Fudge is a type of confectionery, usually extremely rich and often flavored with chocolate. It is made by boiling sugar in milk to the soft-ball stage, and then beating the mixture while it cools so that it acquires a smooth, creamy consistency.
Fudge was invented in the United States more than 100 years ago. The exact origin is disputed, but most stories claim that the first batch of fudge resulted from a bungled batch of caramels made on February 14,1886—hence the name "fudge."
One of the first documentations of fudge is found in a letter written by Emelyn Battersby Hartridge, a student at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. She wrote that her schoolmate's cousin made fudge in Baltimore in 1886 and sold it for 40 cents a pound. Miss Hartridge got hold of the fudge recipe, and in 1888, made 30 pounds of this delicious fudge for the Vassar Senior Auction. Word spread of this great confection to other women's colleges. (Wellesley and Smith have their own versions of this fudge recipe.)
Mackinac Island and other tourist cities in Northern Michigan are famed for making fudge.
