How to test for stages of sugar syrup (2024)

FAQs

How to test for stages of sugar syrup? ›

Using a clean spoon, carefully take a little of the syrup and drop it into the bowl of cold water. Leave to cool for a moment then pick up the ball of syrup. If it's pliable, sticky and can be moulded in your fingers easily, it has reached the soft ball stage and the syrup can be used to make fudge and marzipan.

Soft Crack Stage: The bubbles on the top of the syrup become smaller, thicker and much closer together. With a clean spoon, when the syrup dropped into cold water it separates into hard but pliable threads. The threads will bend slightly before breaking.

Pour one teaspoon of sugar mixture into cold water. It will form slightly thicker threads as it drops through the cold water. If you remove the threads from the cold water you will be able to form them into a small ball by rolling between your thumb and forefinger. The ball will be soft and can be easily flattened.

Using a clean spoon, carefully take a little of the syrup and drop it into the bowl of cold water. Leave to cool for a moment then pick up the ball of syrup. If it's pliable, sticky and can be moulded in your fingers easily, it has reached the soft ball stage and the syrup can be used to make fudge and marzipan.

Soft Ball

To test your candy temperature, you'll want a bowl of cool water to drip the sugar into. You'll know you've reached the soft ball stage when the sugar forms a small ball in the water. The ball will quickly flatten after a few moments of handling as it warms in your hand.

Hard-crack stage occurs at 300 to 310 F. If you don't have a candy thermometer, you can use the cold water test in a pinch: Drop a spoonful of hot syrup into cold water, then remove the candy from the water and attempt to bend it.

When the syrup starts to run off the spoon in a sheet or a stream, then it's almost done. It will also start to look more like syrup and less like sap at this point. If you think the syrup is done, take it off the fire and let it cool a bit. As it cools it should start to thicken if it has turned into syrup.

If the candy forms a firm but not hard ball, it is in the firm ball stage. The temperature of this stage is between 242—248°F. Caramels are cooked to the firm ball stage. If the candy forms thick threads when it drips from the spoon, it is in the hard ball stage or 250°—265°F.

Soft-ball stage is where most fudges are formed. Firm-ball stage is best for soft caramels. Hard-ball stage is great for marshmallows and rock candies. Soft-crack stage is where saltwater taffy and butterscotch if formed.

How long does it take to get to the soft ball stage? ›

Boil 1 1/2 hours. Stir often. Cook until it forms soft ball or 235 deg. F.

Firm ball occurs when sugar syrup is cooked to 118°C (245°F) – 121°C (250°F). It is used for making caramel candy, fruit jams, and Italian meringue. Soft crack is a stage of cooking when syrup reaches 135°C (275°F) – 140°C (285°F). Hard crack is a stage of sugar syrup at temperature of 145°C (293°F) – 155°C (311°F).

You can use the drop/"ball" method. Drop some of the mixture into a small dish of cold water which will cause it to cool quickly, then feel how soft/firm the drop is. Continue cooking until you get a drop that's firm enough.

The difference between a hard ball and soft crack is that at hard ball stage, the sugar forms a firm but pliable ball rather than threads. The difference between soft crack and hard crack is that at the hard crack, the threads will not bend and will simply break if you try to bend them.

Preparation of syrup:

Broadly stated, these methods are a) Solution of the ingredients with the aid of heat. b) Solution of the ingredients by agitation without the use of heat or the simple admixture of liquid components. c) Addition of sucrose to a prepared medicated liquid or to a flavored liquid.

Sugar stages are the different levels of consistency that sugar reaches when it is heated. During this process, the sugar changes in terms of texture, colour, and taste, depending on the temperature, time and proportion of water and sugar.