You are here: Home/General/ Can You Really Make Divinity When It’s Raining?
By Poppy8 Comments
Before modern electric mixers, people made divinity with hand-held mixers like this one. I do not know how anyone could beat sugar and egg whites into the delicious divinity candy with one of these old-fashioned mixers. But they did.
If you have ever used one of these, you will know that it takes a great deal of strength and stamina to generate enough mixing action to make divinity. I can only imagine that many factors would contribute to making a batch that turned out like thick paste or heavy syrup. Couple that with older homes that weren’t sealed against the weather like modern homes, and lacking central heat and air conditioning, and it is easy to see how the weather would play a huge role in the outcome of one’s divinity candy. So, the axiom: “You cannot make divinity when it’s raining.”
But not so today. With modern electric stand mixers, well-sealed homes against the weather, and central heat/air that help modify humidity, the candy-maker can no longer blame the weather for a bad batch of candy!
Just to make the point, I decided to make a batch today. The temperature outside was 37 and we were experiencing steady rain mixed with sleet. The outside humidity was 100%. But that did not deter me.
I gathered my supplies, cracked the eggs and put the syrup on to boil. About 40 minutes later, the finished divinity was ready to divide into gift servings.
You can make divinity when it’s raining…as long as your kitchen is indoors! Just follow your favorite recipe, and you’ll be fine. You can find many different recipes online, but I have found this one to be close to our secret family recipe.
Good to know. I’m 67 years old & my mother only made this at Christmas time. No such thing as candy thermometers in the 50′ so now I only make it at Christmas time as well
Reply
divadminsays
Thank you for responding. I rarely every use a thermometer with divinity, just the old drop in the water method. It’s very reliable. My grandmother used to beat her candy with one of the hand mixers. I cannot imagine that experience! I hope you have a very blessed and merry Christmas! Keep making candy!!!
Thank you. My mother made this but never taught my older sister or me how to cook anything. In fact my father’s wedding gift was the Farm Journal cookbook back in 1952.
Thank you for responding to my post. What an amazing gift from your father! Does that cookbook have a divinity recipe? If you need any tips or run into snags, let me know. I have seen those cookbooks for sale on eBay and Amazon. Have a blessed and wonderful Christmas.
Tom
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Kathleen Flammsays
I’ve made divinity for years and last year each time I tried it flopped. I wondered if it was because of the weather. I have laser thermometer and it always works great but the temperature fluctuates depending on where it is in the pan. That can be a problem. It’s good to know at least the weather doesn’t matter. Thanks a lot!!
Reply
divadminsays
Hi, Kathleen, and thank you for visiting my site. I would say that weather does have some effect on your candy, but only to the amount of humidity. If it’s raining, or if it’s just one of those humid days, I run my air conditioner to drop the humidity in the house. I have never used a laser thermometer, and I rarely use a thermometer at all. When the humidity is high, you can try cooking your syrup and extra degree or two, and you may have to beat your candy a long time. Once last year, I had to beat a batch for 40 minutes! But the candy was delicious and fluffy. Best wishes and have a blessed Christmas.
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Carolyn Davissays
Mine was good but turned to hard.
Reply
divadminsays
That happens from overcooking your syrup. I keep the cooking surface hot enough to slowly bring the syrup up to the respective ball stages. This helps prevent getting the syrup temperature too high. Best wishes, and try again.
Just want to say to people who think you can't make divinity when it is humid, you can. When it's raining outside just reduce the amount of water in the recipe by about a tablespoon.
Pour the syrup in a thin stream: When adding the hot syrup to the whipped egg whites, pour it in a thin, steady stream while continuously beating the egg whites. This ensures even incorporation and a smoother texture. Avoid overbeating: Be cautious not to overbeat the mixture after adding the syrup.
As a rule of thumb, only make candy when the weather is cool and dry, as the candy will cool faster and reduce the likelihood of crystal formation. Remember, high-humidity days can occur during the winter as well as summer.
Why is my Divinity chewy or crumbly? If the texture of your divinity just isn't right, it may be that your temperature was off. Make sure to cook your sugar syrup to 260°F, and beat your egg white-syrup mixture until it loses its glossy sheen for the right final consistency.
That's part of why candy making is so prevalent in winter; the best climate for making candy has a relative humidity of less than 35%, and cold air usually has less moisture than hot air.
If possible, always make divinity on a cool, dry day. As sugar attracts water, any humidity or moisture in the air can affect how your divinity turns out. Divinity should be dry and set within two hours, but have patience. It may take a little longer.
If your divinity candy fails to harden, add 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar and beat again. Allow it to rest for about 15 minutes. This will absorb more moisture and will allow your sweet treat to harden. If you want your divinity candy to soften up a bit add hot water a tablespoon at a time and beat it again.
But if your divinity fails to harden, you can beat in two tablespoons of powdered sugar and allow the mixture to rest a few minutes; if the candy hardens too much, you can blend in hot water a tablespoon at a time until the perfect, fluffy consistency is reached.
You can sometimes correct a divinity fail. If it is too stiff, add very hot water, beating in a half tablespoon at a time until it reaches a fluffy consistency. If it is too thin and does not set, try adding 1/2 tablespoon at a time of powdered sugar until it thickens.
The perfect divinity climate has a relative humidity of less than 35 percent. If you live in an area that's hardly ever that dry, you can always run your air conditioner or a dehumidifier for about a day or so before making divinity.
The higher the humidity, the more water vapor is available for the sugar molecules to attract. The result: A divinity that is less pillowy soft and more gooey and gritty in texture.
Perhaps you heard your grandmother complain that “you can never make fudge when it's raining.” No mythical urban legend here. High humidity alters the cooking properties of sugar. Fudge can take three times as long to set up, if at all. Sugary meringue absorbs humidity.
Humidity can cause fudge to boil over in the pan or stay soft when set, so try to avoid working on humid days if at all possible. If waiting for a less humid day isn't feasible, you'll need to boil your fudge at a slightly higher temperature than usual — or just order some delicious fudge from Wockenfuss!
Divinity should be dry and set within two hours, but have patience. It may take a little longer. If you would like to try correcting a thin divinity, beat in a little bit of powdered sugar at a time until the consistency is drier and thicker, before dropping onto sheets of waxed paper again to dry.
It may be my imagination, but fudge just does not set up with too much moisture in the air. It's OK when cloudy, but if it's raining, I wait to make the fudge. If you cut and store this treat, then put pieces of tin foil between layers of fudge. It can stick together if not separated.
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If you have ever used one of these, you will know that it takes a great deal of strength and stamina to generate enough mixing action to make divinity. I can only imagine that many factors would contribute to making a batch that turned out like thick paste or heavy syrup. Couple that with older homes that weren’t sealed against the weather like modern homes, and lacking central heat and air conditioning, and it is easy to see how the weather would play a huge role in the outcome of one’s divinity candy. So, the axiom: “You cannot make divinity when it’s raining.”
Darlene Stewart says
