wedding mints

[ladyyoung98]

i am making wedding mints for some friends of ours for their reception...normally i would go out and just buy the premade peppermint oil desinged for candy making...however due to the large amount i will be making the small bottles i find just wont do..so i went out and got a bigger bottle of straight peppermint oil...at first not realizing that i could not use it without diluting it...ok so i checked the back of the box that the regular candy making peppemint stuff came in and saw it was mixed with soybean oil...so now im wondering if anybody out there knows if this is the best nuetral oil to mix it with or if there is something even better and if so what would the ratio be of peppermint oil to the nuetral oil that i need to mix it with

[helenjp]

I remember my father using oils to flavor or perfume the few handmade medicines and ointments etc. that pharmacists still used to prepare themselves Back When.

He was a keen woodworker as well, so paid some attention to the nature of oils - in the pharmacy, he liked almond oil as a mild-tasting, light oil that was also fairly tolerant of heat and pale in color.

As for amount of dilution...hard for anybody else to say, as oils vary so much in intensity.

[ladyyoung98]

well i know i cant use straight peppermint oil and i have to cut it with a nuetral oil which i think was why soybean oil had been used in the commercial variety...ive already got the undiluted peppermint oil...its the oil i need to blend it with that im not sure of or the ratio of what to what

[Mayhaw Man]

I am interested in how these are made. I have never really thought about making mints, but it might be fun. How do you form them? What are the basics of the process?

[ladyyoung98]

ok...i know i had told you before but couldnt remeber exactly what i said...so im going to see how much i may have remebered saying mayhaw...

basics.... first of all...there are plenty of candy molds out there for the buying...they can be found at hobby stores such as Michaels..even cake supply stores and im sure even other stores im to even aware of ...but these two types of stores are ones that ive got more than a passing knowledge of since those are the places i go to most often and pay attention to.....another source for candy molds that i recently discovered is ebay...in search just type in candy molds and you will be surprised at how many lisitngs could possibly come up for them....

as for me...while i have purchased some that way...ive also been collecting and using them for years....candy molds come in very handy for specialty items as there are molds you can make lollipop type candies with...and there are molds with specific shapes...and they range from whatever the imagination of the makers can come up with...personally i think there might not be any limits...you can get them in shapes of flowers or leaves...u can get them with holiday themes or cars or even baby or wedding themes...and many more

some candy molds are shaped to create lidded boxes ..all out of candy..though ive found those are a little harder to unmold and u might want to use some sort of lubrication like pam or perhaps butter before you add the melted mass to the mold.

with candy molds...there are some very specific types of discs you can use called candy melts...most have no flavor of their own and for such there are also flavorings you can purchase specifically for them...i personally dont reccomend using your run of the mill flavorings that you purchase at the grocery store unless you just dont want them to set properly in the molds...the flavorings need to be oil based....

as for the discs used for candy making....they are called candy melts as that is what they are used for....they come in a range of colors but you can also purchase the plain white ones and create your own color for them...so long as the color you use is a powder...and is the kind used for candy making...

with the candy melts you have two options for melting them...either in the microwave or a double boiler...when melting them melt a little at a time as they can start to set up rather fast if you dont get to it right away....to get the melted mass into the molds you can either use a disposable decorator bag such as used in cake decorating...which i personally prefer as i can toss it away with no guilt..but there are also plastic bottles available for squeeezing the melted candy into the molds...they are good but rather a pain to clean...and if you want to get truly creative...as in using two different colors for one shape and have a layered look...you can paint the first layer into the mold...though i strongly suggest that you have the patience for this as it is time consuming and can sometimes be frustrating if you happen to be a perfectionist

also..once you have your melted mass in the molds i do reccomend u cover it over with waxed paper and flatten it out some...otherwise you will end up with peaks if you are not careful...though not the end of the world...it makes it harder for them to sit flat once out of the molds...

back to the molds.....and the wedding mints....

typically wedding mints are the little round discs flavored with the peppermint flavoring and put into the mold with that shape....however i have found that with the molds i have...the ones that seem the most popular are the roses...one mold i have has three different styles in one mold...one is a 3 D rose..another is a cameo type with a rose in place of what would normally be a womans silhoutte and the third one is a rectangular shape with raised roses on the top of the mint...in and of themselves given the nature of weddings and roses...these seem to be the perfect shape for wedding mints because of the romantic overtones to it..and another popular shape is the hearts.....

you are only limited by whats out there as far as the molds go...

now if you have the time and the talent to make your own candy melts...more power to you...i personally do make other candies from scratch...but these are not one of them..and when it coems to weddings or other special occassions where a mass quantity is called...the molds and the melts are my preferred method....if you have any more questions...please feel free to ask them...if i can answer the question i will do so..if i cant i will let you know that as well and im sure there are others out there much more qualified than i am....but this is part of my own little world....lol and i enjoy it a great deal

Edited October 4, 2004 by ladyyoung98 (log)

[Wendy DeBord]

Ladyyoung98, unforunately no one can give you an exact answer. There isn't one right answer, period....it doesn't exist.

A combination of factors go into what anyone would suggest. Mostly it comes down to being there and tasting exactly what you've got and seeing how that oil mixes with your candy melts. I can't taste or see thru the computor......the only way I can make an experienced guess to help you is if you can post exactly what your using. What exact brand of oil are you using and what exact candy melts are you using? Have you tried adding a drop or two of the straight peppermint into your candy melts? I'm really not sure that you need to dilute it at all.

The very best way to find the answer to this question is for YOU to taste what you've got and play with it until you reach the right ratios. Most candymakers do not use candy melts because they feel they are inferior to real chocolate that contains cocoa butter. So it's going to be hard to find people that can advise you on using them.

As to your oil, I believe any oil designed for eating will work to dilute your peppermint oil in. Which oil you use is your choice, what tastes good to you. I'd suggest something neutral like veg. oil.

How much oil to dilute will vary too. It depends upon your candy melts and how well they accept other oils. You have to experiement with this yourself because unless someone is using exactly what you've purchased they could be wrong.

I'd suggest you melt you candy melts, add a drop of your strong peppermint oil and taste it. Is it fine? If not, add more peppermint. If it's too thick, add more veg. oil or shortening to thin down the melts to make them easier to work with.