Non-crystalline candies are also called as hard candies. Non-crystalline candy is made from sugar which has the property to form non-crystalline or the ‘glass’ form of candy. The examples of non-crystalline candies are hard candies, caramel and marshmallows.
Generally, to make non-crystalline candy, sugar is dissolved in water and boiled at high temperature. When the sugar solution concentration becomes high, supersaturation (a state where a solution contains higher dissolved solute than could be dissolved by the solvent usually) continues upon the cooling process. The solution becomes a plastic or glass form from further cooling and then becomes hard and transparent. In general, non-crystalline candy does not contain or in the form of sugar crystals. They usually have chewy or brittle texture.
The main ingredients of making non-crystalline candy are sucrose or sucrose solution, glucose and sometimes the flavouring and colouring agents. The ratio of sucrose (sugar) to glucose is usually 7:3. Glucose is used as the stabilizer to make the mixture easier to be formed and moulded. It also helps to prevent water absorption of candy