Dept of Desserts: How is Fudge a lot like Geology?

There's a recent, albeit random, theme to my culinary pursuits, and if you haven't guessed yet, it's dessert. More specificaly, non-baked goods. I'm talking about mousse and ganache, custard and candy and of course - fudge.

What brings me to the next dessert to be mastered was a heart-stopping combination of my two passions (science and food) within one newspaper article that answers the age-old question: How is fudge a lot like molten lava? Read on...

The article centers around how Alison Rust, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia who earned her doctorate here at the University of Oregon, uses fudge, which is a relatively modern confection, as a hands-on example of lava.

Fudge, when stirred too little — the stirring induces the formation of crystals — resembles a type of lava called pahoehoe (pronounced pah-HOY-hoy). Its surface looks silky smooth, but its texture is unpleasantly gritty and coarse, because the sugar crystals, while few, have grown large."

As Rust explains, a lot of foods is a lot like geology:

"For her doctoral research at the University of Oregon, she ordered 1,200 pounds of corn syrup as an analog to the melted silicates found in basaltic lava. She blew bubbles into the syrup to study how gases trapped in magma changed how it flowed. Applesauce also turns out to share some properties with magma, and cornstarch mixed with water acts like a solid when hit with, say, a hammer, but also flows — much as rocks deep underground look solid, but are flowing slowly."

According to the article, here is the correct way to make fudge, from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything."

Time: About 30 minutes, plus resting time
Makes about 1 1/2 pounds

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus some for greasing the pan
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups sugar
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Let the butter come to room temperature while you work; grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

2. Combine the chocolate and cream in a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until well blended and smooth. Add the sugar and salt, still over low heat, and cook, stirring, until the mixture boils.

3. Stop stirring and cook until the mixture measures 235 degrees Fahrenheit (a small piece of it will form a soft ball when dropped into a glass of cold water, but the thermometer is an easier and surer test).

4. Immediately remove from the heat. Add the butter, but do not beat. When the mixture is just lukewarm (about 110 degrees), add the vanilla and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth and has lost its sheen. Add the nuts if you like. Scrape into the prepared pan. When the mixture has hardened, cut into squares. Wrap well and refrigerate; fudge keeps for weeks, but is best eaten fresh.


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