I recently made dragon beard candy (view my photos). It turns out it’s a lot easier to make than hand pulled noodles, but the general process for both is the same. The reason dragon beard is easier is because you can really take your time while making it, and it is very forgiving about mistakes.
So I started by watching this video. Then I did a bunch of research on candy making. There are a few things to watch out for:
- When heating to a specific temperature, accuracy is very important. A 5 degree (Fahrenheit) difference can change your candy completely.
- When cooling your candy, it is in danger of crystallizing. Stirring it or bumping it can cause it to crystallize, so be careful.
- You can protect against crystallization by adding vinegar or corn syrup (or both) to your recipe.
Then I experimented a bit with the recipe in the video. I found that:
- You don’t need that much water. The goal is to boil it off anyways.
- Cooling the sugar to 100 C (212 F) before pouring it is a good way to crystallize your sugar and ruin the batch.
- It’s easy to crystallize the recipe anyways. Because of this, I modified it a bit by adding some extra corn syrup.
- Finally, the recipe is WAY TOO BIG.
So following all that, the recipe I had the most success with is this:
Dragon Beard Candy
- 50g Maltose
- 500g Sugar
- 250g Water
- 1/2 tsp White Vinegar
- 100g Corn Syrup
Combine all the ingredients in a large pot, and boil. Once the temperature reaches 266 F, remove the mixture from the heat. Allow it to cool enough that the bubbles disappear and it becomes transparent. Rather than letting it cool to 212 F and risking crystallization at a low temperature, pour it into small cups immediately. I used little paper Dixie cups, and they didn’t burn or melt. Be careful in your cup choice though, as I used some with a plastic coating that made things a little more difficult.
Pulling the candy is pretty straighforward. Youtube videos are a great help for learning how to do it. Remember to take your time, because the candy CAN break. If it breaks when its still a large diameter, most of the time you can just stick the broken pieces back together by pressing the ends together (sugar is good at sticking to itself). If it’s really thin and you get a few broken strands, don’t worry about it. If you just keep pulling it will work itself back in.
For the peanut mixture, I used peanuts (toasted and ground in a blender or food processor), sesame seeds (to taste), and a little bit of corn syrup to help it stick together nicely. The corn syrup allowed me to get a big pile of peanuts in each dragon beard candy. I like lots of peanuts 😀
Again, here’s a photo gallery of the pulling process. It was really a lot of fun to make, and it was A LOT easier than making hand pulled noodles. So if you’re getting stuck trying to make noodles, take a break and make some candy for a while.
I love that you have taught yourself these wonderful skills! I found your noodle video on the net after watching Chef Tomm's and decided to see more (I've actually seen in done in China many times). I worked at PCI as a pastry and baking instructor for the past three years but stopped right about the time you did your noodle demo. Again, great work! I can tell I'll be checking in on you to see what new thing you've decided to focus on. Can I ask why the pulled noodles and dragon beard candy, specifically?
Fantastic – love this post!
afraid it may yield too big of a batch, how long do you think you can keep the remaining mixture w/o using it?
How did you reach 265F? I tested boiling – just water on an electric stove and I stuck my electric thermometer into the water as it was rigorously boiling. The temperature read 212F and wouldn’t get any higher.
I don’t believe water will go above 212 (it turns to vapor), but if you have all the ingredients in the pot, the temperature will get very high. Do a Google search for “candy making” if you’re interested in learning more.
How come after pulling the candy, when I tried the candy is not crispy, but really sticky to my teeth.
That can occur if you didn’t bring the sugar all the way up to the correct temperature. You can also try letting the candy sit for a day or two after pulling it. It will dry out a bit and be less sticky.
Hi
I am trying to make dragons beard. I’ve watched the video a few times. I’m using agave syrup instead of corn syrup I presume that’s ok? First 3 times it just cracked. This last time it was better, started it off but then it kept cracking, any help would be appreciated.
@Louise – I would guess that agave syrup is fine, but I’ve never tried it. My guess would be that you’re overheating your sugar – try reducing your target temperature by 3 degrees or so (could be that your thermometer is a bit off)
My first couple batches were very stiff, but patience and warm hands helped a lot.
@Irymarz Thanks for the advice. I’ll keep trying 🙂
Where did you find maltose? If I can’t get maltose, can I just use more corn syrup?
@Austin – I got maltose at a local asian market. It’s more readily available there. You might be able to use corn syrup, but there may be a chemical characteristic of maltose that makes the sugar behave properly.
trying Googling around “candy making” – there are probably appropriate replacements if you can’t find maltose.
Hi~
I am a cake decorator and came across this candy thinking this would make the best ever Hair/Fur for for my sculpture. Here is the real questions: How do you suggest I stick it onto fondant or chocolate modeling clay or fondant? Also, any ideal how far ahead off the competition I can make it and prevent it from getting sticking or melting? Any advice on holding this, sticking it onto other sugar and how would be appreciated.
Hi, I’ve been trying to make this dragon beard candy but have no luck of getting the syrup to go pass 212F. How can I make it boil pass this stage? What is the time frame I should boil?
Hello
I’ve tried the recipe so many times in the last week. Only one time it came out perfect, the other batches was too hard and cracked. Any ideas? I test the thermometer at 212 boiling water. Perfect. I took off burner at 265 and poured it into molds.
Is weighting critical? I converted it to measuring cups.
Please help….. went through about 6 batches already. I also cut the recipe in half. The only time it did work is when I weighed everything out and it actually boiled over and spilled out since my pot was too small.
Did you have problems with consistantancy?
Please email so we can correspond.
Thanks
Hi Ken,
My recommendation is to go by weight, get a bigger pot, and if needed, reduce your temperature 2 degrees. Elevation and humidity can affect candy-making, so you might have to adjust for that.
Weighing the ingredients is best – it’s the only way you can be sure you’ve got exactly the same recipe as me. Keep in mind also that even good batches can crack if you stretch too hard before the sugar warms up in your hands. But once you get the hang of it you’ll be able to make it consistently every time.
Mine one using chef peter video tutorial and follow his recipe, the sugar after boiled is still very soft after letting it cool down for a day…. may i know what is the problem?
Hi,
How much does your recipe yield? Can you pour the hot mixture into the cups immediately after reaching temperature? How do the “bubbles” in the hot mixture affect the final product? I’m getting a lot of crystallization in the cooled sugar pucks. I’ve brushed the side of the pot with water throughout the boiling process. Should I only be brushing with water in the beginning, middle or end? The sugar mixture is coming out crystallized or shatteringly hard. If I want softer pucks, how much corn syrup or maltose should I add? Need help; what am I doing wrong?
Hi. I tried and thats really amazing
Thank u
I want to know i dont want use all in one time. I left at silicon and in the morning the candy already like rock. What can i do. Tq
Hi do you coat the container in anything before pouring the sugar solution into them?
Great I try it out this week. As last week I fail to pull the candy. It harden and I am not able to pull it.
Hi.
How to make the candy block still soft and can be keeped in a view days before it goes to streching.
Does it depend on the ingredien or cocking time or else?
Thanks