Hokey Pokey Turning Sticky

Our answer

Nigella's Hokey Pokey (from Nigella Express and on the Nigella website) is based on a combination of sugar and golden syrup, aereated with bicarbonate of soda (baking soda). Unfortunately we suspect that your problem does come from trying to make the Hokey Pokey in a very humid environment. All sugars, and particularly invert sugars such as golden syrup, honey and maple syrup, are hygroscopic. This means that they attract moisture very easily. So in very humid conditions the candy will just absorb water from the atmosphere and become very sticky. This is also why it is difficult to make meringues in a humid environment.

We doubt that removing the golden syrup will help much and the syrup is needed as it reduces the risk of the sugar mixture crystallizing when the bicarbonate of soda is added. You could make the candy in an airconditioned environment but the air here will still likely be on the humid/moist side and the candy will turn sticky as soon as it leaves the controlled environment. A refrigerator also has too much moisture in the air to be able to store the candy properly. We would suggest perhaps trying some other candy, such as Nigella's Chocolate Pistachio Fudge (also from Nigella Express and on the Nigella website). The fudge is best stored in the fridge or freezer so may be better suited for hot and humid environments.