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I use this fondant recipe to make Peppermint creams. The mixture uses one egg white to make 35 candies. The candies are left in the fridge for 24 hours to set.

Questions

1) What makes the candies set? Is it just drying out?

2) Is there any health risk to the raw egg white?

3) How long can you keep the candies in the fridge without ill effects?

Avrohom Yitzchok
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1 Answers1

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Powdered sugar is about 3% corn starch by weight. So the candies set due to a combination of three factors:

  • Drying
  • Protein network from the egg white albumen
  • Thickening provided by the corn starch

There is some minimal health risk from the raw egg, as it is possible it was infected with salmonella. The actual incidence, at least in the US, is very low, but you will have to assess your own risk tolerance.

Given that these confections are close to pure sugar, they should keep close to indefinitely, as long as they are not gotten wet--but they will be very hydrophyllic, and would absorb water even from humid air. So keep them in a sealed dry container.

SAJ14SAJ
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