Learning the Hard Way about Lollipop Molds:

[Darienne]

I had this really clever idea…or so I thought…about making some Canada Day lollipops for the children. Moose, silly Mr. Moose, mold filled with maple-flavored hard candy. Wrapped in cellophane with tiny Canada flag stickers. (Secretly this was a preliminary foray into making pure maple syrup ‘Canadian’ lollipops.)

So what happened?

First of all, it’s hard to get hard candy molds in Canada. So I was excited to find that the candy supplier store half way between nowhere and Toronto had any ‘Canada’ themed hard candy molds at all. Stopped off on a flying visit to Kerry Beal’s chocolate workshop and picked up three of the adorable moose molds.

Next. Instead of making 17 lollipops with 1 ½ cups of molten flavored, colored sugar, the moose(s) are SO big that they make only 9. This effectively means that the lollies are super-sized and that can be a problem. The moose head is ginormous.

Then, the mold is configured so that the stick is not positioned correctly. Hmmm…what to do about that one? It’s too high and so doesn’t grab onto enough candy to hold it in place for the very long time it is going to take to consume the entire huge lollie.

I should have known that there were way too many protuberances on this mold: knees, feet, ears, antlers…especially the ears and antlers. Plus the ears are way too tiny and too thin and break off at the slightest jar. I mean s-l-i-g-h-t-e-s-t, teeny, tiny movement. And the antlers spread way far out with the outside edges being very thin. It’s hard to make sure that you get all the outer bits filled using such a viscous hot…and then quite suddenly solid… substance. And to make sure you don’t spill the stuff outside the mold cavity. Can’t smooth anything out as in chocolate. Can’t bang the molds to get the stuff to even out in the molds. And the edges of the antlers and ears are so thin that you can’t remove/cut off any excess. One try. Get it right or you’re don’t for. Not to mention that it might have been better to do the job with a second set of hands.

Next decanting the lollies was a problem. Broke one just getting them out...a new experience. They had to be put out very carefully onto silicone mats, with the mold held almost on the mat surface.

Then I simply lay a finished lollie on the table and the ears and one side of antlers broke off. If the ears and antlers are that fragile, how could the lollie withstand wrapping and then handling in a sale situation? And how soon would the antlers and ears break off in the hands of a young child and might not tears be next?

OK. These molds are for hard candy, pretty strong stuff. Is there some mixture that I am not thinking of which would withstand all these problems?

And I was telling my DH about my unsuccessful afternoon and he said…ya gotta love ‘em…"You know I thought they looked at bit chancy, but of course, if the mold is offered for sale, then you would assume that it was suitable." I know I did. Never again. Caveat emptor to the max.

Any thoughts?

[psantucc]

Some thoughts, though no guaranteed answers.

First, the stick placement problem. It's hard to tell from the mould photo what would prevent you from placing the stick such that it is embedded deeply in the body of the piece. You're correct in your assessment that it should be right in there - if it is a depth problem there isn't much to be done; length (from the photo's perspective) should be easy to fix - about 3/4 of the total length of the piece.

Thick candies with thin fiddley bits are always a problem. I have a love-hate relationship with a reproduction antique iron mold for Christmas barley pops; it's great when it works, but very touchy. I did two things to improve my chances of success:

1. Reduce crystallization with higher glucose or acid proportion. Less crystallized candy is more flexible and less likely to shatter when demoulding. Too little crystallization is thick syrup. I suggest playing with sugar/glucose ( or light corn syrup ) recipes until you know that more flexibility helps in the demoulding, then work up your final maple formula. Maple sugar is mostly sucrose, so proportion should translate well.

2. Demould with the pieces still slightly warm, or reheat very slightly with a heat gun. This also increases flexibility so the fliddley bits don't shatter.

As far as filling goes, you can tap moulds to settle syrup, but you must do so at a lower fill volume than you would for chocolate and then top off slightly and re-settle. The greater viscosity of the syrup will also forgive a slight overfill post-tapping, which may help with your stick depth.

No scraping, sorry - that's the nature of boiled sweets!

Good luck.

[Darienne]

Thanks for your helpful answer, psantucc.

As for the stick. It's not a good photo, but trust me, the trough in which the stick lies is so shallow that it barely sits in the candy at all. I don't see any good solution to this one. You could cut the mold up but that would leave you with other problems. And is it worth the trouble? Sorry I can't do close-up photos with my camera.

Your other suggestions are ones which I will try to incorporate into my next foray. Another person helping...namely, my confectionery partner...will make a big difference. Four hands.

But nothing will help that stick problem. The mold is badly designed from the get go.

Thanks so much for the help.

[Darienne]

OK. So buckled down on the badly-designed lollipop issue after psantucc went to so much trouble as to answer my questions. Seemed the least I could do.

A lollipop stick is (give or take a scientific smidgen, using a mm ruler, finely cut to the proper edge) 3.75mm.

Measured about 8 of my regular inexpensive lollipop molds and the trough was from 5 to 9 mm.

Measured my special flat molds which are aluminum strips from a company in Utah which are clipped around the stick. They measure 13mm and I can put the stick wherever in that allotment that I want to.

So the moment of truth comes. The moose lollipop trough is only 3.5mm which as you can see is unsuitable, particularly since the moose is a whopping big sucker.

I now have three options: throw the darn things out, close off the stick trough and make them as separate candies...or reconfigure them at some trouble.

So, I am now set to cut out the trough and hang it below its current position, in a sort of a duck tape sling...unless my brilliant DH, Ed, comes up with a better (and much more complicated) idea.

Thanks again, psantucc

[psantucc]

So, I am now set to cut out the trough and hang it below its current position, in a sort of a duck tape sling...unless my brilliant DH, Ed, comes up with a better (and much more complicated) idea.

Thanks again, psantucc

No worries. One more suggestion before you start hacking the mould - which may be more trouble than a cheap mould is worth, especially as Canada Day has gone already.

Try putting a wedge - perhaps as simple as another lolly stick - perpendicular to the sticks such that they enter the cavity at an angle deep in the ginormous moose body. You'll need a lolly tree to display them, because they won't lie flat, but they should be well supported.

[Darienne]

Thanks for your help. I actually came up with another solution to the problem and will get back...if it works.