Paul Prudhomme has a great tip in one of his early books: when the mixture makes strings on the side of the bowl it's ready (I use the cook, cool and beat method). I have always tested temps, and the only perfect pralines I've ever made have been when I stopped at his "string" stage. I'll see strings and still have the wrong temp, keep going to the correct temp, and have a failure. But every time I stop at strings I have a sale-able product.
-From "Not a candy maker but loves a good Praline" Pat |