Hard candies are sugar confections comprising mainly water and sucrose. Corn syrup, colorants and flavors are also usually added to hard candy formulations. The production of hard candy requires heating of the ingredients to very high temperatures to reduce moisture content and subsequent cooling to obtain a solid matrix. Cooling of the mixtures achieves the final, well known glassy state of the products. In this glassy state, the system is kinetically stable and molecular mobility is restricted, providing longer shelf life to hard candies. There are, however, several factors affecting the final quality and consumer acceptance of hard candies. Production methods and parameters, initial formulations as well as storage conditions all play a crucial role in the physicochemical, textural and sensory properties of hard candies. Addition of colorants and flavors also plays a vital role in the final quality. Although hard candy production is a simple process with few production stages, even small changes in the method of production and process parameters may induce substantial changes in the final product characteristics. Additionally, storage conditions such as temperature and humidity can change the product properties leading to graining and stickiness which are the two major problems for hard candies during storage. Both production and storage conditions should therefore be carefully chosen and controlled for desirable hard candy properties. This review addresses the general production methods and considers process parameters and quality parameters of hard candy products. Moreover, a comprehensive review of the related hard candy literature is also presented. The majority of hard candy reviews focus on specific methods and processes, but this review will present a more general frame on the subject.

UNASSIGNED: This study aimed to determine the effect of hard candies on gastric content volume and pH in patients undergoing elective esophagogastroduodenoscopy and colonoscopy. Additionally, the study evaluated the difficulty of the procedure, complications, and satisfaction levels of the endoscopist and patient.
UNASSIGNED: A randomized controlled study equally recruited 108 outpatients to candy and control groups. The patients in the candy group could consume sugar-free candies within 2 hours before anesthesia, while the controls remained fasted. The endoscopic procedure began under topical pharyngeal anesthesia and intravenous sedation. A blinded endoscopist suctioned the gastric volume through an endoscope. A blinded anesthesia provider tested the gastric pH with a pH meter. The primary outcome variables were gastric volume and pH. The secondary outcome variables were complications, the difficulty of the procedure, and endoscopist and patient satisfaction.
UNASSIGNED: The characteristics of both patient groups were comparable. The mean gastric volume of the candy group (0.43 [0.27-0.67] mL/kg) was not significantly different from that of the control group (0.32 [0.19-0.55] mL/kg). The gastric pH of both groups was similar: 1.40 (1.10-1.70) for the candy group and 1.40 (1.20-1.90) for the control group. The procedure-difficulty score of the candy group was higher than that of the control group. The satisfaction scores rated by the endoscopist and the patients in both groups were comparable. In addition, most endoscopists and patients in the candy and control groups reported being \"very satisfied\". No complications were observed in either group.
UNASSIGNED: Hard candies did not affect gastric volume or pH. Elective gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures in adult patients who preoperatively consume candies could proceed to prevent delays and disruption of workflows.

Glass transition temperature (T g) is an important parameter for the physical quality control of hard candies. In order to understand the applicability of calcium maltobionate to hard candy, effect of calcium maltobionate addition on the T g of model and hand-made hard candies was investigated. Freeze-dried calcium maltobionate-sugar (sucrose containing a small amount of glucose-fructose mixture) and calcium maltobionate-reduced isomaltulose mixtures were prepared as model candies, and their anhydrous T g was evaluated using a differential scanning calorimetry. The anhydrous T g increased linearly with the molar fraction of calcium maltobionate. From these results, it was expected that calcium maltobionate can improve the physical stability of normal and sugarless candies. For comparison, various commercial candies were employed, and their T g was evaluated using a thermal rheological analysis. The T g values were in the range of 28-49 °C. The T g values were higher than 25 °C, which is significant with respect to the physical stability of the candies. Calcium maltobionate-sugar and calcium maltobionate-reduced isomaltulose candies were prepared as hand-made candies. The calcium maltobionate-reduced isomaltulose candies had higher T g than the calcium maltobionate-sugar candies at each calcium maltobionate content, although reduced isomaltulose has a lower T g than sugar. At a high calcium maltobionate content, calcium maltobionate-reduced isomaltulose candy had an equivalent T g to the commercial sugarless candies, and thus practically acceptable stability was expected. In the case of calcium maltobionate-sugar candies, there was a possibility that the hydrolysis of sugar reduced their T g. Vacuum-concentration will be useful to improve the T g of the candies.

Oral processing of hard candy was examined to ascertain the extent of sucking and chewing. The proportion of chewing increased as the particles in the mouth are broken down into smaller ones. While the overall eating time for men and women was not significantly different, when eight-small items were present in the mouth, women chewed more at the start of the oral residence time, while chewing for men progressively increased. Individuals who reported a history of eating difficulties tended to chew less and take longer to eat eight-small items than those who had never experienced eating difficulties.