Candy Making

I’ll admit, I went into *Candy Making* skeptical. The 2.5-star rating had me bracing for a disaster, but what I found was… complicated. On one hand, Packer’s approach is refreshingly honest. This isn’t a book pretending you’ll whip up perfect truffles on your first try. Instead, it’s a troubleshooting guide for the sugar-stained masses, and I respect that. The section on crystallization—why your fondant turns into a brick—finally clicked for me after years of guesswork. McVay’s narration matches the tone: precise, slightly dry, and thankfully free of the cutesy enthusiasm that plagues so many food audiobooks. His pronunciation of terms like *“invert sugar”* is crisp, and he handles the occasional lists of ingredients with clarity. But here’s the rub: the audiobook feels *rushed*. Not in narration—McVay’s pacing is fine—but in content. Some sections, like the chapter on chocolate tempering, skim over critical details (exactly *how* do I test for proper temper without a thermometer?), while others dwell on basics like “what is corn syrup?” for too long. The production is clean, but the lack of supplementary PDFs for recipes or charts is a glaring omission. And McVay’s monotone, while serviceable, does little to elevate the material. If you’re a total beginner, you might leave with more questions than answers. Still, for the price and runtime, it’s a decent primer—just don’t expect it to hold your hand through every batch of failed peppermints.