Past Newsletters
Vol 2 No 12

In Pursuit of Chocolate

Your Guests Will Want To Know… What is this and where can I get more… NOW!

Hammond’s Candies boasts they can satisfy every chocolate lover's sweet tooth… and now that I have devoured their entire package in record time (and I sample a lot of chocolate), I understand why they dare to make that bold statement. What we have here is a creamy chunk of old fashioned handcrafted fudge surrounded by some of the finest milk and dark chocolate in the entire world!

Hammond's Fudge is handmade from scratch in small batches, the same way they have been making all of their well-known hard candy since 1920. They use only the finest chocolate for cooking and dipping… it comes from Guittard Chocolate Company, located in San Francisco. 

 

Mom, Was It Really Like This?

There was a time in America that every small town and many city neighborhoods had their own local confectioners’ shop... a place where one individual, or perhaps a family, turned out handmade candies in small batches, using only top quality ingredients. Hammond’s was just one of those neighborhood shops. Founded in 1920 by Carl Hammond, Hammond’s Candies is a third generation confectionary that still uses Carl’s original recipes! No additives, no funny chemistry… just wholesome basic ingredients, and lots of pride and know-how.

Hide A Few Pieces!

Today, Hammond’s is best known for its hard candies… they still make every piece by hand. The staff tells me that they earned their reputation by offering unsurpassed quality and artistic hand-craftsmanship… we doubt that you will find a better hard candy. The same devotion to excellence has inspired this very creative interpretation of “fudge.” You’d better hide some so you get the chance to experience it!

Carl Hammond’s fudge recipe that was developed 81 years ago is what you will be tasting. It calls for simple, all-natural ingredients, and requires the candy maker to first gently cook the ingredients, and then to slowly and carefully cream them together. Hammond’s Candies is particularly proud to use many local ingredients … their sugar is beet sugar grown in the plains north and east of Denver; their butter comes from dairy cows raised to the south; their water is collected from the snowfields in the mountains to the west.

To give their fudge a rich, hearty chocolate flavor, they add lots of pure chocolate liquor. Once the fudge has been brought to temperature, the candy maker “creams” the candy. During this stage, the candy maker must be careful to cream it enough to produce the silky, smooth texture of great fudge, but not enough to make the sugars re-crystallize or become gummy.

They use only the finest Guittard chocolate coverture to enrobe their hand-cut fudge nuggets. Both the milk and dark chocolate are made from all-natural ingredients and do not contain any vegetables oils that make chocolate waxy.

The True Test Is …

The true test of a piece of fudge is its creaminess… you should not feel any grains of sugar. But there is so much more to experience. When tasting this masterpiece that will satisfy all chocolate lovers, notice the harmonizing tastes of the chocolate coating and the fudge. The chocolate coating has a robust, pristine and intense chocolate taste. The fudge has a dulcet but resolute chocolate flavor with distinct malt tones… and their amalgamation forges a new chocolate paradigm worthy of any gourmand!

Guarding Guittard Quality
For Over 130 Years And Four Generations

In the mid-1800's during the California Gold Rush, Etienne Guittard journeyed to the Barbary Coast in hopes of discovering gold. Although he never found it, San Francisco discovered his delicious chocolates! Already skilled as a chocolate maker by working with craftsmen at his uncle's chocolate factory in France, Etienne established the Guittard Chocolate Factory in San Francisco in 1868. Since then, the Guittard Family has continued their time honored commitment to provide the highest quality chocolate and the most reliable service available.

This philosophy lives on today under the executive direction of Etienne's great-grandson, Gary Guittard, and other family members form the fourth generation of Guittard's family-owned operation. In today's world of corporate anonymity, it's refreshing to know that at Guittard uncompromised quality is more than a corporate policy, it's a family tradition.

Hammond’s Candies 77 Years Later
Gracing Martha Stewart’s Gingerbread House

After 77 years as a family business, Hammond’s Candies was purchased in June 1997 by a seasoned team of candy aficionados. “Honey Koko’s… that was the first candy Carl made,” said Robert List, our current president as he pointed to a conveyor belt of hand-rolled chocolates.  “We still make them the same way every day. Maintaining a reputation for unsurpassed quality for 77 years is what interested us in Hammond’s in the first place.”

Hammond’s Candy factory is reminiscent of another era… candy makers hand roll candy canes and twist the colorful stripes that will eventually evolve into reams of sweet ribbon. Conveyor belts streaming chocolate waterfalls onto hand-rolled confections are timed so that even Lucy and Ethel could manage the production flow!

Robert and his partners still use the original recipes and techniques that Carl Hammond developed in the ’20s. “When I say there’s nothing like us on the market, I’m not being bold,” says Linda Fasano, vice president of sales and marketing. It was Fasano who discovered Hammond’s and began selling the hand-made candies in the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory retail sites. Hammond’s produces a line of hard candies called “art candy” featuring tiny little pictures of Christmas trees and elves in the center… exquisite and delicious, like little works or art. “We have third generation customers… and customers who come into the store with canes and walkers who wouldn’t have Christmas without our ribbon candy.” says Fasano.

Under family ownership, Hammond’s lasted 77 years and two generations, but when Carl Jr. eventually died, the family was ready to sell. And while the family no longer owns the company, Hammond’s can boast three generations of candy making because today’s master candy maker is Emery Dorsey IV, Carl Jr’s son in law! “Without Emery, we wouldn’t have bought the company,” says List. “His expertise, the back bone of our company, is essential to maintain an almost lost art, and the creativity and extraordinary quality that are the hallmarks of Hammond’s.”

Hammond’s sells some of its candies in its small retail factory store in Colorado and at a kiosk in Park Meadows Mall, but its primary sales channel is through other gourmet vendors… many of them are local candy shops, some dating back a hundred years. The company’s biggest client is Williams Sonoma. In fact, its founder Chuck Williams is so fond of Hammond’s that he gave them his personal recipe for “divinity,” a sugary sweet confection that Hammonds will offer for Christmas 2002. The gourmet foods industry has flocked to Hammond’s, including Dean and Delucca, The Vermont Company Store, and Martha Stewart. “When Martha makes her gingerbread house this year, those are Hammond’s candies she’s using,” said List.

From My Home To Yours

You decide to make fudge and package it in wonderful holiday tins… a holiday gesture to honor your neighbors. You recall the fudge your Grandmother used to make and you get that silly smile. "It's going to be great… and I will have to tie my hands behind my back so that there will be enough left to send to my neighbors!" You call Mom to get Nana’s recipe, make a list, and head to the store. The kitchen gets messier than you imagined, but everything seems to go well until the fudge is poured and it doesn’t set. "I'll just refrigerate it," you think as you experience even more respect for your Grandmother than you had before. We are including some answers to frequently asked questions that will help you to reach, but not necessarily attain, Nana’s standards.

How will I know when my fudge has set?
After your fudge has cooled cut a small square from one corner. Wait an hour to see if the remaining fudge has shifted into the missing square. This isn’t a good sign. This is typically (but not exclusively) the result of way too much butter, too high a water content, or the substitution of margarine. You did your job well when your fudge sets as you cast (pour) it, and it’s ready to serve in hours without refrigeration… of course!

Why is it harder to make fudge in Atlanta, GA, than in the Mojave, CA?
People who live at sea level and in dry climates or more likely to have their fudge set firmly by random dumb luck than those who live at high altitudes or in humid environments.

My neighbor makes Faux Fudge… what is that?
Fake Fudge... also called "No-Fail Fudge" or "Fail-Proof Fudge." Fudge, by definition, consists of a sugar slurry, a separate flavor base… usually chocolate, and is carefully tended during the boil, resulting in a 'set-able' sugar. Most of what passes for Fudge is a Frosting, a Fondant, or a Flavor Base (like Chocolate Chips) with nuts.  Remember "fudge" also means to falsify, as in, "fudge the numbers." When people tell you they've never had a batch fail... they're probably fudging!

I went to a fancy party last week where they served Opera Fudge. It didn’t look like fudge to me… what’s going on?
If you use flavor oils such as Vanilla, Mint, Lemon, Orange, Almond, Cherry, and Rum, but do not use chocolate flavoring as a base, you're left with a fudgey sugar slurry known as Opera Fudge. Why waste your calories!

Will fudge melt? How should I store my fudge?
Fudge usually has a melting point of about 240 degrees… it may get soft, but it won't melt. I really don’t think you will need to worry storing Hammond’s Double Dipped Fudge! If you are making fudge, you can usually keep it fresh for several weeks as long as you wrap it and store it at room temperature. DO NOT refrigerate fudge, it will dry out. To save fudge for several months, just wrap and freeze. Your fudge should remain fresh with proper freezer protection.

Why do you use copper kettles and marble tables?
Copper is used because it distributes the heat evenly and eliminates "hot spots" that could scorch fudge. Marble is very dense. It cools the freshly poured fudge but doesn't retain the heat, an important factor when we're cooking batch after batch.

What does paddling the fudge accomplish?
Paddling makes the fudge more creamy and helps to cool it.