You do not need to memorize anything. Keep this page open, use a candy thermometer or the cold water test, and watch the pot closely. Sugar syrup gets very hot, much hotter than boiling water, so read the safety tips before your first caramel.
The syrup stages
The temperatures are approximate, and recipes may vary by a degree or two.
| Stage | Temperature, about | Cold water test | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thread | 106 to 112°C (223 to 235°F) | Forms a thin, soft thread in the water and does not ball up | Glazes, candied fruit, some icings |
| Soft ball | 112 to 118°C (235 to 245°F) | Forms a soft ball that flattens in your fingers | Italian meringue, fudge, fondant, pralines |
| Firm ball | 118 to 120°C (245 to 250°F) | Forms a firm ball that holds its shape but squashes when you press it | Soft, chewy caramel candies |
| Hard ball | 121 to 129°C (250 to 265°F) | Forms a hard ball you can still dent; it feels sticky | Nougat, divinity |
| Soft crack | 132 to 143°C (270 to 290°F) | Separates into threads that are hard but bend before they break | Taffy, butterscotch |
| Hard crack | 149 to 154°C (300 to 310°F) | Separates into hard, brittle threads that snap | Peanut or sesame brittle, toffee, lollipops, candy apples |
| Caramel | 160 to 177°C (320 to 350°F) | No water test: watch the color go from light gold to deep amber | Caramel for flan, quesillo and flancocho, caramel sauce |
Past about 177°C (350°F), caramel turns bitter and burns within seconds.
How to do the cold water test
- Fill a cup with very cold water, with a few ice cubes if you like, and set it next to the stove.
- When the syrup looks close, take the pot off the heat so it does not keep climbing while you test.
- With a clean spoon, drop about 1/2 teaspoon of syrup into the water and wait a few seconds.
- Gather the syrup with your fingers under the water and feel it, then compare it with the table above.
- Not there yet? Put the pot back on the heat for a minute or two and test again, with a clean spoon each time.
Using a candy thermometer
- Clip it to the side of the pot so the tip sits in the syrup without touching the bottom, which is hotter than the syrup.
- Test it first in boiling water: at sea level it should read 100°C (212°F). If it reads differently, shift the stage temperatures by the same number of degrees. The difference can come from the thermometer or from altitude, since water boils at a lower temperature in the mountains.
- Read it at eye level, and watch closely once it passes 104°C (220°F): from there the temperature climbs fast.
- An instant-read thermometer works too, as long as it reads up to at least 180°C (350°F).
How to keep syrup from crystallizing
Sometimes a clear syrup suddenly turns cloudy and grainy. That is crystallization: one stray sugar crystal starts a chain reaction. To avoid it:
- Stir only until the sugar dissolves, before the syrup boils. Once it boils, stop stirring and gently swirl the pot if you need to.
- Brush down the sides of the pot with a pastry brush dipped in water, to melt any crystals stuck to the walls.
- Start with a clean pot and clean tools: a few old crystals or crumbs are enough to start the chain.
- A little acid or corn syrup helps: a few drops of lime juice, a pinch of cream of tartar or a spoonful of corn syrup make crystals less likely, if your recipe allows it.
- Pour the syrup out without scraping the sides of the pot.
Grainy syrup is not wasted: add a little water, heat it until the sugar dissolves again and start over.
Caramel safety
Caramel reaches 160 to 177°C (320 to 350°F), much hotter than boiling water, and it sticks to skin. Take your time and follow these rules:
- Use a heavy pot with a long handle, and turn the handle toward the back of the stove.
- Never touch or taste hot syrup or caramel, not even a drop on the spoon.
- Keep children and pets out of the kitchen while it cooks.
- Take it off the heat a shade lighter than you want: it keeps cooking in the hot pot.
- Add cream, butter or water slowly and step back: hot caramel bubbles up and spits when anything cooler goes in.
- Pour it into the mold right away and tilt carefully: it hardens in seconds.
- If you get burned, hold the spot under cool running water for 10 to 20 minutes. Get medical help for burns that are large, deep or blistered.
- To clean the pot, fill it with water and bring it to a boil: the hardened caramel melts away by itself.
Practice with the caramel for the flan de queso, the quesillo or the flancocho: sugar and a little water in a small pot on the stove, swirled now and then until deep amber.
Light syrups in the Thermomix® TM7™
Light syrups for soaking cakes or sweetening drinks only need the sugar to dissolve, and the TM7 does that well. The syrup for the bizcocho mojadito, for example, is water and sugar cooked 6 min/90°C (195°F)/speed 2, until the sugar dissolves.
Candy stages and caramel are a different job. They depend on the temperature of the syrup itself, which you read with a thermometer in the pot, and caramel starts right at the TM7's top temperature of 160°C (320°F). Make them in a heavy pot on the stove.
- Thin syrup for soaking cakes: about 2 parts water to 1 part sugar by weight, or even more water.
- Simple syrup for drinks and for brushing cake layers: equal weights of water and sugar.
Not every soaked cake uses syrup: the tres leches cake soaks in three milks instead. And the suspiro for our bizcochos uses the Swiss method, with egg whites and sugar heated to 70°C (160°F) in the TM7 while they whip, so it needs no syrup stage at all. The Italian method pours soft ball syrup into the whites instead.