My mother was like that. She said it never sets right on a cloudy day. I tried making it once when it was gloomy and she was not impressed. It set ok but wasn't the best. Must be a humidity thing
Mom didn't have a candy thermometer for years, but she always made lots of candy for the holidays. She always used the soft ball stage method, dribbling a little of the chocolate mixture in some cool water to form a small soft ball
I agree you definitely can mail this type of fudge. My husband was on Navy Wes Pac, which means their gone for 6 months or longer. He was gone for Christmas. I decided since he wasn't with us. I'd send Christmas to him. I baked all the cookies and candies I normally did every Christmas. I put all of the candies and cookies in ziploc bags and then into sealable containers. He got it all about a month later. He said everything was fresh tasting and yummy. The guys on the ship found out what he got in the mail, and to this day, I laugh. My husband traded those treats for guard duty shifts and chores! He told me he missed us, but what I sent him helped him get through not being with my sons and I for Christmas. Wanna laugh? Toilet paper was a hot commodity on ships. The ship always ran out. I sent him a 24 pack of TP, and he guarded that toilet paper big time! 🙂🦋
As a newlywed back in the late 60s, I tried making this fudge, and had no idea what I was doing. With no candy thermometer, I tried doing the "soft-ball stage". It ended up so rock hard, my husband drilled a small hole in it, and then proceeded to hang it on the wall, chuckling evilly the whole time. I may have to try this again, WITH a candy thermometer. Yours looks absolutely wonderful!
I did similar when I first began making this fudge. It was either rocks or soup! Now I have it down. I do not have a candy thermometer....get to soft ball stage.
This was one of the first things I learned to cook as a child. I have never used a candy thermometer, I just always did the soft ball stage in cold water. It's been so many years since I made this, I'm scared to try it now without a candy thermometer 😬.
Never heard of a candy thermometer way back then and did the soft ball stage. As Soon as it came to that soft ball dropped in COLD water, I'd add the vanilla, remove it, and quickly beat it JUST as the gloss became SEMI - GLOSS AND IMMEDIATELY put in pan and spread. By the time the semi - gloss is gone AND GOES DULL, it's already too late and can start to harden in the pan. IT IS NOW A ROCK!! 😂 That is no fun to try and clean!. You need either an ice pick or hammer and chisel 😂 This is THEE ONLY fudge I like besides the Original Mackinac Island or Murdock's Fudge.😊😊 AND yes, I'm a Michigander😅
My mama never used a wooden . She used a regular spoon. No thermometer, just the water thing. The fudge was poured on a big serving platter to cool. It was the best grainy fudge I ever had. That pot and spoon never had a chance with me. Lol
Yes this recipe was on the can of cocoa from when I was a child. My mom always poured it on a buttered platter as well. My mom made it every Friday night with popcorn. What memories 😃 thank you 🙏
Iam 74 remember the women make this I was kid they never used woden spoon and tested with water in a glass and didn't let it cool just started beating it long time and poured onto big plate or platter I make mine like you did except cool to 115 will try it makes me want some haven't had any since my husband passed five yrs ago he sure loved his fudge we were married 52 years just teens miss him so much this fudge makes me think about times gone by I can understand your mamaw. Wanting to move happy you had her to remember God Bless you both ty for sharing❤
I remember this recipe from my childhood. Evaporated milk was always called Pet milk in our family. I recently sent my grandson in the store to buy some Pet milk. He was looking in the aisle where they have pet (animal) food. He finally called me and asked me if I knew what aisle it was on. 😂
I just found your page by accident, really, and I'm so glad I did! I'm originally a Montgomery Countian! Total Indian at heart! My grandmother's fudge was always shiny/glossy on top when it was set, and it had a crackled look to it. That was my favorite part. Well, the taste was my favorite too! My parents used to make fudge as well, chocolate and peanut butter, with and without nuts. They always used a glass of water to check when it was ready.
My grandmother and mother made this. I was born in 1969, so they made it before that. My grandmother was born in 1905 and my mom in 1935. They cooked for years. I loved this fudge.
I made thing when a teen :) 65 now. Loved it. Years ago I looked will over for the recipe. Took over a year to find it . Talk about a step back in time.
In the olden days they dropped a small portion of the mixture into a cup of cold water, if it stayed together and could be formed into a ball, that was the soft ball stage. Worked every time!
Your memory of your grandma took me back to my grandparents. They lived next to each other next door to our house. One Friday night was with one grandma and the next with the other grandma. My grandpa lived next door to both grandmas. So on our property was 4 houses. They each taught me their strengths. My grandpa was an amazing story teller. Their trip from Kentucky to Colorado during the depression.
I will be 80 in a few days and made this candy a lot years ago. I never had a candy thermometer, but used the cold water test and drop 2-3 drops of candy mix and feel of it in cold water! The candy starts to lose it's shine/gloss when it is getting ready! I used a platter back then to contain the candy also!❤❤ P.S. Do not put outside, I made homemade eggnog one Christmas and put it outside on porch table. When I went back, it was all gone, the cats had already had their Christmas party!! ❤❤
I remember making this fudge on my wood cook stove back in the 1980s in the woods of Maine. I got my recipe from a story in Guideposts magazine entitled "Mamaw's Peaceable Fudge". The story was about a girl who was bullied at school and her Mamaw taught her how to make this fudge. The girl gifted it to the bully and he never was mean to her again. I loved the story and the fudge. Thanks for reviving that memory.
My mother used to make a version of this fudge. She never used a candy thermometer just eyeballed it by dropping tiny amounts into cold water until it formed a soft ball. Then she would pour it onto a buttered plate to cool. It never lasted long in our house, but I remember it was wonderful.
I learned at my Aunt Pat's and Aunt Alma's side to make fudge. They put it out on 2 buttered plates. Sometimes we even called it plate candy. ☺ I'll bet your grandmother did the soft ball test in water since she didn't use a thermometer. My aunts did the water test, and I do, too. 😉 I think I'll try your method. Never hurts to compare and possibly learn something new, huh. 😊 Mother had yellow Formica counters, and when I was really little, she had the yellow Formica topped table with yellow plastic covered chairs. That must have been all the rage in the '50's and early '60's. 🥰
This brings me back to my Gram’s fudge. She would cook it on the stove, pour it on a granite countertop, and my grandfather would fold it with a paint scraper (only used for fudge) until the shine went away. It was delicious!
My most favorite sweet is fudge. As a child we lived in the country. No stores around for miles. Mother made hokey picky. Fudge. Popped corn. Toffee. Marshmallow biscuits. She could cook. An amazing mum. Raised nine children. We can all cook well. Granny and mum both cooked similar to you Tom. It brings back lovely memories. Thank you. 😊😊❤❤
That's the kind I like, a firm fudge. We would go visit grandma and grandpa in Michigan and have a fudge cook-off, every night someone different would make a batch. 😂
My mom made this & poured it in a white oval shaped platter. The candy on each end of the buttered platter was really thin. My favorite pieces. Thanks for the memories ❤
This is the fudge my grandma made. We lived in WV also, Tom. She didn’t use a thermometer, she had a cup of cold water that she would drop a little of the candy mixture into the cold water until it formed a soft ball. And she too poured the fudge onto a plate and of course the edges of the candy were thinner than the middle pieces. Brings back great memories. Thank you!
I've been making this wrong for...well...ever since I started making it. Thank you for your very helpful instructions and wonderful video. You're as addicting as the candies you've been making! 😂
I have the original recipe off of the cocoa can. It calls for regular milk instead of evaporated milk. We add walnuts and about 1 cup of peanut butter. I also use my electric mixer to mix it then pour it out on a buttered platter. Never used a thermometer, just did the soft ball drip into cold water. It’s the best fudge ever.
My sister would make this fudge when we were young, and did not have a thermometer, she would boil for a while ,and then drop a spoonful into a glass of cold water. If it made a soft ball when dropped, she then added the butter and vanilla. Then proceeded with the cooling and beating steps. I had an aunt that would also make this for her family, and as a treat would pop popcorn and serve along with the fudge.
My mother made this a lot when I was a child and she used a metal spoon and tested its temperature with a glass of water. It was delicious! She was 95 wren she passed and has been gone for eight years…I, too, would love to make it with her today❣️
Yes, the recipe was on the can of cocoa, my brother-in-law made this for us. 60 years ago. He used a metal spoon we didn't know about wooden spoons then. LOL He didn't use a candy thermometer. He dropped little drops in cold water and tested it till it came to a softball stage. Oh and he used a large cast iron skillet that was all we had. Brings back memories of when we lived back in Kentucky.
Melissa, hope you appreciate that husband of yours. I’ve been married 21 years and my husband has never cooked anything in that time for me. And only once, just this week he dried a few dishes! And I’m in so much pain daily I can barely stand. That guy of yours is a real gem.
My dad was a terrible cook as well- he could make toast! He’d call mom when we were out on a Saturday and sadly ask her if she had left him some lunch because he was starving! 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
The soft ball stage was putting a drop of the fudge in cold water and the drop would stay in the ball stage. If not ready the drop would flatten out in the water. My mom made this fudge, it is wonderful!( No marshmallows, just sugar, cocoa and milk.) My Mom didn't use a candy thermometer. Thanks for bring back so memories.
In our Food Science class in college we made fudge. Metal 🥄 spoons effects it chemically. Also,, the colder the room the better fudge it makes. Your mamaw might use a platter because it would remove easier than metal Ole timey pans
My Mother’s table was green and chrome, with green plastic covered chairs. I’ve always used this recipe. My Mother made white fudge! No cocoa same recipe. Oh so delicious!
My aunt Mary made this fudge in 50’s. I could never make. FIRST THING!! You need a STRONG right arm to beat this as cools. I was never strong enough. She made marvelous cake & iced with fudge. Sealed cake! WOW! I will try your method with stirring. My mom & aunts turned pan on side & beat
This is how my Dad made the Hershey Cocoa Fudge when I was a kid. Friday nights, fudge, western tv shows, all the warm and fuzzy memories I so cherish when I think of the old time cooked fudge. Thanks for keeping this recipe alive and well. We and I still do, call it canned milk. No thermometer was ever used, just the soft ball test.
My Mama made this every Christmas. And yes, I remember the tin that Hershey's Cocoa came in. I'm from West Virginia and have relatives in Kentucky. My fondest memory of this fudge was fighting over who got to scrape the little bit of fudge left in the pan. I love your videos. May God bless.
Oh my goodness. Grandma buttered a plate, too. I had forgotten that. And she drop a little of it into cold water to check if it was soft ball. Thanks for the memories
This fudge has always been to me what the No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies were to you. No matter how many times I tried it, I could not get it to turn out. After watching you make it, I'm going to try again for the 1st time in years.😊
We always call it Carnation milk too 😊 And I remember the metal cocoa can with round lid. Good memories! Thank you for sharing your yummy recipes and the great videos.
In those days it was always Coke, Kleenex, and Carnation, no matter what brand it was! I loved those days. Simpler, easier, more fun. No cell phones or computers, or microwaves. Real food, real people.
I grew up with this Hershey's fudge! My mother always buttered a platter, and poured the fudge onto it, after stirring the gloss out, after letting it sit in the sink with cool water to help take the temp down. It was ALWAYS the best! She added nuts to it, and taught me how to make this, too! Thank you for taking the time to make this great recipe! I can taste it already!
Here it is in June and I’m watching this video. O my goodness, I will be saving this recipe for sure. I called my Grandmother on my Dads side Mamaw . His family was from Pennsylvania, beautiful country and such fond memories. Thank you so much for sharing your memories with you Mamaw❤ and the yellow dining table with the yellow chairs, what I wouldn’t give to go back in time❤ God Bless you and Melissa ❤
Don't you love how food can connect us with such wonderful memories! We really appreciate that you are watching our channel, and we hope you will make this fudge sometime soon (but definitely during the holiday season). It's nice having you at our table.
Many years ago my mother-in-law tried to teach me a fudge recipe similar to this. Understand that she is deaf, and only uses sign language, which I know only rudimentarily, and knew much less then, so I really couldn’t understand what she was trying to tell me. Plus, especially when she was busy stirring she couldn’t even communicate what she was doing. I just had to watch and try to figure out why she was doing what she was doing. Needless to say, I never really learned, and just made the marshmallow fluff style fudge. Watching you do this makes me want to try it, knowing now what to do and why. She’s such a wonderful woman, and the absolute best mother-in-law and I always felt bad I couldn’t learn to make her fudge. Thanks for sharing!!
My sweet mama made this fudge. She just 'knew' when it was ready. She'd tear off a large piece of foil and put it right on the counter with butter smeared on it, then she'd just pour the fudge out onto the foil. I've been doing it this same way for nearly 50 years. Her advice back then was bring to a boil, lower the temp and time it exactly 5 min. Works every single time. Thank you ..great Christmas memories.🥰
Just want you both to know that I feel very blessed by watching your videos. It’s evident that you are both a wonderful Christian couple and I see the Holy Spirit using y’all in your cooking videos. Thank you!!
My husband and I made this fudge tonight. We are in the cooling stage now. Waiting to add pecans! I have already made the no bake chocolate cookies and the peppermint bark with our 8 year old granddaughter. It was a big hit with her! 🥰 Love the series!
Loved your fudge! As a granny in Wayne, West Virginia, just a few miles as the crow flies from Teays Valley, I've made this fudge many times...use the soft ball with water, and, hut oh, a big metal spoon🥄...turns out great! My mom loved this kind of fudge but it would always be either rock hard or we would put it in freezer to firm up enuf to eat with a spoon🥄, hahaha, memories ❤. Not to say she was alone in that endeavor, Ive had my 'fudge fails' along the way!!! Our add in would usually be black walnuts, a staple growing on every ridge and valley around here, as you well know, but too strong for many a delicate palate and definitely more difficult to crack and pick from the shell...after dad making us do that in our youth, i can say now, I think Id pay $100.00 a bag not to🤣. Enjoy your channel and just recently subscribed, oh, and just made your cinnamon bread couple nights ago for my Pastor and his wife, looked and smelled so good! Im sure I'll get a good review on that. Blessings to you and yours and have a wonderful Christmas ⛄🎄🎁
Tom remembers helping his day plant 2,000 black walnut trees when he was a young boy. Like you, they are not his favorite nuts! We are so happy you made the cinnamon bread and shared it with your pastor and his wife. We think a homemade gift really says that you care about someone. It takes effort to make a homemade treat! We really are happy that you are a part of our channel. We love having you at the table with us.
I grew up with the same fudge recipe on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa can. I never thought to write down the recipe, so I'm very happy to get this. They also had an awesome hot cocoa recipe. I also grew up using evaporated milk (we used Pet and Carnation). My mother used it in many recipes. Try it when making the hot cocoa, and even mac and cheese and creamed potatoes -- it gives foods, both sweet and salty, an unbelievable taste. So good! I still use it in many dishes. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
I am 64 and I grew up with my Mom making her fudge with peanut butter swirled through it We use everything you did till the vanilla and butter no nuts we use peanut butter It Is The BEST fudge Ever
Well, my husband is going to get some ingredients for me to make this. It looks wonderful! I'll be making the Butter Pecan Fudge as well. Can't wait to see how these turn out!
I’m 73 years young 😂 we got the recipe off the coco box we didn’t have a wooden spoon, candy thermometer we did put lots of butter on the plates we poured it on the best candy ever my daughter ask me recently to make her some mom always used Pet milk not sure they even had Carnations milk back then brings back lots of good memories yummy ❤
I actually make a frosting for my chocolate pound cake using this same recipe, but I add about a quarter cup of clear corn syrupp. Then beat it until no longer glossy, but still pourable. Pour over the cake. It will harden.
When I make candy that has to be cooked I us a little of the butter that goes in recipe and butter the side of my cooking pot this keeps sugar crystal from forming and helps the candy not to stick to the pot my grandmother taught me this over 40 years ago
So excited! I remember my grandmothers making fudge. They cooked the one with marshmallow cream. This one looks like that old fashioned fudge everyone made back in the day, and you made it seem so easy. I agree, about the wooden utensil. This is a guess, but sometimes I feel some metals react with foods. I guess when they say food is a science, that may be just one of the reasons. Plus, using metal will retain or change heat temp. All I know is what grandma did and said, you don’t question. 😊 same here. I grew up with one grandma referring to evap milk as carnation, the other as Milnot. Y’all are amazing. The only problem is ..we’re unable to reach in the tv to taste test. 😂lol. I mean…being unable to lick that pan, brutal. 🙇🏻♀️😂 Have a blessed day.
My mom never had a thermometer,she kept a coffee cup next to the stove with it about half full of. water and would drop a little bit of the fudge (she thought it was ready) if it formed a soft ball in the water,get ready to start beating it,you are almost there.When ready she dropped it on wax paper and let it set( like a praline).She always put a dish towel underneath the paper because the hot fudge would slightly melt the wax on the paper and leave spots on the counter top or table...Yours looks delicious.
This is the ONLY true fudge for our family!! I have made this recipe for years with my tweaks. My mother taught this recipe to me and YES, your mamaw got that recipe off the back of a metal can with a pop off lid. I make so much of this fudge that I have zip lock bags with the sugar, cocoa and salt already measured out. Massaging these bags will break down the cocoa and blend it right into the sugar. Merry Christmas! I also pour mine onto a buttered platter.
I am from Kentucky, but my mom was raised 37 miles from your grandmother. In Quick,WV. I love watching your shows.Also you were talking about how your grandmother used to eyeball it. My momma used to have a glass of cold water by those sort of things and she would drop a drop in the glass and if it formed a ball when you dropped it in ot was ready but it it turned into like a dust or scattered everywhere in the water it wasn't ready yet and that's how I test mine
My grandma never used a candy thermometer. She dropped a little in ice cold water. Until it was the soft ball stage. It always worked out great. She also made the best divinity.
Carnation milk…that’s funny!! Our family, as long as I can remember, has always called evaporated milk “pet milk”!!🤭 and we’ve used Pet brand in all recipes!! Love long family traditions! ❤️🥰
I still make my fudge from this recipe . We always used / use whole milk. Have never used evaporated milk. And, I always make a double batch. My children and friends wait for it at the holidays waiting for a less humid day here in North Carolina.
❤ Thank the Lord above for you. And I would give anything to have that formica table n those yellow chairs. Today's furniture just does not even compare. Have a great christmas!
Wow!! I have actually never made fudge in my life but have eaten what others have made. I had no idea it was quite that much to it. The cooking of it and getting it up to a certain temperature and down again. I do appreciate now knowing how fudge is done! And Melissa, I think I'm with you in having the opinion that the goody in scraping the bowl or pot or whatever is a fabulous first bite 😊
Yes, I remember those tins and this recipe! Thank you for the memories! My great grandma lived in Nebraska and she really spoiled my brother and my Dad. She was very partial to "boys".
My mother taught me how to cook when I was 2 or 3 years old she would hold me in her arms and say now add this much salt or pepper or add this much of this spice so thank God she taught me because it saved me many times . My problem with this recipe is I have eaten thousands of mounds bars and I never tasted marshmallows in the candy bar
I still make this every Christmas. Yes I use a wooden spoon and I don't use a thermometer. If you drop a couple drops of boiling mixture onto a saucer of cool water the drops will form a clean soft ball in the water..
I have a special fudge recipe that I’ve made every year since 1986, it’s always been soft. I’m in my 60’s and I have never owned a candy thermometer. Thanks for sharing your yummy recipes with us.
Bless you! Made the recipe without a thermometer and the instruction were so good - came out PERFECTLY! So I made another batch but this time added 7 extra large marshmallows right after the first boil and they melted during the medium heat. The second batch was much much better..even though I forgot the vanilla! THANK YOU!
My mamma made a similar fudge to this. She never used a candy thermometer either. Her fudge always came out perfect! Sometimes after school, she would surprise me with a batch of her fudge. I was always so excited! There was no better after-school treat than her surprise fudge lol. Thanks for the memories 🍫
When I would mess up our pan of fudge, the kids and I would just get a small spice bowl, scoop some into it and heat it in the microwave for a short time to semi-melt it and then enjoy! Like my mother before me, I do the softball method. Oh, and having lost track of the old metal Hershey's Cocoa tin that my mother always had throughout my childhood, I got on ebay and purchased two vintage tins - one still was almost full. Both tins have the fudge recipe and the hot cocoa recipe on them. I'll be passing one on to our daughter and the other to our son, so they can enjoy childhood memories of our time in the kitchen.
Yes, remember this recipe, then I went to the marshmallow crème fudge, made it for 30 yrs, then saw Rachel Rays 5 minute fudge, & haven’t looked back…… YES people buy a wooden spoon & use it!!!! There is another recipe that I am looking for, it is no cook divinity, it so good too……it is easy too!
This is the kind of fudge I like. Not to fond of the softer ones. Thank you so much for posting this, will be adding this to my recipes. Love watching your videos.
I agree about the wooden spoon. I don't make divinity unless the sun has been shining for a couple of days.
My mother was like that. She said it never sets right on a cloudy day. I tried making it once when it was gloomy and she was not impressed. It set ok but wasn't the best. Must be a humidity thing
Mom didn't have a candy thermometer for years, but she always made lots of candy for the holidays. She always used the soft ball stage method, dribbling a little of the chocolate mixture in some cool water to form a small soft ball
I still do the drop in the water because my mom did.
I do the same thing, my Aunt Dot’s recipe says cold water, I stick it in the freezer while cooking the fudge.
We made this as kids. Soft ball stage. Sometimes it turned out other times not. 😅😂🤣 When it didn't, we just ate it from the pan with spoons. 🥄
this is how I was taught by my grandmother and still use it today
My mom too!
grandmas just know when it looks right!!!
Im 76 year old Scottish lady who has always called evaporated milk, Carnation Milk, thought it was funny you do same. Love your programme.
Thank you so much. We appreciate that you are watching. Have a lovely holiday season!
I agree you definitely can mail this type of fudge. My husband was on Navy Wes Pac, which means their gone for 6 months or longer. He was gone for Christmas. I decided since he wasn't with us. I'd send Christmas to him. I baked all the cookies and candies I normally did every Christmas. I put all of the candies and cookies in ziploc bags and then into sealable containers. He got it all about a month later. He said everything was fresh tasting and yummy. The guys on the ship found out what he got in the mail, and to this day, I laugh. My husband traded those treats for guard duty shifts and chores! He told me he missed us, but what I sent him helped him get through not being with my sons and I for Christmas. Wanna laugh? Toilet paper was a hot commodity on ships. The ship always ran out. I sent him a 24 pack of TP, and he guarded that toilet paper big time! 🙂🦋
❤❤❤😅😊😊😊
As a newlywed back in the late 60s, I tried making this fudge, and had no idea what I was doing. With no candy thermometer, I tried doing the "soft-ball stage". It ended up so rock hard, my husband drilled a small hole in it, and then proceeded to hang it on the wall, chuckling evilly the whole time. I may have to try this again, WITH a candy thermometer. Yours looks absolutely wonderful!
I did similar when I first began making this fudge. It was either rocks or soup! Now I have it down. I do not have a candy thermometer....get to soft ball stage.
This was one of the first things I learned to cook as a child. I have never used a candy thermometer, I just always did the soft ball stage in cold water. It's been so many years since I made this, I'm scared to try it now without a candy thermometer 😬.
Never heard of a candy thermometer way back then and did the soft ball stage. As Soon as it came to that soft ball dropped in COLD water, I'd add the vanilla, remove it, and quickly beat it JUST as the gloss became SEMI - GLOSS AND IMMEDIATELY put in pan and spread. By the time the semi - gloss is gone AND GOES DULL, it's already too late and can start to harden in the pan. IT IS NOW A ROCK!! 😂 That is no fun to try and clean!. You need either an ice pick or hammer and chisel 😂 This is THEE ONLY fudge I like besides the Original Mackinac Island or Murdock's Fudge.😊😊 AND yes, I'm a Michigander😅
My mom and I used the same cocoa fudge recipe, it was great.
Your husband and mine would so get along!😊
My mama never used a wooden . She used a regular spoon. No thermometer, just the water thing. The fudge was poured on a big serving platter to cool. It was the best grainy fudge I ever had. That pot and spoon never had a chance with me. Lol
Yes this recipe was on the can of cocoa from when I was a child. My mom always poured it on a buttered platter as well.
My mom made it every Friday night with popcorn.
What memories 😃 thank you 🙏
I like that. Youuse every drop of product. You waste nothing. So many people are wasteful.
Iam 74 remember the women make this I was kid they never used woden spoon and tested with water in a glass and didn't let it cool just started beating it long time and poured onto big plate or platter I make mine like you did except cool to 115 will try it makes me want some haven't had any since my husband passed five yrs ago he sure loved his fudge we were married 52 years just teens miss him so much this fudge makes me think about times gone by I can understand your mamaw. Wanting to move happy you had her to remember God Bless you both ty for sharing❤
Tom, as my daughter would say, "You weren't spoiled, you were well loved"! Love your videos.
This fudge holds up better than the new fudge recipes!
I remember this recipe from my childhood. Evaporated milk was always called Pet milk in our family. I recently sent my grandson in the store to buy some Pet milk. He was looking in the aisle where they have pet (animal) food. He finally called me and asked me if I knew what aisle it was on. 😂
Someone gave me a recipe for fudge and she said use Pet milk and I looked and looked for it and finally found some😊
I just found your page by accident, really, and I'm so glad I did! I'm originally a Montgomery Countian! Total Indian at heart!
My grandmother's fudge was always shiny/glossy on top when it was set, and it had a crackled look to it. That was my favorite part. Well, the taste was my favorite too!
My parents used to make fudge as well, chocolate and peanut butter, with and without nuts. They always used a glass of water to check when it was ready.
My grandmother and mother made this. I was born in 1969, so they made it before that. My grandmother was born in 1905 and my mom in 1935. They cooked for years. I loved this fudge.
I made thing when a teen :) 65 now. Loved it. Years ago I looked will over for the recipe. Took over a year to find it . Talk about a step back in time.
In the olden days they dropped a small portion of the mixture into a cup of cold water, if it stayed together and could be formed into a ball, that was the soft ball stage. Worked every time!
My sister is 4 years older than me and she taught me how to make this fudge when I had to stand on a chair! Good times and great memories!
LOVE TOM'S STORIES. LOVE THAT HE OFFERS MELISSA THE FIRST BITE SUCH A LOVING COUPLE
Your memory of your grandma took me back to my grandparents. They lived next to each other next door to our house. One Friday night was with one grandma and the next with the other grandma. My grandpa lived next door to both grandmas. So on our property was 4 houses. They each taught me their strengths. My grandpa was an amazing story teller. Their trip from Kentucky to Colorado during the depression.
I will be 80 in a few days and made this candy a lot years ago. I never had a candy thermometer, but used the cold water test and drop 2-3 drops of candy mix and feel of it in cold water! The candy starts to lose it's shine/gloss when it is getting ready! I used a platter back then to contain the candy also!❤❤ P.S. Do not put outside, I made homemade eggnog one Christmas and put it outside on porch table. When I went back, it was all gone, the cats had already had their Christmas party!! ❤❤
Yes, I remember the Cocoa can where you popped The top up. I think it kept better in metal cans.❤❤
Yes l remember those old Hershey's boxes
GOOD memories.
I remember making this fudge on my wood cook stove back in the 1980s in the woods of Maine. I got my recipe from a story in Guideposts magazine entitled "Mamaw's Peaceable Fudge".
The story was about a girl who was bullied at school and her Mamaw taught her how to make this fudge. The girl gifted it to the bully and he never was mean to her again. I loved the story and the fudge. Thanks for reviving that memory.
I love homemade fudge! My only problem is I love it too much!
My mother used to make a version of this fudge. She never used a candy thermometer just eyeballed it by dropping tiny amounts into cold water until it formed a soft ball. Then she would pour it onto a buttered plate to cool. It never lasted long in our house, but I remember it was wonderful.
I learned at my Aunt Pat's and Aunt Alma's side to make fudge. They put it out on 2 buttered plates. Sometimes we even called it plate candy. ☺ I'll bet your grandmother did the soft ball test in water since she didn't use a thermometer. My aunts did the water test, and I do, too. 😉 I think I'll try your method. Never hurts to compare and possibly learn something new, huh. 😊 Mother had yellow Formica counters, and when I was really little, she had the yellow Formica topped table with yellow plastic covered chairs. That must have been all the rage in the '50's and early '60's. 🥰
THE best fudge recipe around! Thank you for all of your recipes and videos.
My mom had the same table and chairs, but my aunt Orman had red chairs
Or late '50s.
We had those yellow chairs and table too - with chrome legs. My mom did the cold water test for soft ball stage.
This brings me back to my Gram’s fudge. She would cook it on the stove, pour it on a granite countertop, and my grandfather would fold it with a paint scraper (only used for fudge) until the shine went away. It was delicious!
I can see that in my mind based on your description! Thanks for sharing your story! Have a very Merry Christmas!
My most favorite sweet is fudge. As a child we lived in the country. No stores around for miles. Mother made hokey picky. Fudge. Popped corn. Toffee. Marshmallow biscuits. She could cook. An amazing mum. Raised nine children. We can all cook well. Granny and mum both cooked similar to you Tom. It brings back lovely memories. Thank you. 😊😊❤❤
What is hokey picky? I’ve never heard of it.😊
@@cperm1 I'm sorry. That was a miss spell. It's Hokey Pokey. 😆 My spell check sometimes goes on holiday.
@@alisonpovey1234 😂😂😂 I sooo understand! It happens to me all the time.
That's the kind I like, a firm fudge. We would go visit grandma and grandpa in Michigan and have a fudge cook-off, every night someone different would make a batch. 😂
My mom made this & poured it in a white oval shaped platter. The candy on each end of the buttered platter was really thin. My favorite pieces. Thanks for the memories ❤
Grandmas are special aren’t they ,I miss my grandma and mother very much so much more at the holidays.❤❤
This is the fudge my grandma made. We lived in WV also, Tom. She didn’t use a thermometer, she had a cup of cold water that she would drop a little of the candy mixture into the cold water until it formed a soft ball. And she too poured the fudge onto a plate and of course the edges of the candy were thinner than the middle pieces. Brings back great memories. Thank you!
I've been making this wrong for...well...ever since I started making it. Thank you for your very helpful instructions and wonderful video. You're as addicting as the candies you've been making! 😂
I have the original recipe off of the cocoa can. It calls for regular milk instead of evaporated milk. We add walnuts and about 1 cup of peanut butter. I also use my electric mixer to mix it then pour it out on a buttered platter. Never used a thermometer, just did the soft ball drip into cold water. It’s the best fudge ever.
Yes, that's what I remember!
My sister would make this fudge when we were young, and did not have a thermometer, she would boil for a while ,and then drop a spoonful into a glass of cold water. If it made a soft ball when dropped, she then added the butter and vanilla. Then proceeded with the cooling and beating steps. I had an aunt that would also make this for her family, and as a treat would pop popcorn and serve along with the fudge.
I AM 75 YEARS OLD AND FOR MY WHOLE LIFE I (WE) CALLED EVAPORATED MILK "PET MILK", ITS STILL PET MILK AT MY HOUSE.
My mother made this a lot when I was a child and she used a metal spoon and tested its temperature with a glass of water. It was delicious! She was 95 wren she passed and has been gone for eight years…I, too, would love to make it with her today❣️
Yes, the recipe was on the can of cocoa, my brother-in-law made this for us. 60 years ago. He used a metal spoon we didn't know about wooden spoons then. LOL He didn't use a candy thermometer. He dropped little drops in cold water and tested it till it came to a softball stage. Oh and he used a large cast iron skillet that was all we had. Brings back memories of when we lived back in Kentucky.
Melissa, hope you appreciate that husband of yours. I’ve been married 21 years and my husband has never cooked anything in that time for me. And only once, just this week he dried a few dishes! And I’m in so much pain daily I can barely stand. That guy of yours is a real gem.
My dad was a terrible cook as well- he could make toast!
He’d call mom when we were out on a Saturday and sadly ask her if she had left him some lunch because he was starving! 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
I grew up in WV in a coal mining camp. My mom would butter and use a dish because nobody had 8x8 or 9x9 dish. Lucky to have a cast iron frying pan🙂
The soft ball stage was putting a drop of the fudge in cold water and the drop would stay in the ball stage. If not ready the drop would flatten out in the water. My mom made this fudge, it is wonderful!( No marshmallows, just sugar, cocoa and milk.) My Mom didn't use a candy thermometer. Thanks for bring back so memories.
We love how food connects us to such sweet memories. Thank you so much for watching our channel and have a very Merry Christmas!
In our Food Science class in college we made fudge. Metal 🥄 spoons effects it chemically. Also,, the colder the room the better fudge it makes. Your mamaw might use a platter because it would remove easier than metal Ole timey pans
My Mother’s table was green and chrome, with green plastic covered chairs. I’ve always used this recipe. My Mother made white fudge! No cocoa same recipe. Oh so delicious!
My aunt Mary made this fudge in 50’s. I could never make. FIRST THING!! You need a STRONG right arm to beat this as cools. I was never strong enough.
She made marvelous cake & iced with fudge. Sealed cake! WOW!
I will try your method with stirring. My mom & aunts turned pan on side & beat
This is how my Dad made the Hershey Cocoa Fudge when I was a kid. Friday nights, fudge, western tv shows, all the warm and fuzzy memories I so cherish when I think of the old time cooked fudge. Thanks for keeping this recipe alive and well. We and I still do, call it canned milk. No thermometer was ever used, just the soft ball test.
My Mama made this every Christmas. And yes, I remember the tin that Hershey's Cocoa came in. I'm from West Virginia and have relatives in Kentucky. My fondest memory of this fudge was fighting over who got to scrape the little bit of fudge left in the pan. I love your videos. May God bless.
Oh my goodness. Grandma buttered a plate, too. I had forgotten that. And she drop a little of it into cold water to check if it was soft ball. Thanks for the memories
This fudge has always been to me what the No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies were to you. No matter how many times I tried it, I could not get it to turn out. After watching you make it, I'm going to try again for the 1st time in years.😊
I have a Hershey's Cocoa cookbook, but the fudge recipe is nothing like yours. I need to try this recipe ASAP. Loving your 12 days of Christmas.
It’s the only kind I learned to make. I put a tablespoon of peanut butter in. ❤
We always call it Carnation milk too 😊 And I remember the metal cocoa can with round lid. Good memories! Thank you for sharing your yummy recipes and the great videos.
In those days it was always Coke, Kleenex, and Carnation, no matter what brand it was! I loved those days. Simpler, easier, more fun. No cell phones or computers, or microwaves. Real food, real people.
This is the fudge my Mom made us !!
My mom made this recipe from the Hershey can too. She used the soft ball method too. Delicious. Thanks for the memory.
I grew up with this Hershey's fudge! My mother always buttered a platter, and poured the fudge onto it, after stirring the gloss out, after letting it sit in the sink with cool water to help take the temp down. It was ALWAYS the best! She added nuts to it, and taught me how to make this, too! Thank you for taking the time to make this great recipe! I can taste it already!
The good kind, old fashioned
Here it is in June and I’m watching this video. O my goodness, I will be saving this recipe for sure. I called my Grandmother on my Dads side Mamaw . His family was from Pennsylvania, beautiful country and such fond memories. Thank you so much for sharing your memories with you Mamaw❤ and the yellow dining table with the yellow chairs, what I wouldn’t give to go back in time❤ God Bless you and Melissa ❤
Don't you love how food can connect us with such wonderful memories!
We really appreciate that you are watching our channel, and we hope you will make this fudge sometime soon (but definitely during the holiday season). It's nice having you at our table.
@@comesitatmytable9044 thank you so much!
Many years ago my mother-in-law tried to teach me a fudge recipe similar to this. Understand that she is deaf, and only uses sign language, which I know only rudimentarily, and knew much less then, so I really couldn’t understand what she was trying to tell me. Plus, especially when she was busy stirring she couldn’t even communicate what she was doing. I just had to watch and try to figure out why she was doing what she was doing. Needless to say, I never really learned, and just made the marshmallow fluff style fudge. Watching you do this makes me want to try it, knowing now what to do and why. She’s such a wonderful woman, and the absolute best mother-in-law and I always felt bad I couldn’t learn to make her fudge. Thanks for sharing!!
My sweet mama made this fudge. She just 'knew' when it was ready. She'd tear off a large piece of foil and put it right on the counter with butter smeared on it, then she'd just pour the fudge out onto the foil. I've been doing it this same way for nearly 50 years. Her advice back then was bring to a boil, lower the temp and time it exactly 5 min. Works every single time. Thank you ..great Christmas memories.🥰
Just want you both to know that I feel very blessed by watching your videos. It’s evident that you are both a wonderful Christian couple and I see the Holy Spirit using y’all in your cooking videos. Thank you!!
I remember the coco your talking about moma used to make the same fudge
My husband and I made this fudge tonight. We are in the cooling stage now. Waiting to add pecans! I have already made the no bake chocolate cookies and the peppermint bark with our 8 year old granddaughter. It was a big hit with her! 🥰 Love the series!
Thank you for sharing this old fashioned recipe. I’m loving this 12 days of Christmas series. You two are the best !! 🎄❤️🕊
Do you have a cookbook? I’ve been watching you for a bit now, and you have some amazing recipes.
If you will rub butter around the top of your pan the fudge will not boil over
Loved your fudge! As a granny in Wayne, West Virginia, just a few miles as the crow flies from Teays Valley, I've made this fudge many times...use the soft ball with water, and, hut oh, a big metal spoon🥄...turns out great! My mom loved this kind of fudge but it would always be either rock hard or we would put it in freezer to firm up enuf to eat with a spoon🥄, hahaha, memories ❤. Not to say she was alone in that endeavor, Ive had my 'fudge fails' along the way!!! Our add in would usually be black walnuts, a staple growing on every ridge and valley around here, as you well know, but too strong for many a delicate palate and definitely more difficult to crack and pick from the shell...after dad making us do that in our youth, i can say now, I think Id pay $100.00 a bag not to🤣. Enjoy your channel and just recently subscribed, oh, and just made your cinnamon bread couple nights ago for my Pastor and his wife, looked and smelled so good! Im sure I'll get a good review on that. Blessings to you and yours and have a wonderful Christmas ⛄🎄🎁
Tom remembers helping his day plant 2,000 black walnut trees when he was a young boy. Like you, they are not his favorite nuts!
We are so happy you made the cinnamon bread and shared it with your pastor and his wife. We think a homemade gift really says that you care about someone. It takes effort to make a homemade treat!
We really are happy that you are a part of our channel. We love having you at the table with us.
I like the way your grandmother did it
I grew up with the same fudge recipe on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa can. I never thought to write down the recipe, so I'm very happy to get this. They also had an awesome hot cocoa recipe. I also grew up using evaporated milk (we used Pet and Carnation). My mother used it in many recipes. Try it when making the hot cocoa, and even mac and cheese and creamed potatoes -- it gives foods, both sweet and salty, an unbelievable taste. So good! I still use it in many dishes. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
I am 64 and I grew up with my Mom making her fudge with peanut butter swirled through it We use everything you did till the vanilla and butter no nuts we use peanut butter It Is The BEST fudge Ever
Well, my husband is going to get some ingredients for me to make this. It looks wonderful! I'll be making the Butter Pecan Fudge as well. Can't wait to see how these turn out!
My Memaw used a big old heavy platter for her fudge too. I'm an old Gamma now and the plate is one of my most treasured pieces.
Yum, Yum!
Thank you so much for watching. We agree - definitely YUM!
This is how my Mommy would make candy waaay back when!! Thanks for sharing and love to you, Tom and Melissa! God bless! 💕🤗🙏🏻
I’m 73 years young 😂 we got the recipe off the coco box we didn’t have a wooden spoon, candy thermometer we did put lots of butter on the plates we poured it on the best candy ever my daughter ask me recently to make her some mom always used Pet milk not sure they even had Carnations milk back then brings back lots of good memories yummy ❤
I actually make a frosting for my chocolate pound cake using this same recipe, but I add about a quarter cup of clear corn syrupp. Then beat it until no longer glossy, but still pourable. Pour over the cake. It will harden.
When I make candy that has to be cooked I us a little of the butter that goes in recipe and butter the side of my cooking pot this keeps sugar crystal from forming and helps the candy not to stick to the pot my grandmother taught me this over 40 years ago
So excited! I remember my grandmothers making fudge. They cooked the one with marshmallow cream. This one looks like that old fashioned fudge everyone made back in the day, and you made it seem so easy. I agree, about the wooden utensil. This is a guess, but sometimes I feel some metals react with foods. I guess when they say food is a science, that may be just one of the reasons. Plus, using metal will retain or change heat temp. All I know is what grandma did and said, you don’t question. 😊 same here. I grew up with one grandma referring to evap milk as carnation, the other as Milnot.
Y’all are amazing. The only problem is ..we’re unable to reach in the tv to taste test. 😂lol. I mean…being unable to lick that pan, brutal. 🙇🏻♀️😂
Have a blessed day.
My mom never had a thermometer,she kept a coffee cup next to the stove with it about half full of. water and would drop a little bit of the fudge
(she thought it was ready) if it formed a soft ball in the water,get ready to start beating it,you are almost there.When ready she dropped it on wax paper and let it set( like a praline).She always put a dish towel underneath the paper because the hot fudge would slightly melt the wax on the paper and leave spots on the counter top or table...Yours looks delicious.
This is the ONLY true fudge for our family!! I have made this recipe for years with my tweaks. My mother taught this recipe to me and YES, your mamaw got that recipe off the back of a metal can with a pop off lid. I make so much of this fudge that I have zip lock bags with the sugar, cocoa and salt already measured out. Massaging these bags will break down the cocoa and blend it right into the sugar. Merry Christmas! I also pour mine onto a buttered platter.
I agree with licking the pan
You guys are such sweethearts...it just makes my heart warm...although im million miles away in another culture 🎉😊
I remember that recipe and the metal cocoa can, that’s how I learned to make fudge (I’m 72
I saved a metal Hershey’s coco can, still have it. I am going to make this by your recipe, thanks.
I am from Kentucky, but my mom was raised 37 miles from your grandmother. In Quick,WV. I love watching your shows.Also you were talking about how your grandmother used to eyeball it. My momma used to have a glass of cold water by those sort of things and she would drop a drop in the glass and if it formed a ball when you dropped it in ot was ready but it it turned into like a dust or scattered everywhere in the water it wasn't ready yet and that's how I test mine
I believe the recipe was on the metal Hershey's can. I vaguely remember it. Best fudge ever! Yummy!
My grandma never used a candy thermometer. She dropped a little in ice cold water. Until it was the soft ball stage. It always worked out great. She also made the best divinity.
Carnation milk…that’s funny!! Our family, as long as I can remember, has always called evaporated milk “pet milk”!!🤭 and we’ve used Pet brand in all recipes!! Love long family traditions! ❤️🥰
I still make my fudge from this recipe . We always used / use whole milk. Have never used evaporated milk. And, I always make a double batch. My children and friends wait for it at the holidays waiting for a less humid day here in North Carolina.
❤ Thank the Lord above for you. And I would give anything to have that formica table n those yellow chairs. Today's furniture just does not even compare. Have a great christmas!
Wow!! I have actually never made fudge in my life but have eaten what others have made. I had no idea it was quite that much to it. The cooking of it and getting it up to a certain temperature and down again. I do appreciate now knowing how fudge is done! And Melissa, I think I'm with you in having the opinion that the goody in scraping the bowl or pot or whatever is a fabulous first bite 😊
Yes, I remember those tins and this recipe! Thank you for the memories! My great grandma lived in Nebraska and she really spoiled my brother and my Dad. She was very partial to "boys".
My mother taught me how to cook when I was 2 or 3 years old she would hold me in her arms and say now add this much salt or pepper or add this much of this spice so thank God she taught me because it saved me many times . My problem with this recipe is I have eaten thousands of mounds bars and I never tasted marshmallows in the candy bar
You are so good for new baker and cooks. Explaining WHY you do certain things. I'm old and agree with both of you!
We are so happy to have you watching our channel. Thanks so much for your encouragement. Have a very Merry Christmas!
I always put my fudge on a platter and still do, and don’t use a thermometer, just use ice water and cook till soft ball formed
I still make this every Christmas. Yes I use a wooden spoon and I don't use a thermometer. If you drop a couple drops of boiling mixture onto a saucer of cool water the drops will form a clean soft ball in the water..
I have a special fudge recipe that I’ve made every year since 1986, it’s always been soft. I’m in my 60’s and I have never owned a candy thermometer.
Thanks for sharing your yummy recipes with us.
Bless you! Made the recipe without a thermometer and the instruction were so good - came out PERFECTLY! So I made another batch but this time added 7 extra large marshmallows right after the first boil and they melted during the medium heat. The second batch was much much better..even though I forgot the vanilla! THANK YOU!
What comes before the fall? Pride! Made it 4 times now ..first 2 were great last 2 disaster...chewy and way to hard!
My mamma made a similar fudge to this. She never used a candy thermometer either. Her fudge always came out perfect! Sometimes after school, she would surprise me with a batch of her fudge. I was always so excited! There was no better after-school treat than her surprise fudge lol. Thanks for the memories 🍫
What a great story! I love it when food brings us back to a sweet memory! Have a very Merry Christmas!
I learned tro make this w my mom and she learned from her mom...we used the soft ball method in water, no thermometer til the 80s...
When I would mess up our pan of fudge, the kids and I would just get a small spice bowl, scoop some into it and heat it in the microwave for a short time to semi-melt it and then enjoy! Like my mother before me, I do the softball method. Oh, and having lost track of the old metal Hershey's Cocoa tin that my mother always had throughout my childhood, I got on ebay and purchased two vintage tins - one still was almost full. Both tins have the fudge recipe and the hot cocoa recipe on them. I'll be passing one on to our daughter and the other to our son, so they can enjoy childhood memories of our time in the kitchen.
Yes, remember this recipe, then I went to the marshmallow crème fudge, made it for 30 yrs, then saw Rachel Rays 5 minute fudge, & haven’t looked back…… YES people buy a wooden spoon & use it!!!! There is another recipe that I am looking for, it is no cook divinity, it so good too……it is easy too!
This is the kind of fudge I like. Not to fond of the softer ones. Thank you so much for posting this, will be adding this to my recipes. Love watching your videos.
Fudge, my favorite Christmas candy. This recipe looks so good!
Oh my that looks delicious!!! It’s been years since I’ve eaten fudge like this! Talked my sister into helping me make this!!
My mom always used a buttered platter. She also use cold water to drop candy in to see if it was softball stage.