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Cooking up 2,500 pounds of candy

Caryn Haller
challer@recordcourier.com
Cindi Myers of Genoa stirs fudge ingredients on Thursday morning at the Genoa Town Kitchen during Candy Dance candy-making.
Shannon Litz | The Record-Courier

Barbara Sisneros carefully stirred a boiling kettle of sugar, milk and Karo syrup Friday morning in the heat of the Genoa Town Kitchen.

The Minden resident was cooking a batch of fudge for the 93rd annual Genoa Candy Dance Art, Crafts & Food Faire.

“Everything goes at once. Once the marshmallows and fudge go in it’s fire drill time,” Sisneros said. “Right now I’ve been stirring for about five minutes.”



This is Sisneros’ second year as a candymaker.

“I love it. I love the people,” she said. “I don’t cook. My husband has been the cook for 30 years at our house. I’ve learned how to make buttercups, chocolate pretzels. The fudge is an art.”



After 20 minutes of stirring, the fire drill started as the candymakers furiously scooped, weighed and packaged the fudge into half-pound portions before it cooled.

“It usually takes us seven weeks to complete everything,” candy chairwoman Dee Dykes said while coordinating the fudge packaging. “We use about 900 pounds of sugar, and about 800 pounds of chocolate.”

Dykes needs about 30 volunteers she said to make 2,500 pounds of toffee, fudge, peanut butter cups, rocky road, almond bark, chocolate dipped pretzels, peanut brittle and divinity.

“We have a lot of new volunteers this year. It’s a lot of teaching. Most of our volunteers don’t know how to make candy,” Dykes said. “I’m like the quality control guru. We have to make a consistent product so people come back every year to buy it.”

The candymakers are also in need of new microwaves and freezers.

“We’re at the point that we really need to replace these. We’re afraid we’ll get caught and not have one,” Dykes said of the old microwaves. “Our freezers in the next couple of years are going to start dying as well. If you are planning on buying a new one and need to get rid of the old one, we would send somebody to come get it.”

Candy will be sold in the Genoa Town Hall during Candy Dance hours 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 28 and 29.

Prices range from $3 to $6.50 for individual confections, or $13 for a one-pound mixed box.

Visitors can also purchase a keepsake insulated bag to keep their candy cold while they shop.

This year’s Candy Dance theme is Bonanza Extravaganza in honor of the state’s sesquicentennial.

Carson City BBQ is catering the dinner dance 4:30-10 p.m. Sept. 28, where attendees will receive a free sample of fudge.

Entertainment for the dance is by The Michael Fender Show.

Dinner tickets are $28 for adults, and $20 for children ages 12 and under. Dance-only tickets are $20.

For more information, call 782-8696 or http://www.genoanevada.org.


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