Sugar, to Boil
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the syrup
Dissolve the sugar in the water.
Bring to a boil and remove the scum.
Boil for a few minutes.
Test the stages
Dip the tip of your forefinger into the syrup and touch it to your thumb.
If the syrup forms a fine thread that breaks easily, it is boiled to the small thread (215°F).
For large thread (217°F), boil longer and repeat the test.
For small pearl (220°F), continue boiling and check if the thread can be stretched without breaking.
For large pearl (222°F), boil a little longer and check again.
For small blow (230°F), use a skimmer, dip it into the syrup, and blow through the holes to see if small bubbles appear.
For large blow (233°F), boil a moment longer and check for larger bubbles that fly off the skimmer.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Loaf sugar
- Dissolves in water to form the syrup, and its concentration sets the final stage of boiling.
- Water
- Dissolves the sugar and carries the heat that drives off moisture as the syrup thickens.
The step that matters
Testing the thread and pearl stages. Sugar syrup changes quickly near the end of boiling as water evaporates and concentration rises. Small temperature differences change the texture, so checking the syrup often and removing it at the right stage matters.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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