2344—The Cooking of Sugar

From the state of syrup to the most highly-concentrated state in which it is used in pastry sugar passes through various stages of cooking, which are:—The small thread (215° F.) and the large thread (222° F.), the small ball (236° F.) and the large ball (248° F.), the small crack (285° F.) and the large crack (315° F.). When the last state is overreached, the sugar has become caramel (360° F.).

Put the necessary quantity of loaf sugar in a small, copper saucepan; moisten with enough water to melt it, and boil. Carefully remove the scum which forms, and which might cause the sugar to granulate.

As soon as the sugar begins to move stiffly in boiling, it is a sign that the water has almost entirely evaporated, and that the real cooking of the sugar has begun.

From this moment, with moistened fingers or a little piece of moistened linen, take care to remove the crystallised sugar from the sides of the utensil, lest it makes the remaining portion turn.

The cooking of the sugar then progresses very rapidly, and the states of its various stages, coming one upon the other in quick succession at intervals of a few minutes, may be ascertained as follows:—

It has reached the small-thread stage, when a drop of it held between the thumb and the first finger forms small resistless strings when the thumb and finger are drawn apart.

It has reached the large-thread stage, when, proceeding in the same way, the strings formed between the parted finger and thumb are more numerous and stronger.

From this moment recourse must be had to cold water in order to ascertain the states of the sugar.

When a few minutes have elapsed after the test for the large-thread state, dip the end of the first finger, first into cold water, then into the sugar, and plunge it again immediately into the bowl of cold water, which should be ready at hand. The sugar taken from the finger forms a kind of soft ball, and it is this state which is called the small ball.

When, upon repeating the procedure, the sugar removed from the finger rolls into a firmer ball, the large-ball stage is reached.

After the cooking has continued for a few seconds longer, the sugar lying on the finger peels off in the form of a thin, flexible film, which sticks to the teeth. This is the small-crack stage. Tests should then be made in quick succession, until the film taken from the end of the finger breaks “clean” in the teeth, like glass. This is the large-crack state, the last of the cooking stages, and as soon as it has been reached the utensil should be taken off the fire, lest a few seconds more turn the sugar to caramel.

To prevent the granulating of the sugar, a few drops of lemon juice may be added to it; or, better still, a tablespoonful of glucose per lb.