Depending on the source you use, there will be slightly different temperature ranges as well as descriptions for the various Cooked Sugar Stages. Therefore, it is best to use all of these tables as guides only to familiarize yourself with the various stages of cooked sugar, their corresponding temperatures, what the cooked sugar looks like at each stage, and their uses. One way to test for these stages, is to drop about a teaspoon of the cooked sugar into a glass of cold water. Then retrieve the sugar by pressing it gently between your thumb and forefinger and examine it to determine the stage. The higher the temperature of the cooked sugar, the less water there is in the sugar, so the firmer the sugar will be. Another way to determine the stage of the cooked sugar is with an accurate mercury or digital candy thermometer.
Syrup will form a loose thin thread. Used for sugar syrups
Soft Ball
234 - 240
112 - 115
Syrup will form a soft, sticky ball that can be flattened when removed from the water. Used for caramels, fudge, pralines, fondant, and butter creams.
Firm Ball
242 - 248
116 - 120
Syrup will form a firm but pliable, sticky ball that holds it shape briefly. Used for caramels, butter creams, nougat, marshmallows, Italian meringues, gummies, and toffees.
Hard Ball
250 - 266
122 - 130
Syrup will form a hard, sticky ball that holds its shape. Used for caramels, nougat, divinity and toffees.
Soft Crack
270 - 290
132 - 143
Syrup will form strands that are firm yet pliable. Used for butterscotch, firm nougat, and taffy.
Hard Crack
295 - 310
146 - 155
Syrup will form threads that are stiff (brittle) and break easily. Used for brittles, toffees, glazed fruit, hard candy, pulled poured and spun sugar.
Caramel
320 - 360
160 - 182
Syrup will become transparent and will change color, ranging from light golden brown to dark amber. Used for pralines, brittles, caramel-coated molds, and nougatine.
The final stage of sugar cooking is caramelization, which can only occur when all the water has evaporated. This sugar will be brown and very hard and brittle. Caramel candies have added fat and other ingredients to make the candy soft and chewy.
The final stage of sugar cooking is caramelization, which can only occur when all the water has evaporated. This sugar will be brown and very hard and brittle. Caramel candies have added fat and other ingredients to make the candy soft and chewy.
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. To reach the hard ball stage, continue cooking the syrup and then pour a spoonful into the bowl once more to test.
When simple sugars such as sucrose (or table sugar) are heated, they melt and break down into glucose and fructose, two other forms of sugar. Continuing to heat the sugar at high temperature causes these sugars to lose water and react with each other producing many different types of compounds.
During the heating process the sugar first dissolves into syrup. As the temperature gets higher the syrup begins to thicken. As the temperature continues to rise and the water evaporates, the sugar begins to caramelize and turn a darker color.
Continue boiling, uncovered, not stirring the mixture but shaking the saucepan occasionally to distribute the heat as the mixture turns amber in about 9 minutes, then darker amber as it registers 305 degrees on the thermometer (hard-crack stage ), about 3 minutes longer.
Next is soft-crack stage, this happens between 270-290oF, sugar concentration is 95%, and forms solid, flexible threads. Hard-crack stage occurs between 300-310oF, sugar concentration is around 99%, and makes hard, brittle threads when dropped in water.
In this case, sucrose (simple table sugar) breaks down into glucose and fructose. If cooked long enough, these smaller molecules recombine into new molecules. Each of these molecules, whether simple glucose or the more complex diacetyl, has their own distinct flavor and aroma.
When granulated sugar is slowly heated, it melts and turns golden brown. This process is known as caramelization. The sugar must be melted in a heavy pan (not iron) over very low heat. Pour it into the pan (Step 1) and stir constantly with a long-handled spoon.
The general rule of thumb is to bring your simple syrup to a boil and then let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Remember to keep an eye on it so that it doesn't boil over. It doesn't need to boil at all. Just heat and stir until all the sugar is dissolved.
Essentially, brown sugar hardens when moisture evaporates due to aging or improper storage. But hardened sugar is still safe to eat and use—you just have to soften it back up to a usable texture. If your recipe has the sugar dissolving or melting into a liquid, you can actually use the hardened stuff without issue.
How to Make Food Less Sweet. Add an acid or seasonings such as vinegar or citrus juice; chopped fresh herbs; a dash of cayenne pepper; or, for sweet dishes, a bit of liqueur or espresso powder.
Although the main reason for the use of sugar is its sweet taste, sugar has many other functions in food technology. The most important among these are that added sugar in foods acts as a sweetener, preservative, texture modifier, fermentation substrate, flavouring and colouring agent, bulking agent.
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