Praline recipe - Swasthi's Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Why are my pralines not getting hard? ›

The simple answer is that there is too much moisture in your candy. One or more factors could be contributing to this problem. In hard candy making, it is important to cook all the water out of the sugar/corn syrup/water mixture.

American praline: a creamy, fudge-like confection featuring a cluster of pecans coated with a caramelized mixture of brown sugar, granulated sugar, cream (or milk or evaporated milk) and butter. Though pralines are popular across the Southern U.S., they're most often recognized as a New Orleans specialty.

Don't Stop Stirring Until the Pot Talks – Here, she's referring to the step of cooling the syrup before dropping the candies to harden. It starts off very loose and liquidy. As you stir, sugar crystals start to form and the syrup will start to feel thick and grainy against your spoon.

Pralines are a much-appreciated festive treat, but come to think of it, they're simply delicious at any time of the year. When your pralines turn white, you are seeing the recrystallization of sugar. And you are right that honey does technically slow down the rate at which crystals form in candy.

sometimes I have no idea why they won't harden. But if your pralines are still gooey after 30-40 minutes, you may have to scrape them back into the pan and heat them again. Add a tablespoon of milk, melt the sugar, and as before, stir constantly while you bring them to a boil.

Pralines should be cooked to 236°F (soft ball stage) so that it is still pliable when it cools and so it maintains the smooth sandy texture typical of pralines. This is impossible to determine without a thermometer, and if you overheat the sugar, you are guaranteed to make pralines that are too firm and grainy.

Pralines were invented in France in the 1600s. It is widely accepted that the creator of the praline was the French pastry chef Clement Lassagne, who at the time was personal chef to the comte du Plessis-Praslin (you can see the praline's namesake there).

A praliné is a paste that is a mixture of nuts, chocolate and sugar. While in Belgium, a 'praline' is defined as a filled chocolate candy. Note that the term 'praline' is of Belgian origin.

What is the difference between a pecan and a praline? A pecan is a type of nut while a praline is a type of candy that is made with sugar and nuts. While pecans are the most common type of nut used in pralines, almonds or hazelnuts will work too.

Since the problem is mostly that the sugar in the pralines gets hard and crystallized, you might try softening them the way you'd soften hard brown sugar. Place a terracotta sugar saver in the container or something else that's slightly damp, like a few slices of apple or a slice of fresh bread.

Can pralines go bad? ›

They contain no preservatives and are best consumed within a week of purchase. They never go “bad,” but after a week or so the sugar starts to crystalize and they lose the characteristic snap that you enjoy when biting them.

Plan to make your pralines on a cool, dry day. If it's humid or rainy, as it was the first time I made pralines, the candy might end up with a more sugary, grainy texture.

Pecan pralines last up to three weeks. So it is better to consume the pecan pralines in the first two to three weeks after you make them. After three weeks, the pralines will not go bad but the sugar will begin to re-crystallize and so they will lose their delicious creaminess and will get a little harder to chew.

Allow the pralines to cool completely, then store between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container. They will keep at room temperature, stored in a cool and dry place, for at least five days or longer.

praline, in French confectionery, a cooked mixture of sugar, nuts, and vanilla, often ground to a paste for use as a pastry or candy filling, analogous to marzipan; also, a sugar-coated almond or other nutmeat. In the cookery of the American South, the term denotes a candy of sugared pecan meats or coconut.

Always make candy on a cool, dry day. Because candy is made from sugar, and it pulls in moisture from the air, rain and humidity, the cooking time can increase substantially. It also may never set up at all -- the candy will absorb water from the air and turn into syrup.

If your candied coating isn't hardening, the candying mixture did not reach a high enough temperature. Allow your candying mixture to cook until it bubbles, thickens, and turns a rich golden color, sort of like caramel. Then, quickly turn off the heat so it doesn't burn.

Because excessive softness in candy results from high relative humidity, cook hard candies, such as nut brittle, to 2 degrees higher than the temperature your recipe calls for. The additional 2 degrees in cooking temperature will compensate for moisture in the air, so your candy will still have the correct texture.

The process of turning sugar into a hard, smooth, transparent confection involves heating a sugar/corn syrup/water solution to 300 – 310° F. {150 - 155° C.}, or what is known as the hard crack stage of sugar. The use of a candy thermometer is not essential, but highly recommended and accuracy is critical.