However, I had my first taste of 'real' fudge down the shore in Atlantic City. Fudge was sold along with Salt Water Taffy at many of the Boardwalk candy shops.
History of Fudge: Fudge was supposedly invented in the U.S. in the late 1880s. Historians believe the first batch of fudge resulted from a bungled batch of caramels, as in "Oh, Fudge." I don't think so... According to Wikipedia, the main component of Fudge was similar to the traditional recipe for Scots Tablet found in The Household Book of the Lady Grisell Baillie (1692-1733).
One of the first documented examples of American fudge (containing chocolate!) was found in a letter written by Emelyn Batersby Hartridge, a Vassar College student, who wrote that a friend's cousin made fudge in Baltimore in 1886 and sold it for 40 cents a pound. Hartridge asked for the fudge recipe, and in 1888 made 30 pounds of the fudge for the Vassar Senior Auction. In The Candy Book (Alice Bradley, 1929) an entire chapter is devoted to fudge.
Fudge is a crystalline candy, which means that, unlike lollipops, caramels, and taffy, crystal formation is the key to making great fudge. Tiny microcrystals of sugar in fudge give fudge its firm but smooth texture. The secret to successful fudge is getting these crystals to form at just the right time. Fudge is one of the rare exceptions to the rule that sugar crystals are not desirable in candy. Tiny microcrystals in fudge are what give it its firm texture. When the crystals are small enough, they don’t feel grainy on your tongue, but smooth.
While you ultimately want crystals to form, it's important that they don't form too early. Now this is where it gets tricky! The key to successful, non-grainy fudge is in the cooling, not the cooking. If you disturb the cooling fudge during this cooling phase, you increase the potential for larger crystals (seed crystals) of sugar to form too early and thus a grainy fudge results.
O.K. this is too much for me to take in, not being a candy maker. So how to make fudge relatively easy?
I've posted many fudge recipes over the past five years, so today I'm doing an updated round-up of some of those fudge recipes. I'm also re-posting the recipe below for Philly Fudge! I'm from Philly, and I grew up with Philadelphia Cream Cheese. The Philly Fudge recipe is an adaptation of the famous uncooked fudge recipe developed by Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese. It became popular right after World War II. It really is foolproof.
FUDGE RECIPE LINKS
S'mores Fudge: 2 Recipes
Bailey's Irish Cream Fudge
Granny Hollin's Peanut Butter Fudge
Penuche (Creamy Praline) Fudge
Layered Mint Chocolate Fudge
Five Minute Dark Chocolate Coffee Fudge
Candy Cane Fudge
Retro Marshmal-O Fudge
Fanny Farmer Fudge
Triple Chocolate Honey Fudge
Marshmallow Fluff Fudge: 2 Vintage Ads & Recipes
Retro Ronrico Rum Fudge
Peanut Butter Fudge
Six Vintage Holiday Fudge Recipes
Cinderella Pink Fairy-Tale Fudge
Double Layer Fudge
Nutty Fudge (3 recipes)
Goldie's Fudge
Vanilla Macadamia Nut Fudge
Nigella's Chocolate Pistachio Fudge
Creamy Chocolate Fudge
Chocolate Coffee Fudge
Ruth Jordan's Busy Lady Fudge
Foolproof Dark Chocolate Fudge
Easy Million Dollar Fudge
PHILLY FUDGE
Ingredients
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 - 8 ounce package Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
2 Tbsp milk or cream
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Dash of salt
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
Directions
Butter 8 inch baking pan well; set aside.
Melt chocolate in double boiler over hot, not boiling water.
Mix cream cheese and milk (or cream), beating on high speed until smooth.
Add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at time, and beat at low speed until creamy.
Blend in melted chocolate, vanilla, and salt. Beat until smooth.
Stir in pecans or walnuts, but not both.
Press mixture into pan, cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight or until firm.
Cut into 1 1/4-inch squares.
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