Method
Panning
How you put a hard shell on a soft centre.
The story
Panning is one of the oldest techniques in confectionery. A centre, which might be a nut, a jelly, a piece of gum or a seed, is tumbled in a large rotating drum while sugar syrup is added a little at a time and warm air is blown through. Each addition dries into a thin layer, and over hours or days a shell builds up. It is how jelly beans, gobstoppers, aniseed balls, mint imperials, M and M's and liquorice comfits are all made.
