycomb, the water and hard crack chemistry behind it, and a card in US and metric units. Adapted from published recipes, not tested by us.

Prep Time10 minutes

Cook Time15 minutes

Cooling and setting (our estimate)1 hour

Total Time1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients

Honeycomb

• 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar, 100 g at 200 g per cup (USDA)
• 2 tbsp (44 g) light corn syrup, 44 g at 22 g per tbsp (USDA)
• 1 2/3 tbsp (25 g) water, 25 g, about 25 ml; the tbsp figure is our conversion
• 1/2 tsp (2.3 g) baking soda, food-grade, 2.3 g at 4.6 g per tsp (USDA); fresh and plain, not baking powder

Instructions

Prepare

1. Set up before the heat. Line the pan with parchment and measure the baking soda into a small bowl. The soda goes in as soon as the pot is off the heat, so keep everything within reach.

Cook the syrup

1. Dissolve the sugar. Put the sugar, corn syrup and water in the pot over medium heat. Melt low and slow, stirring gently only until the sugar looks dissolved, then clip the thermometer to the side. The heat level and the stirring are our adaptation, not from the sources.
2. Cook to 300 F. Cook until the thermometer reads 300 F (150 C), the bottom of the hard crack range, and take the pot off the heat. Subtract 1 F for every 500 feet above sea level. Coming off early is the usual cause of chewy candy, so trust the thermometer, not the clock.
3. Add the soda and pour. Whisk the soda in for about 5 seconds (Hill Country Chocolate), then pour into the lined pan at once. Expect the foam to climb the pot; that look is our description, not from the sources. Keep going.

Set

1. Cool undisturbed. Leave the slab alone until it is fully cool and hard. This card counts 60 minutes, our estimate; Hill Country Chocolate says 1 to 2 hours.
2. Break and seal. Break the slab into about 8 pieces once it is cool to the touch, and put them in an airtight container with parchment between layers. Do not refrigerate.

Notes

Not tested by us. This is our adaptation of the Food Crumbles base batch (100 g or 1/2 cup sugar, 45 g or about 2 tbsp corn syrup, 25 g or about 1 2/3 tbsp water, 1/2 tsp baking soda, cooked to 150 C or 300 F, 8-10 portions), with the corn syrup rounded to 2 tbsp (44 g). US equivalents are our conversions. The 5-second soda step follows Hill Country Chocolate.

Prep, cook and cooling times and the yield of 8 pieces are our estimates, as are the medium heat, the gentle stirring and the description of the foam. Gram figures for sugar, corn syrup and baking soda are our conversions from USDA cup, tablespoon and teaspoon weights.

Nutrition values are estimates calculated from typical USDA FoodData Central values, per 1 of 8 pieces: granulated sugar, light corn syrup and baking soda. Carbs are counted equal to sugars, and protein, fat and fiber are counted as zero. The sodium is almost all from the baking soda. This is our own calculation.