to whoever at Fran's coached my husband on what model to get)  So, I think thermometers are the best place to start. 
The first thing that should be done each time you make candy, before you start, is to test your thermometer.  Immerse it into cold water and bring the water to a boil. At what temperature did the water boil?

We are taught that water boils at 212°.  (Not always so!)  Water will boil at different temperatures depending on altitude, contaminants in the water and weather conditions (most of us don't live at sea level, have clear

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Recently a friend asked if I could help her figure out what went wrong with her latest batch of fudge.  She used the same recipe I do (from the marshmallow cream jar) but hers turned out dry and crumbly.  I said it sounded like it was over-cooked.  She replied that she had used her candy thermometer and followed the directions exactly, so how could this be?  After discussing what could've gone wrong, I decided perhaps Casanova members might benefit from some candy advise.
First off, since I received a brand new candy thermometer for Christmas and I love it! (Big thanks

For those with computers:
I have set up an account for Casanova members at an online cookbook located at http://www.cookbooks.com/dbaccess.htm that has a database of over a million recipes that you can search through, either by category or ingredient.  (Example:  enter "cream of mushroom soup" for a listing of recipes that call for that ingredient.)
To access the database use the following account information:
username: casanova  password: cakeclub
Also, check out SOAR (Searchable Online Archive of Recipes) located at:
http://godzilla.eecs.berkeley.edu/recipes/ for 38,000 more recipes, with no password or account required.