Macun Şekeri

Method

1. Brush a marble slab or a heavy metal tray very lightly with 1 tsp of neutral oil, keeping a smear back for your hands and scraper. Have a wooden stick, a bowl of the food colouring gels and the flavourings lined up within reach, because the paste sets fast once it leaves the pan.
2. Put 200 g of granulated sugar, 60 g of glucose syrup and 70 ml of water in a small heavy saucepan over low heat. Stir gently only until every grain has dissolved and the syrup is clear, then stop stirring and wash any crystals off the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush.
3. Raise the heat to medium, bring the syrup to a rolling boil and stir in 0.25 tsp of citric acid. Boil undisturbed, without stirring, for 12 to 15 minutes until a sugar thermometer reads 118C, the soft-ball stage: a drop into cold water should form a ball that flattens between the fingers. Take the pan off the heat the moment it hits temperature.