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.

The Cold Water Test can also be used along with a thermometer for the most accurate results. For the Cold Water Test: 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of the syrup (candy mixture) is dropped from a clean spoon into a small bowl of very cold water (not ice cold). Quickly examine and/or carefully pick up the sugar from the cold water.

Cooked Sugar Stages (Fahrenheit/Celsius)

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.

When sugar is completely dissolved in a liquid, it is no longer visible and there is no grainy texture when the liquid is stirred or agitated. To determine this, look for any undissolved sugar granules in the liquid or taste the liquid for any grainy or gritty sensations.

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.

Slowly immerse the hydrometer into the syrup into the test cup until it reaches the “HOT” test mark and then carefully release it. If the reading is lower than the number on the table, the syrup is “light” and will need more boiling. If it is higher, it will need to be diluted.

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. If your syrup has reached the hard-crack stage, it will form brittle strands in the water and crack as you bend it.

Please note that due to the nature of infrared thermometers reading the surface temperature, they are not suitable for use with clear substances like sugar syrups.

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.

At what temperature does sugar syrup boil? ›

Thread stage: Obtained at a boiling point of 112 °C (235°F). If we dip the index finger in cold water, take a bit of syrup with it and dip it again into cold water it will form a weak short thread between the thumb and index fingers.

A candy thermometer, also known as a sugar thermometer or jam thermometer, is a cooking thermometer used to measure the temperature and therefore the stage of a cooking sugar solution. (See candy making for a description of sugar stages.)

The answer, Jenni, is that you can fix an overcooked candy syrup by simply adding more water to it. For there's really no “cooking” going on in a candy syrup that contains only sugar and water. Proteins aren't coagulating, starches aren't gelling, fats aren't breaking down, nothing like that is going on.

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.

Stirring or bumping the pot can result in sugar clumping together and hardening into crystals. If you're making syrup with water, stir the sugar into the water to fully dissolve it before you add heat. Use a clean spoon every time you need to stir. The same goes for candy thermometers and any utensils.

Types of Sugar Stages

Thread stage (110-112°C, e.g. syrups) Soft Ball stage (112-116°C, e.g. fudge) Firm Ball stage (118-120°C, e.g. marshmallows) Hard Ball stage (122-130°C, e.g. nougat)

Components of Syrups:

Most syrup contains the following components in addition to the purified water and any medicinal agents present: (a) The sugar, usually sucrose, or sugar substitute used to provide sweetness and viscosity; (b) Antimicrobial preservatives; (c) Flavorants; and (d) Colorants.