BRUGES - Day 2 - ZUCCHERO

One of the questions that has niggled at me for years - How do they put the letters into candy. I honestly wasn't expecting to find the answer in Bruges but took the opportunity when I could. This shop does have a website, so I could just refer to it, but there is a requirement to speak flemish. The guy that owns this shop has lived in Melbourne and was trained by an aussie in how to make Candy.

In Belgium it is tradition for the parents to send out small gifts when a child is born so the candy being made here is for a soon to be born. The parents were there as well and were nice enough to let us have a taste at the end.

I arrived slightly late so missed the pouring of the sugar onto the table. The first myth to be dispelled is that the entire mix is all one flavour. I at least thought the colours provided the flavour. The colour is then poured over a section of the sugar sheet and then stirred in. The sections are separated using a pair of steel scissors and kneaded to get a uniform colour. The colours used here were black (letters), blue and brown (outside), and white (filler). The table used here is not heated.
Creating the colours















After the colours have been kneaded and are uniform throughout, the section it is transferred to another table that is kept slightly warm to prevent solidifying. The white section was the largest and was then stretched to aerate it and double it's size. The colour intensified to be a really bright white. The size of this section made the wall hook necessary. They just did it by hand on the bench for the smaller colours.
Stretching the sugar

The letters are all made individually using the black and white sections. The actual block size is probably around 15cm long upto 4cm across. This block then gets gently stretched and lengthened to a final length of around an 2.5 x 50cm. This will be the working length of the entire piece.
The M and A blocks already lengthened. Others sections are lined up behind them on the warming bench.

A thin piece of the white is placed between each letter to differentiate them. When all the letters are finished they are placed around a sausage of white and then wrapped in white to form a roll. Once the roll is formed it needs to be kept rolling so that the heat doesn't allow it to settle. You will probably notice the 'roller' in some of the pictures. We thought he might have been in training as his stretching technique was not quite as smooth as the main guy.

The finished name before forming the roll.

The outside of this candy was striped with blue, brown and white. Each section was joined in a fairly thick slab and again gently stretched lengthways. When it was twice the working length it was cut and the new piece placed next to the original. This process was repeated again to give a sheet with four block of each colour.
Creating the outer striped layer.















This slab is then rolled around the letter roll. Which the 'roller' has been constantly moving to prevent flat bits forming. This was then rolled for a few minutes on both the warming bench and the cooling bench (right next to it). At this point the roll is still huge and you can't really understand how it all compresses down to the the 1cm round lolly.
The final roll.















From here he started to twist one end as if it were a lolly wrapper which causes the stripes to wrap around. When it looked like he was about to twist the end off, he started to gently pull the candy out over onto the cooling bench. At this point it doesn't look all that nice as the stripes are all streaky but amazingly the letters are all there. He told us that the first metre or two produced aren't all that presentable for sale.
End has been removed and about to start pulling final product.















The roll is continully moving even when he is pulling out the lengths. The lengths were cut every half metre or so to keep is manageable for final cutting and to check the letters.
Pulling out the candy.
















The cutting process happens after each length has been rolled on the cooling bench for a few minutes. Cutting basically involved the length being held over a sharp ridge and a paint scraper used as a knife from above. The candy just snaps off.
Cutting for samples.
















So that is how the letters get into candy. We did stand around in this tiny shop for about an hour, which was enough to cut the first length and provide us with a taste. We went off sightseeing and walked past a couple of hours later when they were just starting the bag the cut product. That quantity was going to make around 60 of the jars that the shop sells for around 3euro each. I don't know how big the gift bags were going to be but that couple obviously has many friends!!
The final lolly! It was a cherry flavour and very nice, but still warm.



















After getting such a great show for free we couldn't really leave without purchasing some of the product, so three jars later it was all worth it. If you do head to Bruge this shop is great and located in one of the main streets. There are big windows all around that give a good view as well. For more photos of the process check out their site - www.confiserie-zucchero.be