On a candy thermometer, and in most recipes, you will get measurements in 2 forms. Candy temperatures are most important painless cooking. How to tell the temperature without a candy thermometer. The nice thing about making it in the microwave is that you dont even have to worry keeping track of the hard crack stage. Syrup dropped into ice water separates into hard, brittle threads that break when bent.
Drop a spoonful of hot syrup into cold water, then remove the candy from the water and attempt to bend it. What to do when candy temperature stops increasing. Best candy thermometers digital, analog thermometer. You can still use a candy thermometer if you want to make sure you have the right temperature, but once you get used to your recipe, you should be able to tell by what it looks like. To reach the hard ball stage, continue cooking the syrup and then pour a spoonful. Compare the shape and texture of the candy to the chart below to determine the approximate temperature of the syrup. Jun 27, 2004 hardcrack stage is a cooking term meaning that a sugar syrup being heated has reached 149 154 c 300 310 f. How to grow loofah luffa for sponges late bloomer episode 15 duration. Drop a small amount of the mixture into a glass of cold water, and then examine it closely to determine if its at thread stage, soft ball stage, hard ball stage, etc. Adjust your recipe temperature up or down based on your test.
Each stage corresponds to a texture or consistencythe hotter the syrup, the harder the candy. As its temperature rises, sugar goes through several stages, from thread to hard crack. At this point of heating, the sugar concentration in the syrup is 99%. Once youve got the hang of it, the coldwater test works really well, but its not perfect. For those of you struggling with soft or semiliquid candy, you almost certainly didnt let it heat up to the hard crack stage. At these temperatures, there is almost no water left in the syrup. Otherwise, they come out soft and gooey, like fudge. Mar, 2011 hard crack stage is 300 f to 310 f 150 c to 155 c cold water test hard crack. A spoonful of sugar drizzled over a plate forms a fine, thin thread. If you dont have a candy thermometer, you can still make candy from sugar syrups by using the coldwater method.
It is a test of how hot a sugar syrup is, and of how much water is left in it. Choose a thermometer with a metal clamp that attaches to the side of the pan. During the cooking stage, remove your pan from the heat and drop a small spoonful of sugar syrup into a bowl of very cold water. Drop a spoonful of hot syrup into cold water, then remove the.
Or, theyll tell you to cook it to a certain stage, for instance, soft ball or a hard crack stage. Thats how high you need to go for brittles or hard candies. This handy, traditional candy thermometer is designed to be as userfriendly as possible. Mar 12, 2020 the nice thing about making it in the microwave is that you dont even have to worry keeping track of the hard crack stage. Dec 25, 2014 humidity can really cause problems with candy making.
How to test candy hardness stages without a thermometer learn the different levels of hardness in candy making. Candy making includes the preparation of many various candies, such as hard candies, jelly beans, gumdrops, taffy, liquorice, cotton candy, chocolates and chocolate truffles, dragees, fudge, caramel candy and toffee. The higher the temperature of the cooked sugar, the less water there is in the sugar, so the firmer the sugar will be. If you dont have a candy thermometer, use the cold water method to test the candy. Perfect for making candy, sauces, deepfrying, and more.
For instance, i live about 4465 ft above sealevel, so the boiling point of water here is lower around 203. At this stage, candy will form hard threads that cannot be bent. If your syrup has reached the hardcrack stage, it will form brittle strands in the water and crack as you bend it. You can make soft candies like caramels on the lower temperature scale, or hard candies like lollipops at the higher end. If you have one, used it, and still wound up with liquid candy, test it or buy a new one. With the cold water test at 275f degrees the syrup is brittle when under water but becomes soft and pliable when removed. Peanut brittle also gets cooked to the hard crack stage when it is cooked on a stove top. We show you what the soft ball stage, firm ball stage, hard ball stage and crack stage should look. Hardcrack stage 149 154 c cooking tips high altitude.
For every 300 metres 1,000 feet that you are above sea level, subtract 1 degree c 2 degrees f from the temperatures given in your candy recipe. Once the candy reaches the desired stage for example, the hardball stage for marshmallows, take the pot off the heat and proceed with the recipe. Within this temperature range, sugar transforms from a thin clear syrup, to a light caramel sauce. For these and some other hard candy recipes, a syrup mixture is boiled until it reaches a specific temperature. If the threads break without bending, youve reached the hard crack stage at 300 f to 310 f. Chocolate tempering hinges entirely on manipulating the temperature of cocoa butter. Stirring constantly, cook until the candy or digital thermometer reads 300 degrees f. Thread softball firmball hardball soft crack hard crack light caramel dark caramel. There are also specific candymaking labels on the thermometer, like hard crack, soft crack and thread, as well as a deep fry label. Hard candy such as lollipops and peanut brittle must reach a high temperature, known as the hard crack stage, when cooking. The shape that the candy forms when it hits the water will show you what stage the candy is at in the cooking process. Candy making or candymaking is the preparation and cookery of candies and sugar confections. Soft caramels, christmas fudge, toffee, suckers, and nougat are all made with sugar cooked to specific temperature stages like firm ball, hard ball, soft crack and hard crack. How to test candy temperatures without a thermometer.
Candy making without a thermometer cold water test. Heres how using a digital thermometer can be a quick and easy way to get the hard ball stage candy temperature. Although it is possible to make candy without one, a glass candy thermometer is a musthave for beginners. If youre making candy at home, you can determine the temperature of your syrup with a candy thermometer or a glass of cold water. The good news is, you dont have to go out and buy a fancy candy thermometer if youve already got the superfast, splashproof thermapen from thermoworks in your bag of kitchen tricks. And dont forget to add or subtract that same number of degrees from the cooling temperature in recipes where candy mixtures need to cool. As the temperature of the sugar increases, the sugar syrup will begin to go. It is easiest to make candy by using a candy thermometer but you can also use the cold water test. Hardcrack stage is a cooking term meaning that a sugar syrup being heated has reached 149 154 c 300 310 f. It does take a long time and if you stir the stuff that needs to go to crack or hard crack, you get sugar crystals in it. Cold water candy test wikibooks, open books for an. If you dont have a candy thermometer, you can still make candy from sugar syrups by using the.
The category of hard candy includes favorites such as peanut brittle and lollipops. It is highly recommended that you use a candy thermometer to reach this stage, since you can easily miss it by a few degrees and produce candy in soft crack stage, or you may caramelize or burn your sugar. Any agitation will cause the sugar to crystallize and result in sugary candy. With a clean spoon, when the syrup dropped into ice water it separates into. If you dont have a candy thermometer, you can use the cold water test in a pinch. If you make candy on a more regular basis, you may want to invest in a marble slab and a copper caramel pan. The hardcrack stage is the highest temperature you are likely to see specified in a candy recipe.
If the reading is higher or lower, calculate the difference when testing the temperature during candy making. How to perform a cold water test for hard candy making youtube. You can make soft candies like caramels on the lower temperature scale, or. Because confection recipes are always easily affected by altitude, my aunt, who lives at a much lower elevation than me, suggested i use the drop test method instead of a candy thermometer for figuring out how hard or soft my caramel is going to turn out. If the threads break without bending, youve reached the hardcrack stage at 300 f to 310 f. Let the candy cool for a second, then form it into a ball with your hand. Due to its design, this cant be used as a probe for things like meat, so youll only be able to measure liquids. Clips securely onto the side of a pot for ease of use. Once the candy reaches the desired stage for example, the hard ball stage for marshmallows, take the pot off the heat and proceed with the recipe.
Butterscotch recipes, brittle recipes and hard candy recipes should reach candy temperatures of the medium crack stage 275 to 300f degrees. Cooking the sugar mixture to the proper temperature is critical for successful results in making candy. This candy will be very hot and sugary, so wait until it cools before scooping it out of the water. I wanted them to be very hard just like my regular hard candy. Each test is completed by dropping a dollop of the hot candy solution in cold water not room temperature, and then extracting the candy formed. With this recipe you can make your caramel as soft or as hard as you want to. Hard crack stage is 300 f to 310 f 150 c to 155 c cold water test hard crack. It should hold heat well, and ensure that it distributes it nicely on the bottom. How to test stages of sugar article stages of sugar testing with a candy thermometer testing with cold water method when a recipe indicates that a sugar mixture needs to cook to a specific stage, the most accurate method to use is a candy thermometer to test the temperature as it is cooking. A good candy thermometer is very important for successful candy making. The ball will hold its shape in your hand but it is still. As the temperature of the sugar increases, the sugar syrup will begin to go browner in the pan. Obviously, if you dont have a thermometer you should just forget about the number and focus on the stage, because the names of the stages correspond to a physical matter state. With a clean spoon, when the syrup dropped into ice water it separates into hard, brittle threads that break when bent.
You will want to go to about 150 c to get a good hard crack candy, but lets test for doneness the old fashioned way and get some experimental data along the way. If you do a thread test and end up with hard ball or something, you know the. How to tell a hard crack stage with thermometer thermopro. Oct 16, 2015 how to grow loofah luffa for sponges late bloomer episode 15 duration. Another way to determine the stage of the cooked sugar is with an accurate mercury or digital candy thermometer. Temperature should be kept at medium low to medium under candy. Humidity can really cause problems with candy making. The first time you made the candy, you might have neglected the precise instructions and just guessed your way.
Whenever making caramel, marshmallows, honeycomb or just about any other sugar candy youll often find that recipe either tells you to boil a sugar syrup to a certain temperature. Candy making without a thermometer cold water test step 1. Loranns oil is a flavoring oilflavored oils are best for candy because the flavor is not damaged by the high heat. As temperature rises threads snap of spoon when dropping in the water. Notice how the candy separates into multiple brittle like threads as it. The ingredients for hard crack candy are fairly simple, but you can vary the recipe by adding different colors and flavors.
This temperature is best suited for recipes such as rock candy or soft crack. Most people use granulated sugar for hard candy, castor sugar should work just fine, the starch in powdered sugar will make your final product. Dec 17, 2008 i have a very heavy cast aluminum pan that was a former pressure cooker that we only use for making candy. Note that the following temperatures are listed at sea level, as they are listed in most cookbooks, because of this actually using the cold water test can be a more reliable gauge when making candy. When a recipe indicates that a sugar mixture needs to cook to a specific stage, the most accurate method to use is a candy thermometer to test the temperature as it is cooking. If the reading is higher or lower, calculate the difference when testing the. According to a fudge recipe, your boiling sugar must reach 236 f, the softball stage. Using a clean spoon when the syrup is dropped into cold water it may be formed into a hard ball. After a syrup boiled to this temperature cools, it is called hard candy, since it becomes stiff and brittle as it approaches room temperature. Once the hardcrack stage is reached, proceed with the recipe.
You can still use a candy thermometer if you want to make sure you have the right temperature, but once you get used to your recipe, you should be able to tell by what it. The boiling point of water is 212 only if youre at sealevel. It is a good idea to calibrate your candy thermometer, you just need to know the actual boiling point of water for your altitude. Angie hi tam, i dont think youll have much luck reheating hard candy mix if it has already set, but you could give it a try. As a sugar syrup is cooked, water boils away, the sugar concentration increases and the temperature rises. Give it time in the ice water, because you will burn yourself if you try to check it too early. To determine temperature without using a thermometer, see photos and descriptions below for various stages. Youll probably need to add a bit of water and then cook it longer to reach the 300 degree f. On a candy thermometer, hard crack stage is defined as between 300310 degrees f 148. If a large enough quantity is cooled it will form a hard ball with little moisture. Various types of candy begin to take form at the varying stages within this range as well. The hard crack stage is the highest temperature you are likely to see specified in a candy recipe. To start the test, fill a bowl with cold tap water and dribble some of the liquid candy into the bowl. Because confection recipes are always easily affected by altitude, my aunt, who.
Chart of temperatures for candy making and tests to check the temperature without a candy thermometer. The hardcrack stage is the highest temperature you are likely to see. Its also a good idea to test your thermometers accuracy by placing it in plain boiling. Apr 17, 2020 whenever making caramel, marshmallows, honeycomb or just about any other sugar candy youll often find that recipe either tells you to boil a sugar syrup to a certain temperature.
Hard candy recipes variously call for syrups of sucrose, glucose, or fructose. Once the candy reaches the desired stage for example, the hardball stage for marshmallows, take the pot off the heat and proceed with the. Drop a little of the molten syrup in cold water and it will form hard, brittle threads that break when bent. How to tell the temperature without a candy thermometer leaftv. Once boiling begins, the temperature will rise slowly at first but as the water becomes less the temperature will begin to rise more quickly. This is known as the hard crack stage about minutes. If youre making candy at home, you can determine the temperature of your syrup with a. If a candy thermometer is not available, use the corresponding coldwater test described below. The cold water test can also be used along with a thermometer for the most accurate results. Kaye kittrell late bloomer urban organic garden show recommended for you.
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