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Candy - hard circular disks

1K views 2 replies 2 participants last post by  brianshaw 
#1 ·
I'm curious, what generic category of candy material is used to make those hard circular flavored disk candies with the trade name of Necco Wafer.  Is it gum paste, pastillage, or something else.  I saw a TV show in which those and candy hearts were stamped from a long sheet of candy "pasta", then dried.  But I've never been able to find a recipe.  Any information would be appreciated.
 
#2 ·
Neck wafers are definitely pastillage. Thats just the general description. If you look at the ingredients label, it won't match perfectly to a typical pastillage formula, but essentially thats what they are. Ive done these to play around with and for a wedding, and they turns out pretty good. I make a pastillage, divide into portions (keep covered of course) then add a colorant and a flavor. Dust with starch, roll out, cut with a round cutter or whatever shape you want, set on a screen, and dry. I re-knead the scraps and repeat. This does work well for necco type candies, they firm up and have a similar texture, and you can get quite creative with flavors. The chalky hearts that you get on Valentine's days I dont think are made quite the same way. If you cut pastillage that thick (or had a necco wafer they thick) it would be quite tough to bite through. I had an idea of how to perhaps make them, butb just havent got a chance to play around with it.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Thanks, that helps a lot.  I as trying to reconcile the difference between the ingredient list and what I thought was in pastillage, but couldn't.  And I quite agree that the hearts must be something else, or at least a similar substance with a lot of air whipped in.  :)

If/when I try to make my own I'm thinking a pasta machine might be a good idea for rolling.

But to be honest, I must be crazy to even think about home-made wafer candies since the real Necco is quite affordable and tasty.
 
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