Sucker Food

A lot of people think lollipops are nothing more than Life-Savers with handles and no holes. But they don’t have to be sticky kid stuff. Consider the lollipops that Campanile’s Brendt Rogers makes, sophisticated shards of sugar flavored with cassis or coffee or honey, or even orange juice boiled down to its syrupy essence.

For Rogers, 22, a pastry chef who’s worked with Campanile co-owner Nancy Silverton for nearly two years, lollipops are almost an obsession.

Instead of following a traditional lollipop recipe that might call for corn syrup to help prevent crystallization, food coloring for boring primary greens and reds, and a candy thermometer to determine exactly when to remove the sugar syrup from the heat, Rogers does it the hard way: He relies on his senses.

“I always challenge everything,” says Rogers, who first went to work as a chef at Bocca on Melrose when he was 15 years old (“I thought it’d be a good way to meet girls,” he says).

“If someone tells me I have to do something a certain way,” says Rogers, “I’ll say, ‘yeah, yeah, yeah,’ then wait for the person to turn around and say to myself ‘no, no, no.’ ”

But it’s hard to be a rebel when you’re making lollipops. “You don’t know how many times I almost quit,” he says.

The evil problem: crystallization. As Rogers puts it: “One grain of sugar on the side of the pot . . . you’ve had it.”

You’ve got a crystallized lollipop, cloudy and unattractive.

After more failed batches than he wants to remember, Rogers figured out a method he liked.

“It’s just a matter of not screwing with the sugar until it’s ready,” says Rogers, “until it gets to a hard-crack stage.”

Many lollipop recipes have the cook stir the sugar and water until the mixture boils, but Rogers uses the opposite tactic: He doesn’t touch the pan until the syrup is almost cooked.

(The only exception is if a bit of sugar wanders onto the side of the pan. Then he carefully moves the affected area directly over the flame of the stove to allow the sugar to melt into the syrup. “Get rid of the sugar on the side of the pan right away,” Rogers says. “Don’t wait until the syrup’s boiling.”)

Rogers also cooks the syrup a little longer than most recipes, about five degrees past the hard-crack stage, which can range from 295 to 310 degrees.

Before he makes the syrup, Rogers likes to fit the lollipop molds with edible objects, sometimes candied ginger or lemon peel, sometimes dried blueberries or coffee beans. “They look like preserved bugs in sap,” Rogers says, “really cool.”

Often, Rogers will use herbs in his lollipops, say, lavender or flowering rosemary with a honey-flavored lollipop. But, Rogers says, “I wouldn’t make an oregano pop.”

One hint: “You can use pre-candied peel,” Rogers says, “but wash off the sugar first, otherwise the whole lollipop will crystallize as soon as you pour the syrup.”

“When you get mad,” Rogers says, “lollipops don’t work. I’m trying to be nice to them today.”

Note: Rogers uses lollipop molds from Maid of Scandinavia (3244 Raleigh Ave., Minneapolis, Minn. 55416, (800) 328-6722), a mail-order cake decorating and candy supply company. One of the best local sources is Gloria’s Cake and Candy (3755 Sawtelle Blvd., West Los Angeles, (310) 391-4557), which sells molds, sticks and all sorts of flavoring extracts.

BRENT ROGERS’ BASIC LOLLIPOPS

Canola oil

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 lemon

Flavoring of choice

Generously grease large piece parchment paper and lollipop molds with canola oil. Insert sucker sticks in molds, position molds on parchment paper, and set aside.

In large saute pan or saucepan, away from heat, blend sugar and water with finger until no lumps remain. Place pan over high heat and squeeze few drops of lemon juice, about 6 drops, into mixture.

Let stand without touching until sugar mixture reaches full boil. When first spot of color appears and bubbles achieve active lava-like consistency, gently swirl pan to distribute color through whole pan. When entire mixture appears pale yellow, remove from heat and let stand until bubbles recede. Color will darken.

With wooden spoon, gently stir syrup until color turns clear. Add flavoring of choice and gently blend with wooden spoon. Don’t let syrup get too cool. Carefully pour sugar mixture into prepared molds. Cool at room temperature and remove molds when candy hardens. Makes 10 to 12 lollipops.

Note: There are endless numbers of flavorings that can be used for lollipops. Some suggestions from Rogers: 1 tablespoon cassis extract. 2 tablespoons buckwheat or other dark honey. 1 teaspoon coffee extract. 1 tablespoon orange juice reduced to syrup. Try studding molds with bits of candied ginger or citrus peel, with sugar removed; small sprigs of rosemary; coffee beans; dried fruit.