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
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
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
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 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! 🙂🦋
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 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.
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!! ❤❤
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. 😂
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 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 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!
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😅
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.
This was a Saturday night thing, she made fudge and we all sit on the bed with momma and daddy and eat her fudge, and listened to our favorite shows on the radio. Before T.V.
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! 😂
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.
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.
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! 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
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.
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 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 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 ❤
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. 🥰
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.
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.
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.
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. 😊😊❤❤
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.
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 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.
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!
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 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!
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.😊
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.🥰
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
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!
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.
I haven’t been subscribed very long on your channel but I am really enjoying it. I love that your pronunciation is exactly what I desire. I also love that you call your wife “Babe”. We are really enjoying your 12 days of Christmas. I’m already planning on making some of your recipes, especially your Mamaw’s fudge. I can remember my mother putting her fudge in a plate too. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Hi, Tom & Melissa, I love watching you every day. The chocolate fudge you are making is what my family here in West Virginia still makes every Christmas, and we call it Carnation milk, too I am from Harrison County, I live in a small town called Stonewood
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.
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.
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!!
Tom I helped my mom make this fudge a million times. She began beating as soon as it came to soft ball stage. Dad, mom and I would take turns beating until the gloss was gone. Sometimes she would add 1/3 c. Of peanut butter as soon as she took it off the heat along with the butter and vanilla. It was delicious. I’m 75 years old and have made many different fudge recipes but this is and always will be my favorite because it tastes great and my family did it together!
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.
As a 14-year-old, this was the first candy I made, and it was from the back of the Cocoa can. I was a farm kid and learned to help in the kitchen from an early age. I did not have canned milk and used our Dairy farm cream from the top of the pitcher of milk. I did not have measuring cups or spoons. Used a teacup and a teaspoon and real home churned butter & Watkins vanilla from the "Watkins man" who came around on a regular basis. I also used the cup of cold water to test it since no thermometer in 1957. My mom walked me thru the first time and turned out fine, delicious. I made it many times after that thru the year, not just Christmas. I got the proper equipment in the 1960s but never made a difference in the outcome. Love hearing about your grandmother and that she lived in W. Virginia. I started watching you because you were from Kentucky and had that delightful accent. My Dad was born in W. Virginia when he came a little early while grandmother was visiting her sister. He was raised in Louisa, Ky but moved with his family to Central Oho farm at 16 years old. Love and miss my Kentucky relatives. I still love your accent, not as pronounced as my relatives, but watch for those delicious recipes.
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 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.
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!
Ooohhhh thank you for the memory. Yes!! We all followed that recipe on the Hershey’s can. They would put it on a buttered platter and I couldn’t wait to get the corner, which cooled first. I love your videos.
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!
Growing up and then raising our children just 7 miles NW of Hershey PA, we made this fudge often. And yes, always made it and most everything with a wooden spoon. I have more than 25, of all types. Thank you for good memories.
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 🍫
Im 60 and remember my grandma making homemade fudge on her farm and she never used a candy thermometer. I don't even know if they had them back then. She would take a glass cup of water and drop a little in the cup of water and if it balled up then it was at the right temperature. I remember it so well as she would always let me eat the little ball of fudge after she tested it 😋.
Just discovered your channel! I love the recipes that you present. I have been looking for these old time recipes that I remember from my childhood. Thank you so much.
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 😊
My grandmother used to make peanut butter fudge and pour it onto a platter. I loved the pieces that got thinner at the edge. Hadn't thought of that memory for a *long* time!
I forgot about that cocoa box with the round lid you had tp pry off. That made me smile! I've made this fudge 3 times in the last week, for Christmas, except instead of butter we always put a cup of peanut butter.
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 ❤
My momma made chocolate and peanut butter this way and she, too, used a big buttered plate ! She never used a thermometer . She used the soft ball stage ! It was delicious ! And yours looks delicious !
You said you can get a candy thermometer pretty cheap. You were not kidding. I donated at 2 Thrift stores that give to people if they cannot afford to buy. I spotted a candy thermometer, brand new for $1. Yippee!!! I can make fudge now!!😀 Thank you for the recipes and humor. May God bless you 🙏🙂❤️
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.
This was my mom’s fudge recipe too! I’ve never made it in my life, but you’ve inspired me. I’m going out to get a candy thermometer now! Of course she didn’t use one, but I’ll never be able to judge and end up with a pot full of Freeform fudge 😂. I love your channel. So homey, it feels like I’m back in her kitchen watching her cook. Thank you for that! ❤️
Yes, it would! We did that with it last year and it always seems well appreciated. Especially when you gift it to people who don't enjoy cooking themselves.😉
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.
Yes, I remember the Cocoa can where you popped The top up. I think it kept better in metal cans.❤❤
yes not as porus
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
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!
@@comesitatmytable9044 I'm sure that Tom knows the Cocoa Powder will incorporate with the sugar better if he would strain the Cocoa first.🤔😳
grandmas just know when it looks right!!!
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
LOVE TOM'S STORIES. LOVE THAT HE OFFERS MELISSA THE FIRST BITE SUCH A LOVING COUPLE
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!
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 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! 🙂🦋
❤❤❤😅😊😊😊
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 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 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🙂
Tom, as my daughter would say, "You weren't spoiled, you were well loved"! Love your videos.
Nowadays, there are no recipes that say “stirring constantly”. Nobody has the time. Thanks for the memories.
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!! ❤❤
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. 😂
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 🙏
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😊
One side of my family called it Carnation, and the other side called it Pet or canned.
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!
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!😊
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.
This was a Saturday night thing, she made fudge and we all sit on the bed with momma and daddy and eat her fudge, and listened to our favorite shows on the radio. Before T.V.
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! 😂
Yes l remember those old Hershey's boxes
GOOD memories.
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.
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.
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! 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
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.
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
I like that. Youuse every drop of product. You waste nothing. So many people are wasteful.
Grandmas are special aren’t they ,I miss my grandma and mother very much so much more at the holidays.❤❤
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!
This is the fudge my Mom made us !!
It’s the only kind I learned to make. I put a tablespoon of peanut butter in. ❤
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 ❤
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.
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!
Grandmas are the greatest treasure ❤
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.
Thank you for sharing this old fashioned recipe. I’m loving this 12 days of Christmas series. You two are the best !! 🎄❤️🕊
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.
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.
Thank you for making this video. I have the Hershey powder chocolate 🍫
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!
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.
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 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.
My mom made this recipe from the Hershey can too. She used the soft ball method too. Delicious. Thanks for the memory.
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.
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!
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 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!
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.😊
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.🥰
Sweet memories! Fudge looks 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
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!
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.
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 haven’t been subscribed very long on your channel but I am really enjoying it. I love that your pronunciation is exactly what I
desire. I also love that you call your wife “Babe”. We are really enjoying your 12 days of Christmas. I’m already planning on making some of your recipes, especially your Mamaw’s fudge. I can remember my mother putting her fudge in a plate too. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
L788👍👈
Fudge so yummy and delicious 😋🎊❤️
Hi, Tom & Melissa, I love watching you every day. The chocolate fudge you are making is what my family here in West Virginia still makes every Christmas, and we call it Carnation milk, too I am from Harrison County, I live in a small town called Stonewood
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.
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.
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!!
Tom I helped my mom make this fudge a million times. She began beating as soon as it came to soft ball stage. Dad, mom and I would take turns beating until the gloss was gone. Sometimes she would add 1/3 c. Of peanut butter as soon as she took it off the heat along with the butter and vanilla. It was delicious. I’m 75 years old and have made many different fudge recipes but this is and always will be my favorite because it tastes great and my family did it together!
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.
As a 14-year-old, this was the first candy I made, and it was from the back of the Cocoa can. I was a farm kid and learned to help in the kitchen from an early age. I did not have canned milk and used our Dairy farm cream from the top of the pitcher of milk. I did not have measuring cups or spoons. Used a teacup and a teaspoon and real home churned butter & Watkins vanilla from the "Watkins man" who came around on a regular basis. I also used the cup of cold water to test it since no thermometer in 1957. My mom walked me thru the first time and turned out fine, delicious. I made it many times after that thru the year, not just Christmas. I got the proper equipment in the 1960s but never made a difference in the outcome. Love hearing about your grandmother and that she lived in W. Virginia. I started watching you because you were from Kentucky and had that delightful accent. My Dad was born in W. Virginia when he came a little early while grandmother was visiting her sister. He was raised in Louisa, Ky but moved with his family to Central Oho farm at 16 years old. Love and miss my Kentucky relatives. I still love your accent, not as pronounced as my relatives, but watch for those delicious recipes.
This is how my Mommy would make candy waaay back when!! Thanks for sharing and love to you, Tom and Melissa! God bless! 💕🤗🙏🏻
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 love homemade fudge! My only problem is I love it too much!
I had a MAMAW too!
Just warms my heart to hear you did too. Mine was from Arkansas
Love watching both of you
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 believe the recipe was on the metal Hershey's can. I vaguely remember it. Best fudge ever! Yummy!
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!
This looks DELICIOUS!!!! Yum-o!!!! I’m not good at fudge making but I think I’m going to give it a whirl!!! Thank you, Tom & Melissa!!
Your fudge looks delicious! I think my mom & grandmother used the same recipe 😊
Fudge, my favorite Christmas candy. This recipe looks so good!
Ooohhhh thank you for the memory. Yes!! We all followed that recipe on the Hershey’s can. They would put it on a buttered platter and I couldn’t wait to get the corner, which cooled first. I love your videos.
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!
Growing up and then raising our children just 7 miles NW of Hershey PA, we made this fudge often. And yes, always made it and most everything with a wooden spoon. I have more than 25, of all types. Thank you for good memories.
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 Love the Fudge when it’s still warm -right out of the pot!! Oh Yum!!🥰💓🙌😋😋😋😋
Im 60 and remember my grandma making homemade fudge on her farm and she never used a candy thermometer. I don't even know if they had them back then. She would take a glass cup of water and drop a little in the cup of water and if it balled up then it was at the right temperature. I remember it so well as she would always let me eat the little ball of fudge after she tested it 😋.
Just discovered your channel! I love the recipes that you present. I have been looking for these old time recipes that I remember from my childhood. Thank you so much.
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 😊
My grandmother used to make peanut butter fudge and pour it onto a platter. I loved the pieces that got thinner at the edge. Hadn't thought of that memory for a *long* time!
Do you just make this same fudge recipe but add peanut butter at the end? I love this Hershey's kind of fudge with the peanut butter in it.
@@saraawilliams1406 that would work!
I forgot about that cocoa box with the round lid you had tp pry off. That made me smile! I've made this fudge 3 times in the last week, for Christmas, except instead of butter we always put a cup of peanut butter.
My Grandmother used to make this fudge; I make original fantasy fudge. 💖💖👍👍💖💖👏👏
You guys are such sweethearts...it just makes my heart warm...although im million miles away in another culture 🎉😊
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 ❤
My momma made chocolate and peanut butter this way and she, too, used a big buttered plate ! She never used a thermometer . She used the soft ball stage ! It was delicious ! And yours looks delicious !
You said you can get a candy thermometer pretty cheap. You were not kidding. I donated at 2 Thrift stores that give to people if they cannot afford to buy. I spotted a candy thermometer, brand new for $1. Yippee!!! I can make fudge now!!😀 Thank you for the recipes and humor. May God bless you 🙏🙂❤️
Thank you for another wonderful recipe. You are such a lovely man. Take care and stay safe.
God bless you and your wife
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.
This was my mom’s fudge recipe too! I’ve never made it in my life, but you’ve inspired me. I’m going out to get a candy thermometer now! Of course she didn’t use one, but I’ll never be able to judge and end up with a pot full of Freeform fudge 😂. I love your channel. So homey, it feels like I’m back in her kitchen watching her cook. Thank you for that! ❤️
that fudge would make great Christmas gifts
Yes, it would! We did that with it last year and it always seems well appreciated. Especially when you gift it to people who don't enjoy cooking themselves.😉
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.
I like the way your grandmother did it
Oh my that looks delicious!!! It’s been years since I’ve eaten fudge like this! Talked my sister into helping me make this!!