Candy-making pot?

[hummingbirdkiss]

Please will you share what is your favorite pot for candy making and why? photos are great 

 

I used the search function in a variety of ways and nothing came up and I know this has to have been spoken of before right? if not please do! 

 

this year the grands are old enough to learn to really make candy (we have been playing with the Japanese candy kits and honestly they are a blast and teach the kids a ton! but it is not candy making and now it is time)

 

 it occurred to me in the disaster I call a soon to come kitchen I need  a couple of new pots and pans for sure ..I really need to buy a perfect candy pot? for basic candy making 

 

my needs are simple I am only into "home" candy making but look and drool over the magnificent things I have seen in the confectionary section of EG

 

for me it would be used for standards sized batches of simple things (I broke many bowls against the wall making some of these "simple things" ) like 

 my grandmother's fudge, caramels, toffee and the marshmallows .. I played with here on EG in Knightscotsmen's thread (I could not find it but will look again) I make a marshmallow every year in a different flavor still from the time of that thread ..LOL EG nostalgia 

 

anyway please share with me your favorite candy pot and why 

 

Ideally I need two of them so I would like to keep the budget low and even more ideally I will find them second hand 

 

thanks so much in advance

 

 

 

 

[pastrygirl]

I have a couple of heavy-bottomed stainless pots from Sur la table that I like, I think they are 8 quart.  The heavy bottom helps with even heating, and if you are making a large batch, you want a pot big enough for all the foaming & expansion that can happen (especially with caramels), but not so big that it overlaps your burner.  I also use a vollrath optio pan, I think it is 4 or 6 quarts, good size for a smaller batch, but I don't like the handle, it is awkward to pour hot stuff out of the pan.

[ElainaA]

I have a maslin pan that I use for candy and preserves. I love it - it's one of the best pans I have ever owned. When I was researching it (about this time last year) I got great advice here. On, as I remember, Kerry Beal's advice, it came from Lee Valley - it's this one:

 

http://www.leevalley.com/US/Garden/page.aspx?p=46628&cat=2,40733,47775&ap=2

 

Stainless steel, 9 liters, very heavy bottom. And tall enough that nothing (yet) boils over. It is currently full of pears and ginger - I am on day 2 of a 3 day preserves recipe. 

 

Here's a picture of mine:

 

 

This was actually a Christmas gift from my husband - he responds very well to strong suggestions. 

 

Edited to say that I hope the link works. 

Edited October 1, 2015 by ElainaA (log)

[Darienne]

I don't have special dedicated candy pans although my pans which I use are MINE and not shared with anyone (which means DH).  They are Paderno pots, all of which I bought on sale, one a year basically until I had enough sizes to make whatever I needed.  I use them for ice cream bases also.  Heavy stainless steel with heavy bottoms, made in Prince Edward Island, Canada, and guaranteed for 25 years.  And I love them.

[Deryn]

I have 2 of the Lee Valley maslin pans and have used them for preserves and candy making at various times so I second Elaina's suggestion. I also have a wonderful big old Dansk copper pot with no handles (and several smaller ones with handles) I have used on occasion.

And I am hankering after one of these http://www.pots-and-pans.co.uk/stellar-7000-14cm-milk-sauce-pot#.VhHUdv2NREZ which I first saw on a candy-making show from Britain a few months ago (done by these people - http://www.hopeandgreenwood.co.uk/our-story). While they are small (compared to the maslin pan), I love the handle and the very tall (relatively), straight sides - and they seemed to do well for them making many kinds of candies.

Edited October 5, 2015 by Deryn (log)

[hummingbirdkiss]

wonderful thank you so very much you guys ..the info is great as usual and now I can shop with something in mind ..like I said I am always happier if I can find it second hand… but if not no big deal this certainly can be a "passed on" pot

[hummingbirdkiss]

I just remembered as I look at these pots and read  ..I have a set of copper pots a friend gave me they were old and she picked them up at a yard sale ..there was a pot maybe I can use now for candy? they were pretty heavy and lined 

 

I know NOTHING about copper pots I will do a search through the boxes and see? then if I post I bet you guys can advise? I have to search for a thread on copper now 

 

I have a lot of kitchen oddities in boxes and if they do not find a home in this kitchen… they are going to find a home in someone else's so they can make more memories elsewhere 

 

 

 

whatever pot I end up with I will ultimately  buy two of and use them alternately , with each of the two little grands ..they will inherit them with the recipes we make in them ( they each keep a kitchen journal ).   

 

I am really looking forward to candy making this year. 

[hummingbirdkiss]

The copper pots i have sadly are crap, poorly made, thin and not great for cooking in general. I " shopped the basement" and wow it is a thread of inquiries about kitchen things and why i bought them? all it's own down there! " i am not a hoarder but given time, money and no off switch i guess i could be?

bummer on the copper , not even sure why i still have it? Off it goes to the thrift store today.

Along with a huge box of stuff for someone else's kitchen. I am really limiting what will return to the kitchen when the work is done

Right now I need a candy pot. Let the shopping commence!

Thank you again.