Candy Cooking Temperature Chart • Loynds (2024)

FAQs

What temperature should you cook candy at? ›

Finally, if the candy forms hard, brittle strands that easily break, the candy is at the hard crack stage, between 300°—310°F. Butter toffee and peanut brittle are examples of candies cooked to this temperature.

On the day you're going to do your candy making put a couple inches of water in a pan and bring it to boiling. Put your thermometer into the boiling water and note what temperature water boils at (today it's 208 at my house in Utah, on a foggy day). Now, subtract that number from 212. (Again in my example: 212-208=4).

To make candy or jelly at home, it's essential to have a thermometer that can process particularly high temperatures. Though a meat thermometer might seem like a convenient substitute, it doesn't have the ability to read and process temperature to the same extent that a candy thermometer does.

Just put your candy thermometer in the pan and watch for it to rise to 300 degrees. It takes about 10 minutes from the time it starts to really boil. After it's reached 300 degrees, remove it from the heat and add whatever flavor you want, stirring constantly then add food coloring.

A very firm ball will register between 250 to 256F degrees but can easily be pierced with a fingernail. Taffy recipes and divinity recipes should register a hard ball from 260 to 270F degrees on a candy thermometer. By a cold water test the mass forms into a definite hard ball and cannot be pierced with the fingernail.

It is easiest to make candy by using a candy thermometer but you can also use the Cold Water Test. The Cold Water Test can also be used along with a thermometer for the most accurate results.

Candy Thermometers

A candy thermometer is used to measure temperatures up to 400 degrees F.

The so-called "cold-water method" is an easy way to estimate the temperature of your candy: Generations of cooks and candy makers have relied on this trick to make all types of candies, from fudge to toffee. Lay out a spoon and a bowl of cold water beside your pot of boiling sugar.

Candy thermometers have a longer design, allowing them to safely soak in hot and boiling oil or sugar solutions. Candy thermometers have a higher heat and temperature range. They can read up to 400 F (204 C), while most digital meat thermometers can only read up to 200 F (93 C).

Can a candy thermometer go bad? ›

However, it's not uncommon for thermometers to become less accurate over time. A misreading of even 5 degrees can mean a failed batch of candy. Since accuracy is so important, it's a good idea to test your thermometer periodically.

Hard-boiled candies production:

For this, cooking temperatures could be as high as 155°C at atmospheric pressure or lower if the cooker is equipped with a vacuum chamber. It is then cooled down to reach 105°C to 90°C before the addition of flavor, color and acids.

The final outcome of the candy depends on the sugar concentration or the syrup. Higher temperatures with greater sugar concentrations usually result in hand candies, whereas, lower temperatures result in softer candies.

Step 2: Arrange the hard candy onto a parchment-covered baking sheet. Create different sizes and color combinations by placing candies near each other in groups. Step 3: Place the baking sheet in a 300°F oven for 8 minutes. Step 4: Remove the candy from the oven as soon as it melts.

Because the process of making sugar involves heating and cooling it, sugar manufacturers have learned that the melting point of sucrose (table sugar) is 367 degrees F. Knowing this information, we can use sugar to test the accuracy of your oven's temperature.