I have a new found respect for the candy maker after reading this book. I never realized the amount of work that goes into making candy. From caramels to lollipop, to fruit puree to popcorn this book has a lot of variety and information. I especially like the gumdrop candy section as I really like gumdrops. I never thought of some of the flavors included. If you like to make things from scratch this is a good book to add to your cookbook collection. Pictures add to the books appeal as they look so good you want to try them all.

Left it too long to download so I ended up getting it from the library because I wanted to read it! This is SUCH a great book for candy making - worded well, great pictures and I learnt so much. Can't wait to get started on making some stuff myself!

Candy is Magic
And the layout of this book- is magic as well
Beautifully done and definitely a door into the art of candy making
Fabulous book!

This is an amazing book. It's definitely a book for serious candy makers. It tells more about candy making than I thought there was to know. But it's also a book that you feel like you can pick up and start making candy. It's beautiful to look at and if you can get through looking at the pictures without a serious candy craving, you are a better person than I. One of the best parts about it is that it uses all natural ingredients.

I requested this title for my 12 year old son. He is starting to enjoy cooking and experimenting with recipes. Kids love candy, so I requested this because it wouldn't fail his interest.
He had a great time trying new recipes. We didn't care about the recipes being organic and other things that lure people to recipes these days. We just got the supplies and made a few. We had fun doing an activity together.

This book teaches us how to make Lollipop , candy , Caramel and bars with marshmallow and chocolate......So many new candy recipes.......

I would like to thank Ten Speed Press for providing me with a free electronic ARC of this book, via Netgalley, in exchange for an open and honest review.

Holy Cow! Now I am a dyed in the wool sweet tooth and chocoholic – despite my whole foods and healthy foods life. And so I simply had to get a chance to read and review ‘Candy is Magic’ – and the book lived up to its title!

What an amazingly thorough and comprehensive book on how to not just make candy in its various sorts and sizes, but it covered all the essential basics about how to prep and create the flavour backgrounds and other ingredients needed to make the divine looking titbits shown within its pages.

Now did any of that make sense? I hope so, but I do almost feel like I’ve gotten a sugar rush just from reading ‘Candy is Magic’ and seriously have no regrets! There was a lot of moaning and groaning and “oh my god I can make that?!” exclamations made as I worked my way through.

I also feel that this book has given me an even greater respect for our chocolate and confectionary artisans. I honestly feel they don’t get enough credit for the time, dedication and creativity that goes into making proper, from scratch confectionary delights. I mean, I am not someone who will never buy cheap sweets over quality sweets… but there are some out there who go a bit silly when being asked to pay a couple of bucks for one item. If they bothered to read such books as ‘Candy is Magic’ I would like to hope they would realise why that one piece costs so much and that they savour every delicious mouthful! I know I do when I get to visit my favourite artisan chocolatiers and confectioners. ;-)

Though saying all that, I do wonder if I am cut out for this level of confectionary making as, quite honestly, there is a lot of dedication and creativity needed and I do wonder if my skills are ready to be stretched that far. Heck, I’m still mastering a toffee glaze compote and raw chocolate… I might not be ready for the hard core candy making as shown in this amazing book.

Okay, as it’s a non-fiction book, time for my formatting feedback… It’s a Ten Speed Press book so, yeah, nothing to fault! Their images, their page layouts, their overall formatting – easy on the eye, easy to follow, sublime. Can you tell this is something I have come to expect from anything produced by Ten Speed Press? ;-)

Would I recommend this book to others?

Well, I would… though I really don’t know anyone at the skill or dedication level who would want to take this sort of confectionary work on. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it is an amazing book and the recipes are something people of various skill levels could do… I just don’t know if I know anyone this dedicated to candy. Fruit leather, raw chocolate and refined sugar free treats is more the sort of thing my peers are into and so it is a book I would recommend as it teaches you how to make your own natural and yummy treats… but I honestly don’t know how many of my friends would then race out and buy it.

Would I buy this book for myself?

I would… but I would then feel guilty as I don’t know when I would have the time and space in my chunky old avocado green 1980’s kitchen to have a go at making some of the things. I mean, if I am going to serve candy/confectionary to friends and family I would honestly much rather serve things like the recipes within ‘Candy is Magic’… but whether I would actually use it often enough to justify owning it? That I can’t answer.

Maybe if it was an e-Book I could hide it on my tablet for those rainy days when I want to melt sugar and have some fun. ;-)

In summary: An amazing, comprehensive and totally inspiring cook book that truly lives up to its title.

I never thought I would be bored by a book about sweets but, sadly, I was. This wasn’t the cookbook I was expecting. Instead, the first quarter is a comprehensive technical explanation of the methodology and equipment needed for candy making, and then there are a series of recipes for infusions and flavoured sugars before we get to any real recipes. Even then, these all seem to be very similar variations on a theme, covering lollipops, marshmallow, gum drops and caramels. The same flavours are repeated for each type of sweet. I really would have liked a bit more variation and something a bit more "out there."

Maybe there weren’t enough photos. I found the hand drawings a bit amateurish. The rabbit cake was certainly underwhelming. I know I didn’t need several pages devoted to making cinnamon sugar or how to put together cocoa powder and sugar to make a hot chocolate mix.

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

Such an enjoyable, well put together book, covering all aspects of candy making. The author's enthusiasm for candy just bubbles away throughout the whole thing. Using fresh ingredients, especially fruit, lollipops to magic dust, caramels to cotton candy, everything is here for you to create your own sweet treats.

This is a very thorough book about making candy! It's quite amazing and goes through equipment, ingredients, and recipes. From lollipops to caramels, ice cream, marshmallows, gum drops, and even chews. The pictures are mouthwatering and I highly recommend you don't read this while hungry! The recipes are made using real ingredients, including fruit.

The book reviews methods, ingredients, tools and flavors required for candy making. I appreciated the author including such an educational foundational chapter in advance of the recipes. The author breaks down the ingredients for candy making into four main components: sugar, crystal blockers, fat, and salt.

The recipes in the book are divided into six chapters: core ingredients, lollipops, caramels, chewy candies, marshmallows, and gumdrops. Immediately after the Table of Contents is a convenient Recipe List that is categorized by type of recipe so the reader very quickly gets to see the variety of different recipes and flavors that are offered.

The lollipop chapter began with a terrific primer on working with hard candy that broke the process down into simple steps and that described all the required tools. Having this section before the lollipop recipes allowed the recipes to be streamlined with references back to the master instructions for setting up a lollipop station and for pouring the lollipops. The caramel chapter began with a similar primer on caramel technique. The recipes in the Dreams Come Chew chapter referenced the set up, cutting, and wrapping instructions in the caramel chapter. The marshmallow chapter also begins with a review of the ingredients, equipment, and basic steps of marshmallow making. Finally, the gumdrops chapter begins with a discussion of the three basic steps of making gummy candies.

The photography at the beginning of the book is very artistic and doesn’t necessarily depict a particular recipe. It is mostly gorgeous transparent hard candies. In the core recipes chapter, the photographs are still artistic, but have more of a relationship to the recipe. However, there is a particular instance where there is a full-page photograph of luscious peach slices next to a recipe for a roasted peach puree, and the recipe specifically says not to prepare the peaches as in the photograph. All of the fun projects in the book were accompanied by illustrations rather than by photographs.

I received an advanced reader's copy from Ten Speed Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a wonderful book. I expected a rather dull, recipe-specific book. This author knows her subject and actually draws the reader into contemplating making every single sweet treat in this book. She also provides extensive commentary on many aspects of candy making. I felt like it was almost an encyclopedia of candy. Each recipe was well written, easy to follow and produced fabulous candies. My entire household read at least parts of this book and I would regularly find a note on the counter as to which candy to make next. This is one of the best written candy cookbooks I have read, and I've read quite a few. I appreciate an author who can draw people into a new skill set and make it understandable and rewarding. I definitely recommend this book for beginners and more advanced candy makers.

This title lives up to its name! A fun, informative, sweet book! All kinds of candy magic! Ice cream, syrups, magic dust, lollipops, popcorn, marshmallows and more!, It's all in here and it doesn't disappoint! This can/will keep you busy in the kitchen creating the magic within. It's inspiring!

One of the best things about Candy is Magic by Jami Curl is the author’s enthusiasm on the subject of candy. It’s actually catchy, and will make readers want to start making candy now. This is certainly not your typical candy cookbook – it doesn’t have recipes for fudge, penuche, divinity or the old fashioned candies. Rather there are dozens of unique recipes for lollipops including several fruit flavors, coffee flavor, and caramel lollipops, along with trendy flavors such as Chai Tea Lollipops, Pinot Gris Lollipops, and Pinot Noir Lollipops. There are recipes for homemade marshmallows (several kinds), fancy gumdrops, and innovative caramel confections.

The section on ingredients, equipment, and flavors is very comprehensive and has enough information to turn even the most inexperienced cook into a great candy maker. Curl’s explanations are not only easy to understand, but her enthusiasm and love of the subject come through and will energize everyone. Some of the prose is witty and fun, so the book is a joy to read, even if it isn’t a good time to make candy.

Before making some of the candies, most will need to go to a good supply store to purchase special ingredients and some special equipment – none of it is expensive, but it is necessary nevertheless. Once that is accomplished, the only difficult thing will be to choose what to make first. The beautiful pictures help to let us know what the different candies will look like, but there are so many that look mouthwatering, it will make choosing even more difficult.

Contrary to what is in most candy cookbooks, Curl has included ice cream recipes in this book, as well as fruit syrups, Magic Dusts, and infused creams. There is also a chapter on special projects that actually sound like fun, and may be something to involve the whole family.

This is definitely not your grandmother’s candy cookbook! Anyone serious about making unique, trendy sweets will have fun with this excellent cookbook.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

This was a wonderful little candy cookbook. It was full of delicious sounding recipes. Had some yummy photos and cool hand drawn graphics. We start off with an introduction by the author. Followed by chapters that include methods and techniques. What tools you will require (pots, scale, candy thermometer, candy mold (just to name a few). What ingredients you will need (sugar, crystal blockers, fat, and salt etc) and a little information about each one. Some flavor inspiration to get you started.

A chapter featuring recipes that act as the foundation for countless candies, desserts, drinks, and more (roasted fruit purées, infused creams, easy ice creams, syrups and reductions, magic dusts etc.) As well as chapters devoted to Lollipops, caramels, marshmallows, gumdrops, ice cream and more. Each different chapters begins with an introduction to the candy, the technique, the tools, and the setup, followed by several recipes and tips.

Some of the recipes featured...

-- STRAWBERRY LOLLIPOPS
-- COFFEE LOLLIPOPS
-- PINOT GRIS LOLLIPOPS
-- SEA SALT CARAMELS
-- POPCORN CARAMELS
-- EASY CARAMEL SAUCE
-- SMOKED CHAI TEA CARAMELS
-- PINEAPPLE-COCONUT DREAMS
-- WATERMELON-LIME DREAMS
-- CINNAMON MARSHMALLOWS
-- BLACKBERRY GUMDROPS
-- NUTMEG GUMDROPS
-- CHERRY COLA GUMDROPS

There are also some pretty cool little projects included as well...

-- HOT CHOCOLATE AND MARSHMALLOW KIT
-- S'MORES BAR
-- DARK CHOCOLATE BUNNY CAKE

If you are at all like me and have a HUGE sweet tooth then this book is a must-have for your collection.

When we open the door of candy world we enter in a magical land of seasonal fruits, chocolate, aromas, sugar, colors, in a world, able to conquer everyone forever and ever. Candy represents our childhood. They're sweet, tasty, surely unforgettable.

Candy world is magic. Magic because candies represents joy, happiness, a moment of absolutely pleasure for toddlers and sometimes also for their parents. It's also a world made by precision, because the creation of a lollipop so thin, so delicious, colored, is just apparently simple.

Jami Curl is an enthusiastic. The owner of Quin, a company of candy based in Oregon in this book will introduce us at more than 200 recipes of candies, lollipops and other sweet delicious treats. At the beginning of the book a very good and technical explanation and introduction of all the various roles ingredients and tools indispensable in a house for making a real good candy.

What is candy-world if not imagination, creation, fantasy? Each of us potentially could create a candy tells Jami using the perfect ingredients and giving thanks to our imagination shape to a candy-dream. Color, shape, taste, everything is important in a candy, in a lollipop, in every candy-world creation.

Jami loves to prepare candies, lollipops with tasty seasonal fruits and ingredients and it's remarked the importance of using good and seasonal ingredients in the book.

Beautiful! sweet, an indispensable cookbook that also Willy Wonka would want to buy! :-)


I thank NetGalley and the publishing house for this book



Anna Maria Polidori

What a tantalizing feast to the eyes...and no doubt to the palate. This book initially caught my attention because of the images of see through candy and sugar laden sweets. Some beautiful colours are used throughout the book which continue to draw you in page by page...even for an amateur cook like myself. Some fabulous photography has been used throughout and with the addition of some hand drawn images, the book was begging me to cook from it.

I found myself looking through the recipe list and found there were many many caramels recipes and I started exploring them. All of the recipes were very easy to read, the methods clear, and an explanation of each tool needed. When I came across the caramel colour chart, I thought it was useful for someone with little to no caramel making experience like me. There were handy hints like this throughout the whole book.

One of the chapters titled 'Magic on a Stick' shows just how varied candy can be by choosing flavours such as fruit puree, citrus zest and syrups. What a sense of accomplishment it will be to make these lollipops that are more natural and decedent than store bought.

Overall I highly recommend this book, I know I will be making some of these delights especially on occasions that call for gifts.

This is a very thorough book about making candy! It's quite amazing and goes through equipment, ingredients, and recipes. From lollipops to caramels, ice cream, marshmallows, gum drops, and even chews. Yum!

The pictures are mouthwatering and I highly recommend you don't read this book while hungry! The recipes are made using real ingredients, including fruit.

My only cons were wishing for more pictures, and also US measurements. Otherwise, its perfect. 4****

The beginning of the book is rather technical, but I guess when you are making candy there are some basics for each kind.

Recipes had metric measurements if selling in US will need to change.

Flavor was stressed throughout. It is one of the most important components in candy.

Popcorn Carmel – sounds good; not sure I’m ready for carmel with pepper though.
Marshmallows – honey & sea salt sounds like an interesting combo (hey I’ll eat almost anything with sea salt)
Fig & Coffee Gumdrops – not sure about – the flavors may be a little overwhelming.
Pinot Noir Cotton Candy – wine and sugar – can you think of a better combination?