ginger candy

---

Homemade ginger candy is a sweet medicinal candy that will please any taste bud. It is made with ginger and caramelized sugar which gives it the spicy and sweet taste. Ginger boosts the immune system, aids in digestions and even relieves nausea and vomiting. It is an enjoyable way to eat your medicine.

• Start by making the paper molds.  Cut 4 x 5 inch parchment paper. Roll it into a cone with the pointy part properly sealed to prevent leakage. Apply glue to the seam seal it up properly. Set aside to dry.
• Refrigerate an empty bowl/plate or with water. This will be used to check if the candy is ready.
• Grate some ginger to get 2 tbsp. In a pan add 1 cup of water, 2 tbsp grated ginger, 1 tsp of ground cloves and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes to make the extract. After 5 minutes, remove from heat and let it steep while it cools down. Once it cools down, strain it to get the extract (add little water to loosen it). Try not to use a lot of water during extraction. You only need 1/2 cup of the extract.
• Pour sugar into a sauce pan, add ginger cloves extract and  squeeze in the juice of half of the lemon. Stir to combine. Begin cooking on a high heat. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium high and do not stir it. Let it cook for 15 minutes or until it develops a dark shade of brown.
• After 15 minutes lower the heat to medium once it develops a dark shade of brown (caramel color). Be careful not to let it burn because sugar burns quickly. Lower the heat if you think the color is changing rapidly. Add the remaining ginger cloves extract( be careful not to get burned because it could bubble up when you add the juice), this will restore the flavor of the ginger & cloves that was lost during the  cooking process. Cook for about 5 more minutes. 
• During the last 5 minutes, use the cold bowl/plate or bowl/plate with cold water to check if it hardens up. Pour some of the caramelized sugar into the bowl/plate, if it does not harden or crystallize, cook it some more but keep checking every 1 - 2 minutes until it hardens in the bowl or plate of cold water. That means that candy will harden up when it cools down.
• When it is ready, pour liquid into the molds and let them set. Please be careful when handling hot liquid sugar, make sure the kids are not around you when you making it.
• Once they harden up, wrap them individually and refrigerate them for as long as you want. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup ginger & cloves extract ( make extract with ginger and cloves).
• 1/2 lemon