Candy Making
June 19, 2008 by rainier
This is the process of melting sugar and water in a heavy pan but not taking the temperature high enough to caramelise the sugar. If you are making candy it is a good idea to have a candy/sugar thermometer. On it will be marked soft ball, hard ball and soft and hard crack, the 4 stages, created by an increase in sugar temperature.
If you do not have this type of thermometer there are some other tests that you can do to reach the correct heating and setting point. Take a small amount of the syrup, from the hot pan, at each stage in the heating process and place the in a jug of cold water. The following observations will determine whether you have reached the correct level or whether you need to keep heating:
Soft ball – syrup falls to the bottom of the water.
It will not hold its shape. This is the stage used for fudge.
Hard ball – drop small amount of syrup into water.
The ball will hold its shape and will be harder. This would be used for butterscotch.
Soft crack – drop syrup into water, there will be a quiet crack as it hits the water. The syrup will form chewy strands. This is the stage used for soft toffee.
Hard crack - drop syrup into water, there will be a loud crack as it hits the water. This will cause be brittle strands and can be used for hard toffee.
