King's Crown wrote:

> I've tried over the years to make real Chocolate Fudge. The main problem
> has been the crystals. This year I was watching Alton Brown and he walked
> the viewer through making fudge. I thought I followed the recipe to a T,
> but I have weird crumbly fudge. It took a really long time to get the
> thermometer to register 234 degrees and I wonder if I cooked it too long. I
> kept checking to make sure the thermometer wasn't touching the bottom of the
> pan and yet was well into the chocolate mixture. I was wondering if there
> was an approximate time it should take the mixture to the soft ball stage.

Don't know it it was overcooked. You could have undercooked
it, too.

In any case, have you calibrated your thermometer? Either
measuse boiling water and make sure it reads 212F/100C at
sea level, or, measure ice water and make sure it reads
32F/0C.

Also, I always make sure I have more than one thermo
at hand. They're cheap, and if you have more than
one you can quickly cross check things. They dp break,
even the expensive ones. Usually right at the worst
possible time.

--
Reg